What you need to know...
Pick a day of the week to plan, shop and prep
These don't need to be the same day, but each step of the process takes at least an hour. Beginner meal planners can expect all these steps to take between 3-4 hours.
Pick a primary ingredient
Make a weekly schedule
Assess how each week goes
Look at your households entire schedule and plan accordingly around what meals you typically eat. If you have certain meals (like taco Tuesday) that are staples, plan your preps around these.
Choose something you like to eat! Many factors can come into play when choosing this, including cost and access. Plan what works for you then come up with two ways you can use it.
Starting off, you might waste some meal preps and that's ok. It takes time to see how much you will eat and what recipes you prefer. Don't get discouraged, assess what worked and didn't and plan for the next week.
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Step 1: look at your weekly schedule
A lot can happen in a week. Often we don't spend enough time adequately anticipating what is on the agenda for the upcoming week. Use a calendar! Write down any events that will be taking place during key meal times which could impact your ability to make a meal at that time.
Also consider your daily bandwidth or motivation level. Often we have days that are 'busier' than others (I never feel like making dinner on Tuesdays because I have a full day of meetings). Knowing this and planning to not craft a gourmet meal on that day can be helpful for managing your stress and mental health.
Take some time to write down your weekly activities, including meetings, appointments, and any planned events. This will help you visualize the busy days when preparing meals may not be feasible.
Understanding your schedule allows you to pinpoint days when you have more free time to dedicate towards meal cooking and preparation. For instance, if you often work late on Tuesdays or have a family gathering on Sundays, it makes sense to avoid extensive meal prep on those days. Instead, consider designating quieter days such as Saturdays or Sundays for batch cooking, which can be an efficient way to ensure you have nutritious meals throughout the week.
Are there days when you require more substantial meals due to extensive activities, or do you lean towards lighter meals on certain days? Identifying these patterns can significantly contribute to constructing a meal plan that not only fits your schedule but also aligns with your energy needs. By understanding which days require quick meals and when you can afford more elaborate preparations, you can tailor your meal plan in a way that accommodates your lifestyle.
Step 2: decide when to plan, shop and prep
After getting an idea of what your weekly commitments and needs for meal planning looks like, layer in the times that you can focus on choosing the meals you will prep, when you will shop and when you will make your meals.
This is often a step that is overlooked and under-resourced. Each part of this planning process takes at least one hour. When can you do it during your week? Are you able to do it all at once? Do you need to set aside time on different days to accomplish this? These are questions you need to consider when making this a goal.
Here is an example of a weekly plan to accomplish all these steps.
Saturday AM (10:00-11:00am): Assess schedule for upcoming week and plan meals to prep. Write grocery list of items needed to prep meals.
Sunday PM (3:00-5:00pm): Shop for groceries for upcoming week and prep lunches and snacks for upcoming week while making Sunday dinner.
Everybody's schedule is different. You may be able to do everything at once. Allowing for adequate time especially when starting to meal plan will help you be successful in doing it. Allot for at least 3-4 hours for all preplanning activities.
Step 3: start planning 1-2 meals per week
Everyone plans their meals with different goals in mind. The main areas I've seen people craft their meal plans around includes dietary preferences and budget. If you are limited to certain foods, this will greatly impact what you can buy and prep. If you are trying to stick to a budget consider looking at sales and discounts when compiling your shopping list. Planning your meals around seasonal produce or items on sale allows for cost-effective grocery shopping.
Picking a staple ingredient to build your menus around (like eggs or ground turkey) can also help you find variety in your menu while sticking to a budget. By focusing on a single item and building around it you can overlap what you buy and not get burnt out from eating the same food every day.
The biggest mistake I see people trying to meal plan do is doing too much without adequate planning. Start small, plan 1-2 meals and 1-2 snacks per week to plan. Overlap ingredients to save money and time. If you don't know where to start check out some of our sample weekly meal plans.
Step 4: assess how your weekly plan goes
We can always learn from what goes well and what doesn't. Even if your initial meal plan sounds like it's foolproof, you may see that it doesn't work the way you anticipated, and that's fine. See what worked and what didn't and adjust for the next week. Use your assessing of the previous week as part of your plan for the next week and adapt accordingly.
