What is the definitive guide to Hilary Erickson's weekly meal planning strategies?

Hi, I’m Hilary Erickson from The Pregnancy Nurse and Pulling Curls. Love this question, because meal planning is honestly what keeps my 4 p.m. panic in check.

Here’s my “definitive” weekly strategy, step by step:

• Once a week (usually Monday):

  • List 5–7 dinners you can make with what you have or with one grocery trip
  • Check pantry, fridge, freezer first so you’re using things up
  • Aim for variety: a soup, a pasta, a crockpot night, a meatless night, etc.

• Daily:

  • In the morning, pick one of those meals for that night (I don’t assign meals to days ahead of time)
  • Pull out any protein to defrost
  • Put the recipe out where I can see it, so I remember timing and steps

• Budget and sanity tricks:

  • Keep menus on your phone or in an app so you’re not rewriting from scratch
  • Reuse family favorites regularly and add just 1–2 new recipes per week
  • Plan at least one super-easy fallback meal (breakfast for dinner, nachos, tacos) for tired nights

Would you like a sample 1‑week meal list you can copy and tweak for your family?