How to meal plan (quick and easy)

Meal planning, for some, is about as exciting as, washing dishes, taking out the trash, or paying bills. I know because I’ve been there.  It’s a chore.  However, when done right, it can be a quick half hour task that turns your week of, “I don’t know what I’m cooking” to “I know exactly what’s on the menu down to the dressing”. 

 

How do I do that, you’ll ask. 

For me, it is an ever evolving process.  When I started, I searched and searched for the perfect meal planning template.  That alone took me forever. (I don’t know why I thought that if I find that, my problem would be solved…. Silly me).  Along the way, I found many sites that provide meal plans, some free, some at a monthly fee.  I didn’t like any of them because it all seemed like someone else’s dinner that I would never make. It used ingredients I didn’t have, or spices I didn’t know, or the meals were so involved and tedious that I gave up after reading the ingredients! In addition, I was also starting to look for Clean Eating recipes so any old blog wouldn’t do.  Frustrating!!

As I continued my search, I also had to continue making dinners at home… yep…. People get hungry… And as I did that, I realized that I already do a form of meal planning. Maybe it wasn’t as creative or structured as the ones on the blogs I found but if I could just tweek mine a bit I would be good. 

Here’s what I came up with and what I hope helps you.

  I   

• I found the most simple meal planning template I could find.  It breaks down the meals into 6 meals: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack.  I also incorporate my daily work out at the top of the template. 

• Before I write up my meal plan, I go through everything in my fridge. From the top draw where the eggs are, to the bottom, where all my veggies are.  I check to make sure that nothing has spoiled, nothing is growing mold.

•  As I clean out my fridge, I make a mental note on all the things that I have and don’t have in my fridge. Things that you can usually find in my fridge (depending on the season and sales)

a.    Milk or almond milk

b.    Plain yogurt (2% or 0%)

c.    Hummus cups or just a regular container of hummus

d.    Vegetables ( baby carrots, peppers, radishes, cucumbers, lettuce, mushrooms)

e.    Fruit – apples, mango, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries

•   I do the same thing for my freezer. If I think I can get away with not having to buy meat for that week, I don’t. I usually buy in bulk, portion it out and freeze extra. If I need to go buy groceries, I write out a list and get  what I need for that week, plus anything that’s on sale and can be frozen. 

• Once I have an idea what’s in my fridge, I can start making my meal plan with what I have.  Because I have done this for a little while now, I already know what my snacks will be so I mainly focus on the dinners.

• I usually shop on Sunday, which gives me time to shop, and then prep as soon as I come home from the store.

• I have a few magazines that I like to browse through for ideas. It’s a good idea to invest in a few just to have that resource. 

• Meals – for lunches, I usually do a salad with chicken which I prep on Sunday by grilling or baking it, lettuce, baby carrots, peppers, etc.

• Dinners – I try to prep in advance, so if I can get a tomato sauce ready or veggies cut up for the week, I do that right away.  It saves me time during the week. I am a BIG fan of slow cookers, so on Sunday, after I prep, I usually start a slow cooker meal, which will last well into Wednesday. If necessary, I will cook extra veggies or sides as the week goes on.

• My snacks are usually the same throughout the week. They are NOT to fill me up like dinner, but to keep me going until the next meal. Usually an apple and almonds will do or yogurt with fruit.

Here's an example of a meal plan: 

Other thoughts about meal planning...
Depending on what workout program I am doing, I like to follow the meal plan that is included with the program.  Sometimes, I follow it to a "t", other times I tweak it. It helps me because it is all spelled out to me along with the recipes. So if I'm doing T25, I may follow that plan. When I was doing The 21 Day Fix I would follow the meal plan and recipes from there. 

I hope this helps. 
How do you mean plan? What are your tricks to a quick meal plan?