What a meal plan does for a family
“What’s for dinner?” comes up every day, usually around half past five, when the fridge is nearly empty and everyone is hungry. A weekly meal plan answers it once for the whole week. It takes fifteen minutes on a Sunday and saves far more than that during the week.
- One shop instead of many: when you know what you are eating, you buy everything in one go instead of popping to the shop every evening.
- Less food waste: you buy what you actually need and plan leftovers instead of forgetting them at the back of the fridge.
- More variety: on the plan you can see at a glance whether it is already pasta for the third time this week.
- Calmer evenings: whoever gets home from work does not have to think, just cook, and everyone knows whose turn it is at the stove.
How to make a weekly meal plan in five steps
A meal plan does not have to be perfect. It should fit your week, and it is allowed to change when something comes up.
- Start with the calendar: look at the family calendar first. Evenings with sports practice, a parents’ evening or a music lesson call for something quick; quieter days leave room for something that takes longer.
- Collect your favourites: most families rotate through a fairly small set of dishes. Write them down once; that is the pool you choose from each week.
- Fill the week: spread the dishes over the days. A fixed pattern makes it easier, for example pasta on Monday, soup on Tuesday and a dish the children pick on Friday.
- Plan for leftovers: cook extra one day so it turns into lunch or a quick dinner the next. Tuesday’s risotto becomes Wednesday’s risotto cakes.
- Write the shopping list: go through the plan, check what is already in the cupboard and put the rest on the list. One shop then covers the whole week.
A sample week for families
This is what a week can look like when the children have lunch at school and the family eats together in the evening. The quick dishes fall on the busy days.
| Day | Dinner |
|---|---|
| Monday | Spaghetti with tomato sauce and salad Quick to make at the start of the week |
| Tuesday | Vegetable soup with bread and cheese Make a double batch, the rest is Wednesday’s lunch |
| Wednesday | Älplermagronen (Swiss alpine macaroni) with apple sauce A children’s favourite they can help make |
| Thursday | Fish fingers with potatoes and carrots Practice night: on the table in 25 minutes |
| Friday | Homemade pizza Everyone tops their own slice |
| Saturday | Vegetable tart with salad Time for something more relaxed |
| Sunday | Roast chicken with roast vegetables Make extra, the rest fills Monday’s sandwiches |
If you also plan lunch, during the school holidays or at weekends for example, keep it simple: last night’s leftovers, a soup or a bowl of Bircher muesli. For breakfast it is usually enough to note what should be special on Saturday or Sunday, such as fresh pancakes.
How the meal planner works in JH FamilySync
In JH FamilySync the meal planner is called Weekly meals. It sits in the Everyday area, like the shopping list, and is part of the free plan. Everyone in the family can see the plan and change it.
- Open weekly meals
Tap Everyday at the bottom, then Weekly meals. On a computer, Everyday is in the bar on the left. The arrows take you to the next week, and This week brings you back.
- Add a dish
On the day you want, tap Add a dish. At the top, choose the time of day: Morning, Midday or Evening. Then type the dish and pick who is cooking that day under Who cooks?. With Add a photo you can attach a picture of the dish. Save each time of day on its own: enter the dish, tap Save, then open the day again for the next one.
- Send ingredients to the list
Under Ingredients for the shopping list, write one ingredient per line. When you tap Save, the app adds them to the shared shopping list and tells you how many were added. Anything already open on the list is not added twice. The ingredients stay saved with the dish.
- Reuse dishes you have cooked
The app remembers every dish along with its ingredients. Next time it appears under Cooked before, the most frequent first. One tap fills in the dish and, as long as the field is still empty, the ingredients too.
- Change or delete
Tap the day to open it again. You can edit the dish or change who is cooking. The bin icon clears the whole day, all times of day included.
That way, on Sunday evening, a few taps turn the meal plan into the shopping list for the whole week. How to use the list in the shop and share out the shopping is covered in the guide to the shared shopping list.
Frequently asked questions
Is the meal planner in JH FamilySync free?
Yes. Weekly meals and the shared shopping list are part of the free plan. The free plan covers up to four family members; beyond that you need Premium, which costs CHF 2.00 a month or CHF 20 a year and covers the whole family.
Can I plan breakfast, lunch and dinner?
Yes. Each day has three times: Morning, Midday and Evening. You only fill in what you need; to start with, the evening meal is often enough. Save each time of day on its own, then open the day again for the next one.
Do the ingredients go onto the shopping list automatically?
Yes, as soon as you add them to the dish and save. The app skips anything that is already open on the list. If you save the dish again later, only the ingredients you have added since then are sent.
Do I have to type everything again every week?
No. The app remembers every dish with its ingredients. Tap it under “Cooked before” and both the dish and the ingredients are back. Copying a whole week into the next one is something the planner cannot do.
Can the whole family see the meal plan?
Yes. All family members can see weekly meals and add or change dishes, on the phone and in the browser, including on a computer.