How to start meal planning

If you have never attempted to have a meal plan, it can seem extremely overwhelming. I am a big fan of the theory that small steps lead to big results, so I will break it down a little and give you some suggestions on how I got started. I was raised to eat “real” food (not processed) and to cook meals at home. If you don’t do that, adapt to what you normally do and try to add healthier home cooked choices as you progress. The important part is having a plan so you can save money, calories, and time.

The average person eats three meals and two snacks every single day. If you planned out every meal, that would be 35 meals/snacks per week per person. Yikes! No wonder the restaurant industry does so well, it seems so much easier to order from a menu and have everyone get exactly what they want right when they want it. But, with an hour or two of initial preparation, and 15 to 20 minutes a week, you can begin to change how you eat.

The first step to meal planning is figuring out what you (and your family) like to eat. The best way to figure this out is to ASK! Write all the meals on a piece of paper, making sure to include one or two meals that you can make in under 5 minutes for those days that you are running late.

Once you have a list of meals, its time to make the plan. I create a weekly plan for breakfast. At 6 am, it is easier for me to look at a piece of paper instead of rummaging around to figure out what I have on hand to eat. Most of the kids’ meals require little effort, so I let them pick what they are in the mood for, but you could use the menu plan for them as well.

Here is my current weekly plan, as an example:

Monday – cream of wheat/oatmeal with fruit

Tuesday – scrambled eggs, toast, fruit

Wednesday – waffle/pancake (frozen – I make extra on the weekends), fruit, eggs

Thursday – Yogurt with granola and fruit, hard-boiled egg

Friday – cereal with milk, banana, egg whites

Saturday – Migas with salsa

Sunday – Bacon, eggs, and waffles or pancakes, fruit

You can repeat the same process for lunch and dinner when you are ready. I also have a list of favorite healthy snacks that I keep nearby for those days when I can’t think of something to put together quickly. My breakfast and lunch menu don’t change much, so I keep a “pantry” list of all the ingredients I need to make those meals and snack foods. That way, when it’s time to go to the store, I can scan the list, add anything I am running low on or out of without having too much time thinking about it. For dinners, I plan out the meals on my calendar each week and add those ingredients to my grocery list. I like to add more variety to dinners since we eat them together and I try not to repeat anything each month, except for a few family favorites. We also eat out occasionally, but that is planned except for occasional emergency situations.

With less than a two hour time commitment, you could stop running on fumes in the morning, have lunch packed or planned out, and healthy snacks at your fingertips. The cries of “what’s for dinner, we’re hungry” may still happen, but instead of panic, you can calmly answer the question and move on to more important things. Are you ready to try it out?