We also have a blackboard that the dinners get written up on. So handy to check in the morning if something needs to taken out the freezer to defrost. We meal plan, but mostly for DH and I, as DS is a bit fussy and mostly has beige. I don't like trying to work out what we're going to have at dinner time, I'd much rather know and have it sorted, else it's very stressful for me.
So on shopping day, we sit down with cups of tea and plan the week ahead. If either is going to be out one night then that is taken into account. One night we'll get a chicken for roasting, might include fresh veg but might be frozen. Next night is stir fry using some leftover chicken. Then maybe spaghetti bolognese (which DS will have), pizza (between all of us), fajitas, sweet & sour chicken with egg fried rice, cottage pie. So that's seven meals. (I tend to think of an eighth as a contingency.) On one side of the list I write the meals, on the other the items I need to buy for those plus our usual staples and lunch items.
Generally the use by dates dictate the order we have them in, and sometimes something comes up and the meals get shuffled into a different order. Occasionally some vital ingredients aren't available in the shop, I just make a quick substitution for the back up meal. I also expect DH to contribute as I don't see why I should be the only one to think up meals, all the time. That's not fair.
It works out well for us, as we tend to buy only exactly what we need and there's less waste food too. So a win-win.