Set it up once, then it's two minutes a week
The first time takes a while, because you type in the meals you actually cook. Do it once and it's done: on the Meals tab, list them with how many people each recipe feeds. On the Recipes tab, give every ingredient its own row — which meal it belongs to, how much one batch needs, the unit, and the aisle you find it in.
After that, planning a week is just the Week tab. Type how many people are eating, then choose a meal for each slot from the drop-down. Leave a slot empty for a night out or leftovers. The Grocery List tab is ready as soon as you've picked.
How the list adds up
The sheet counts how many times each meal appears in your week, multiplies that meal's ingredients, and adds together anything with the same name and unit. In the example, tortillas show up in three meals — wraps, fajitas and tacos — and come out as one line: 40 tortillas.
Names are matched without caring about capitals or stray spaces, so "Onion" and "onion " land on the same line. Units have to match, though: onions by the each and onions by the pound stay separate, because the sheet can't convert one into the other. Pick one unit per ingredient and stick to it.
Cooking for more (or fewer) people
Every recipe has a "Serves" number. The sheet compares it with the number of people on the Week tab and scales the amounts. The example lentil soup serves 6 and uses 2 cups of red lentils. It's on the plan 3 times for 4 people, so the list asks for 2 × 3 × 4 ÷ 6 = 4 cups.
If you'd rather always cook one full batch — say, for a casserole you freeze half of — leave that meal's "Serves" empty and it won't be scaled.
The example week
The file opens with nine everyday meals and a full week planned for four people, so you can see the list working before you change anything:
| Day | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Turkey & cheese wraps | Sheet-pan chicken fajitas |
| Tue | Turkey & cheese wraps | Spaghetti bolognese |
| Wed | Lentil soup | Black bean tacos |
| Thu | Turkey & cheese wraps | Salmon, rice & broccoli |
| Fri | Lentil soup | Veggie stir-fry |
Breakfasts, snacks and the weekend are planned in the file too.
Limits worth knowing
- It plans one week at a time. For next week, change the picks — your meals and recipes stay.
- Amounts aren't rounded to pack sizes. If the list says 3 cups of frozen berries, you still decide which bag to buy.
- The "Also buy" box beside the list is for things that aren't part of a meal, like dish soap. It doesn't add anything up.