Meal Planning Tips

Most of us do not have time to go grocery shopping or cook every night.  We also do not have the money to eat out all the time.  And, we want our meals to be tasty, but also healthy.  This is why I meal plan.

Meal planning is deciding what you are going to cook and eat for the week.  It usually entails one grocery shopping a week, most of your cooking on the weekend, and very quick cooking on the weekdays when you are busy.  I am lucky.  I had the best teacher ever for meal planning... my Italian mom.  It was from her example I came up with these tips.

1.  Why do you want to start a meal plan?

First, decide why you want to make a meal plan.  This is important because it helps you decide what recipes you will be looking for and food you will buy.

I meal plan to help me eat healthier, save money, and make sure we do not run out food (my boyfriend eats a lot haha).  There are many reasons why people make meal plans.  Maybe you are sick of ordering food all the time.  Or, you want more variety, prevent food waste, or you want to spend less time cooking during the week.  Whatever, the reason, meal planning is definitely not a magic bullet to being healthy or an easy thing to do.  But, it definitely can help you eat well to live well!

2.  What foods do you like and what recipes do you want to make?

Based on your goals and your cooking skills choose some recipes.  In the beginning, I would stick to recipes you know that are easy.  Make sure you like the recipe and the food leftover.  This is important.  Much of my menu planning includes re-purposing leftovers.  I would add in only one new recipe a week.  That way you get variety, but you also have your usual meals to fall back on in case you don't love a new recipe.    

So, where do you look for recipes? I use pintrest and food bloggers like Skinnytaste, paleomg, eatingbirdfood, minimalistbaker.  And, you can always use my recipes too :).  Also, let me know if you have any recipes or ideas you want me to try.  I am all about trying/creating new recipes.  

Lastly, create a pintrest board, folder, or note on your phone to store your recipes.  

3. Put together your meal plan!

This is the part I like the most.  But, that is probably because I am a little OCD ha.  First, you should  ask yourself how many meals do you need?  Are you bringing lunch?  Make sure you include breakfast.  Do you have a night during the week you can cook for 30 minutes?  Or, I LOVE crockpots.  I absolutely recommend buying a crockpot if you don't have time during the week to cook a meal.  I like to make overnight oats, stews or if I am really pressed for time, I will throw chicken breasts and a jar of salsa into the crockpot and call it a day.

I usually plan to make at least 4-5 servings of a recipe so that myself and Mike can get two or more meals out of it.  Lastly, I stock up on salad essentials... baby spinach, kale, seeds, nuts, cranberries and dressings.  Salads, rice bowels, and wraps work well for re-purposing leftovers.

This was my shoprite groceries list.  My Sam's club
one is usually much larger!  But, we stocked up there
last week so we did not need to get a lot this week.

4.  Put together your grocery list.  

This is the hardest part for me.  I always forget something.  Try to group ingredients by departments for instance, produce, canned products, and frozen.  Also, don't be afraid to buy in bulk.  I am pretty sure all of my food recipes mention I bulk buy to save money at Sam's club.  Most things can be put in your freezer and defrosted later on.  

5. Keep your kitchen and freezer stocked.

My freezer currently has frozen ground turkey, chicken breasts, broccoli, cauliflower rice, pizza dough, homemade banana ice pops, home-made cookie dough and frozen fruit.  I have bulk amount of beans, lentils, pasta, rice, and almond milk.  I also always try to have sauces for stirfry, canned tomatoes for pasta sauce, and bullion cubes. 

Life is busy and unexpected.  Having enough options at home to make a few decent meals if I can't make it to the grocery store gives me a sense of ease.  The only thing is make sure it is organized and you can see what you have, so you do not forget it is there... we have all done that :)

My stocked pantry.  The only problem is that these cabinets are
above the stink and I cannot reach them without a stool :( 

6. Have fun and get started.

At first it may be daunting.  You do not need to meal prep a whole a week the first time you do this.  Try three dinners a week or a few lunches.  And, have fun!  Try new recipes.  Be proud of yourself for taking some control back over your eating and life.  And remember, I am here to help if you have any questions or concerns :)