Meal Planning 101

Wow, what a hectic few weeks it’s been. Between working, sick pets, and and beginning this blog, it has been hard to find time to make healthy meals. One thing I try to never ever give up, even when I’m busy, is meal planning. I’ve always been decent at meal planning (mostly to avoid spending too much money on food), but also because I love to cook. Now, when I say I love to cook, that doesn’t mean I like to spend hours in the kitchen (please, who has time for that?!). I try to spend an hour or less on dinners each night. I find that I feel better and have more money left over at the end of month if I commit to cooking most nights of the week. Plus, I have left overs for lunch the next day! Win-win! 

If you want to lose weight, feel better, and save money on food, you have to meal plan. I tend to spend about 30 minutes each weekend planning out dinner meals that I want to cook throughout the week. 30 minutes on a Sunday morning isn’t that bad, is it? These are the steps to success for meal planning:

       1. Decide how many meals you are going to cook during the week. 

For me, this is usually 4-5 meals, depending on my husband’s work schedule. He’s a firefighter, so he isn’t home every day of the week. And let’s face it, I’m not going to cook for just myself when I could just eat leftovers and a glass of wine for dinner.

       2. Choose healthy recipes!

I usually navigate Pinterest, my cook books, or my own recipes I’ve saved over the past few years. My standard for deciding a recipe is “healthy”, is by looking at the ingredients. If it has a lot of butter, cream, or salt, I usually don’t bother with it. My favorite recipes have lean protein, vegetables (emphasis on veggies), and whole grains. 

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Click here for some great recipe ideas to add to your meal plan this week!!

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        3. Make a list!

My number one suggestion is to make a list! It saves my husband and I hundreds of dollars a year, and makes grocery shopping so much easier! I check my pantry while I’m making my list, and go from recipe to recipe, adding things to the list that I will need. When I’m about to add an ingredient to my grocery list, I think to myself, “Do I already have this in my house?” If they answer is yes, I obviously don’t buy it. #winning!

Now, you could write everything down on a piece of paper, but it’s 2018, so I use an app. Personally, I use the ShopShop app. It’s a free, simple grocery list app that I’ve used for years, and allows you to make different lists for different grocery stores (I go to at least 2 per shopping trip). Another decent grocery list app is ShopList. Making a list sounds simple enough, but it takes work and dedication to do this regularly. Having a list helps you stick to a plan at the grocery store, and not add so many impulse items to your cart. It keeps you (and your wallet) healthier. 

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Speaking of apps, here’s my post about 5 health apps you need in your life! One is a recipe app that makes meal planning so easy!

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        4. Follow through

What’s the point of spending so much time planning out your week, shopping for all your ingredients, and then not actually following through? I know how easy it is to decide to go out and pick up something cheap and easy,  instead of cooking, especially after a long day at work. Believe me, I still feel that way sometimes. Having a plan is the key to success, and following through on your weekly meal plan pays off in the long run. I personally write down what day I will prepare what meal, and that keeps me  in check when I don’t feel like cooking. 

Pro Tips:

• • Grocery shop before the weekend is over. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to the grocery store hungry and bought waaay too much junk. If you try to go after work or when you’re hungry, you’ll end up impulse buying and sabotaging yourself and your health goals. 
  • Don’t choose recipes with a ton of ingredients you don’t have, or cooking methods you aren’t familiar with. One time I decided to make something with ingredients that I couldn’t even find in the regular grocery store (seriously, where the heck do they sell harissa sauce?!) and ended up having to go to a health foods store just to get them. It was more time consuming and way more expensive than I was expecting, and it wasn’t even that good! 
  • If you’re busy during the week like I am, try out a crock pot recipe or two. When you’re meal planning, put down crock pot recipes on those crazy days you know you just won’t want to cook. If there is a lot of prep work involved, do all the vegetable chopping and other meal prep during the weekend or the night before. When that morning comes to start the crock pot, dump the ingredients in and head out. No messy food prep to do in the morning! 
  • Start saving recipes that you like. I typically print out the recipes that I am making, and take notes as I’m cooking. If I like the recipe, I put it in a recipe binder. Over the last few years, I’ve collected quite the book of recipes that I can pull from each week when I’m meal planning. Having a collection of recipes that you’ve made before and that you know taste good helps you meal plan and keep up the variety each week. 

If you follow these steps, you’ll be on your way to being a #boss at meal planning and overall, living the healthy lifestyle that you want to live. For more on my approach to healthy living, click here.

What is your number one challenge when trying to meal plan?

xoxo Megan