Built Daily
Food JRNL
6 weeks. Planned, prepped, written down.
A meal planner and food log in one book. Plan the week on Sunday. Shop from a list. Cook once. Then write down what you actually ate. No meal plan. No calorie target.
Hardcover · 96 pages · 8.25 × 11 in · on Amazon
The short version.
- 6weeksSix week plans, each facing its shopping list.
- 42daily pagesWhat you ate, where it came from, and how it went.
- :03minutes a dayA few words a meal. Two quick scores.
- 1prep page a weekWhat you cooked, how many portions, and the eat-by date.
- 0calorie targetsNo meal plan. No good foods and bad foods. You choose.
- $0right nowThe whole book is free as a PDF you can type in.
A closer look
One page. One day.
Four meals, a few words each. Where the food came from. Whether it matched the plan. Then water, a few kitchen checks and one question for the day. About three minutes.
Each meal
A few words. Two circles.
Write what you ate in plain words: “eggs and toast,” “chili (prep).” Circle where it came from: home, prep, packed or out.
Then circle whether it was planned, swapped or skipped. That one circle shows how often the plan actually held.
Hungry before, full after
Read the clock, not the plate.
Two scores from 1 to 5 for each meal. Neither one is a target.
Lots of 5s before a meal usually means a long gap since the last one. The scores show you the gaps in your day.
The bottom strip
The trash line pays you back.
Water. Four kitchen checks. And a line for what went in the trash, because wasted food is money and time you can get back.
Track calories or protein? There’s one optional box, and you choose the number. Most people leave it empty.
A week
Decide on Sunday. Not at six o’clock.
The week plan sits on a left page, facing its shopping list. Every meal for seven days on one side. Everything you need to buy on the other. Busy days get planned first, from prep.
Prep day
Cook once. Eat for days.
Write what you made, how many portions, and the date to eat it by. The same date goes on the container.
After a few weeks you’ll know how long prep really takes and how much to make, so less of it ends up in the trash.
Sunday
Count it. Change one thing.
One page at the end of each week. Planned against eaten. Prep made against thrown out. Budget against spent. Four questions.
Then one change for next week, and the meals worth keeping go to your go-to list in the back.
The guides
Every page comes with a guide.
Plain guides to planning, the shopping list, prep day, the daily page and the Sunday review.
Each one says what the page is, why it helps, how to fill it in and what the pattern tells you.
Food safety
Keep it cold. Keep it dated.
Prepped food sits in the fridge for days. One page has the rules: cooking temperatures, fridge and freezer times, and the two-hour rule.
They come from the USDA. Want to cook something new? Find a free recipe →
A record, not a diet
You bring the food. The book brings the system.
- No meal plan.You plan your own meals. Repeat what works. The same breakfast five days in a row is a plan.
- No target.No calories to hit, no portions to measure. Numbers are optional, and you pick which ones.
- No grades.No good foods and bad foods. An honest “skipped” teaches you more than a perfect page.
The hardcover
Made for the kitchen counter.
A hardcover, 8.25 by 11 inches, the same size as the JRNL. Big enough for a whole week on one page. 96 pages, printed and bound.
- The plan stays where you cook.Open it on Sunday. Leave it on the counter all week.
- One book, six weeks.Finish it, read it, start the next one with your go-to meals.
- A full one is a cookbook of your own.Six weeks of what worked, in your own hand.
On Amazon · Hardcover · 96 pages
Free, on purpose
Use the whole book now. Free.
This is the full Food JRNL as a PDF. All six weeks, every guide, the prep pages and the reviews. Type right into it on your phone, or print it and use a pen. No email. No sign-up.
PDF · 3.0 MB · 98 pages · US Letter · every field labeled for screen readers
- 1Download it.Save the file to your phone, tablet or computer.
- 2Open it in a PDF reader.Adobe Acrobat Reader is free. A web browser lets you type, but it doesn't always save what you wrote.
- 3Type in it, or print it.Every line and circle can be filled in. Print at 100% on US Letter paper. The week plan and its list fit on one sheet, front and back.
Two ways to keep it
Same pages. Paper or screen.
The hardcover and the PDF hold the same book. The PDF is free. The book is for when you’d rather write than type.
Hardcover
$15.99
On Amazon, where the price can change.
- Pages
- All 96, 8.25 × 11 in
- Type in it
- No. It's a book
- Write by hand
- Yes
- Paper, ink, binding
- Done for you
- The next six weeks
- A new book
Free PDF
Try it first$0
The whole book, on your phone or your printer.
- Pages
- All 96, plus a how-to
- Type in it
- Yes
- Write by hand
- After you print it
- Paper, ink, binding
- Yours to buy
- The next six weeks
- Download a fresh copy
The set
The JRNL holds the day.The Gym JRNL holds the work.This holds the food.
All three cover the same six weeks. Each one works on its own. Together you see the whole week.
Questions
Before your first Sunday.
Who is the Food JRNL for?
Anyone who wants to stop deciding dinner at six o'clock. It works for one person or a family, a cook or a beginner. If you're new to prep, the guides explain every page in plain words.
Does it tell me what to eat?
No. There's no meal plan, no calorie target and no list of good and bad foods. You plan your own meals. Need ideas? There are free recipes on the Food page of this site, each with a nutrition label.
Do I have to count calories?
No. Words are enough. There's one small optional box each day for anyone who already tracks a number, like calories or protein. You pick the number, or leave it empty.
When can I buy the hardcover?
Now. It's on Amazon.
Can I type in the free PDF on my phone?
Yes. Open it in a PDF app that handles forms, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is free. Save the file when you finish so what you typed stays in it. A web browser will let you type, but it doesn't always save what you wrote.
What if I miss a day?
Leave the page blank and start on today's. The book is undated, so it never falls behind. A late Sunday review is still a review.
Do I need the JRNL or the Gym JRNL too?
No. Each one works on its own. All three cover the same six weeks: the JRNL holds your day, the Gym JRNL holds your training, and the Food JRNL holds your food.
Can I share the PDF?
Yes. Send people to this page so they get the newest copy. Please don't sell it.
Is this nutrition or medical advice?
No. The Food JRNL is a planner and a place to keep your own record. It doesn't tell you what or how much to eat. If you have a food allergy or a medical condition, or follow a diet your doctor gave you, follow that plan. The food safety page uses USDA guidance.
Start with Sunday.
Fill in “My kitchen.” Plan week 1. Shop from the list. The rest follows.
More in Food. Free recipes, each with a nutrition label.