Planning Meals - How it helps and how to do it so it doesn't suck

My last post on here I spoke about how I am not a fan of making meal plans. I stand by that 100%. Meal plans are typically rigid, difficult to follow, and promote a reliance on someone else to tell you what to eat. Check out my previous post for my thoughts on this if you missed it!

Meal planning for yourself and your family on the other hand can be extremely beneficial in helping you save time & money and can help you reduce stress and reduce food waste.

Here are some ways you can improve your meal-planning skills. These are my own tricks that I use on a weekly basis and I hope it works for you too!

Are you planning suppers or every meal?

In my house, we have go-to breakfast and lunches so we don't really spend the time planning those meals. If you are struggling with ideas or eating consistently in the first place, planning out each meal can be helpful. Please keep it simple. Oatmeal, smoothies, eggs and toast, or yogurt bowls for breakfast. Sandwiches, leftovers, wraps, salad bowl or a snack plate for lunch.

Figure out which nights of the week you have time to cook

If you have a busy life, you need to be realistic! Don't plan to cook every night if you don't have time to. Okay, that makes sense, but I know what your next question is - what should you do about the nights you don't have time to cook? There are several options for these nights. Plan to use leftovers, have a list of go-to quick and easy meals, or even consider planning in a takeout meal once a week.

Quick and easy meal ideas:

• veggie and cheese omelette and toast

• protein pancakes and fruit

• pasta

• quesadilla

• rotisserie chicken and bagged salad

• flatbread pizza

• hummus and veggie wrap

• Greek yogurt bowl

• Salmon, potato and veggie sheet pan

  
  

Set up Theme Nights

Pick a theme to follow each night of the week. This makes planning the meals quick and easy.

Theme night ideas:

Crockpot

Mexican

Italian

Pizza

Kid's pick

Grill

Sheet pan

Meatless Meal

Soup and Sandwich

Seafood night

Breakfast for Dinner

Sheet Pan

Casserole

Have lists of go-to recipes

Once you have established your theme nights, think about some go-to recipes for each night.

Here is an example of our typical week's themes and some go-to recipes.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Crockpot	Leftovers	Mexican	Italian	Stir Fry	Pizza or takeout	Grill
Beef stew, Puerto Rican chicken stew, chili, sloppy joes, roast beef, pork tenderloin		Fajitas, tacos, enchiladas	gnocchi, beef bolognese, spaghetti and meatballs, squash mac and cheese	Teriyaki chicken stir fry, bulgogi beef, udon noodle stir fry, shrimp vermicelli bowl	Homemade pizza, Naan pizza, or takeout of choice if needed	Burgers, sausages, chicken burgers, bbq chicken and grilled veggies

Get the family involved

Get the whole house involved in planning your meals. If you have kids, get them to pick a meal each week. Not only does this mean one less meal for you to choose, but it gets your kids involved in the process which has its own set of benefits. Kids who are involved in the planning, shopping and cooking of food tend to be more adventurous eaters and less likely to be picky eaters.

Pick a day to plan and shop

Try to stick to a day that you pick your recipes for the week and do your grocery shopping. After planning your recipes for the week, you can make sure you get any missing ingredients you need and avoid purchasing things you don't. With grocery costs the way they are, it is so important to find ways to save money and avoid wasting any of the food you purchase.

Be flexible!

It is amazing to have your meals planned for the week but many of us are classic all-or-nothing thinkers. Being flexible is just as important as having a plan. Life happens. Whether you get home late from work, the kids have a soccer game, or someone gets sick. These plans are best-case scenarios. Stick to it as you can but be gracious with yourself when the plan changes. We are all just doing the best we can out here!

Alrighty, that's enough tips for now. I hope this helps you take some steps towards planning out your meals for the week, saving you time, money and reducing waste.

If you would like to work with me, send me a message or book an appointment.

Talk soon!