How to Plan Meals like a pro
Food for Thought Meal prep and planning doesn’t have to be time-consuming, over-complicated, and something you dread!
But for many women, that’s exactly what it brings! They honestly wish they didn't have to do it, but it helps them live healthier. So they are stuck between what they know they SHOULD DO and WANT TO DO. And that’s part of the problem. It becomes a chore.
My goal through this post is to help you reframe how you see Meal Prep and Planning and take some of the CHORE out and add in REWARD!
If you are reading this and are thinking, “No way! I love meal prep!” then keep reading and share your favorite hacks in the comments below.
Since meal prep is just another thing to add to an already busy list, let’s start with a REFRAME, shall we?
What would be the best part about not having to meal prep and plan your meals in advance?
What would be the worst part about not having to meal prep and plan your meals in advance?
What is the part of not planning ahead that leaves you feeling like you’ve failed once again or just stuck on the journey to living a healthier lifestyle for you and even your family?
Now that you have hopefully seriously considered the answer to those questions, I want you to recognize that you do not have to do it all at once! In fact, I don't even meal prep all my meals at once. I used to, for a very short period of time. I stopped because it left me without a weekend, feeling like I was STUCK with my prepped meals only (there goes your social life), and created a very rigid lifestyle. It wasn’t sustainable!
So what I am referring to when I mention meal prep and planning?
The prep and planning come from strategically adding new habits and strategies in place that leave you feeling like most days of the week have a win! Strategies like:
Choosing a time towards the end of the week to plan. This is just a 5-minute action (usually a minute) of committing to a plan. So maybe you spend 20 fewer minutes on social media that day or don’t watch a show for the time you know you need to prep.
The Planning Session. This usually takes me about 20 minutes or less. Now that I have been doing this consistently for the last several years, it can be quicker too. So give yourself 30 minutes if you are new to planning, prepping, and cooking.
During this time, you will look ahead at all the events you have going on the following week. You will analyze the food you currently have on hand, your budget, time frames to prep/cook, etc., and create a plan of action.
Honestly, what you want to eat, know how to cook, and are willing to make…that’s what it comes down to.
Getting your groceries. This can be as hard as you want it to be. The honest truth is either you pay a little bit more for a service to help you, or you save the extra fee and spend your time. I prefer to save time. While we do run into the grocery store for last-minute items we overlooked, and a few items we can’t get elsewhere, we use services like:
Thrive Market - all of our pantry needs. We stock up on all the staples once a month. Then if we’re in a time pinch, we at least have the ingredients for spaghetti or quinoa salad for instance. We also have easy lunch items like single-pack tuna. It saves us money and time too on all the BEST BRANDS. Created by a mom for busy women out there. Y’all it’s time to jump on this train! They have great snack items without all the added crap for you and your family! (click the link for 40% off your first order)
Misfits Market - don’t get me wrong. Right now I am getting more fresh produce from my own garden and the farmer’s market and the occasional grocery store. At least 2x a month, we do take advantage of Misfits. We can choose the weeks we order, what we get in our cart and how much. So there is never waste and we have a variety to choose from. (Use code: cookwme-uc1twyrnczl)
Wild Pastures - the highest quality protein for the best price. It’s regenerative farming, organic, and locally sourced. Since we know what our food eats, is what we eat, we are super picky on the quality of our meat. We use this service about once every other month for the 2 of us and rarely have to fill in the gaps. We do use Blue Apron every other week though, so if we didn’t do that, it would be closer to every 1.5 months. (click the link for 20% off every order for life!)
Planning is usually pretty easy this way. When our cabinets, fridge, and freezers are full (minus a few dairy products), I just look at what we have and choose a menu based on that. Way less time wasted, stress on last-minute meals and I have started to create a rotating menu! (more on that soon)
Choose a time, or even a few times, to prep anything you can in advance. Especially the busier nights.
Even now that I don’t go into work, I still always prep my lunches about every 2-3 days. The rest of the meals I made before eating. Again, planning helped make this easy! This could look like:
Making Mason Jar Salads
Boiling eggs and chopping veggies
Roasting chicken for salads or even just for lunch with roasted veggies.
Essentially, I make the parts of the food I want to eat. Sometimes, I make extra for dinner so I can just eat leftovers. Don’t over-complicate it.
Make grab-and-go snack bags so you don’t overeat and have a healthier choice ready. This takes less than 10 minutes!)
Choose when you might marinade meat for grilling or baking.
Chop any veggies up early that you can- shoot buy frozen organic veggies so it’s done for you!
The point is that being intentional usually takes away the pain of cooking, frustration, and leads to better choices overall. You don’t have to do it all at once, but adding in these practices slowly will help you stay on track with your goals.
The last piece of advice that helps us when planning and my friends with picky eaters (adults and new home cooks included) is to create a rotating menu. When you find a recipe that everyone likes, add it! Later you can look up variations of that recipe so you don’t get bored but still feel like it’s easy.
Here is one of our rotating menus:
Monday - Sunday night leftovers (Monday nights are busier for us usually.)
Tuesday - Taco Tuesday of course! We have found so many variations and my enchiladas are now in the rotation! We never get bored and prefer our Taco Tuesdays to any restaurant. Bonus - there are always leftovers for lunch!
Wednesday - My night to experiment with recipes. Using whatever we have at home.
Thursday - Something simple like pasta, grilling, or even a nice big salad!
Fridays - a more indulgent meal. Right now it’s burgers. I make mine a burger bowl usually. Skip the bun and go for the sweet potato wedges. But sometimes, it’s build your own pizza night too.
Saturdays - are fair game for going out, leftovers, wherever the wind takes us.
Sundays- Back to a fan favorite!
So now it’s your turn. Right now choose a time to plan next week’s (or this week’s meals). Don’t cancel on yourself. Stick to that time and create a plan. If you can, try to prep 1 meal of the day in advance. You’ve got this!
Comment below with your favorite tip I shared or one that I didn’t mention that you are currently using to find success with meal planning and prep!
