Top 10 Tips I Follow to Help with Meal Planning

Sharing my top 10 tips I follow to help with meal planning. A skill that keeps me staying healthy & motivated during those busy weeks!

A well-thought-out weekly meal plan will not only save time and reduce stress, but also increase the quality of meals. Listed below are my top 10 tips on how to ease meal planning.

Start Small

Instead of meal planning for seven breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals to get through the week, can you plan for just a few meals and snacks? Eventually, you’ll determine which planning strategies work best within you and your family’s schedule. Continue to build off that strategy until you curate a meal planning method that works within your lifestyle.

Build Your Plate Around Protein

Focus on consuming enough protein within your meals by building your meal around a protein source. This is vital for a variety of reasons including hormone balance, building or maintaining muscle mass, and keeping you feeling full and satiated. Focus on adding a variety of both animal and plant proteins within your meals.

Make Enough for Leftovers

By making leftovers, you can easily prepare delicious home cooked meals to be consumed throughout the week. You may also freeze any extra leftovers to be consumed on a later date – I love freezing soups and chilis, especially to have in stock for cold & flu season.

Remember, it isn’t realistic to make a gourmet meal every night. Plan for quick meals you and your family enjoy. Are there leftovers or foods you can keep in your freezer for those nights you need a quick, delicious meal?

Don’t Forget About Snacks!

Snacks play an important role in a balanced diet. When choosing healthy snacks that are low in added sugars and high in nutrients, snacks provide a good source of energy to get through the day. Check out these snack ideas you can prepare at home or purchase at the store.

Get the Family Involved

What are some of you and your family’s favorite recipes? Can you incorporate several of these throughout your week? What new recipes would you and your family like to try?

Organize Your Kitchen

Organize by theme: snacks, baking supplies, pantry staples, drinks, condiments, dressings, spices, miscellaneous – this makes it easier to quickly see what you have. Then keep your kitchen stocked by using a grocery list to keep track of ingredients you’ll need to purchase.

Invest in Quality Storage

Purchasing quality storage containers are a great way to keep your pantry, fridge and freezer organized. This will help to easily see what you have stocked, which may also prevent food waste. I love using glass containers to store leftovers, and bins to keep all our snacks organized in our pantry.

Make it Fun!

Meal planning can be an exciting way to learn about new foods and cultural cuisines. What new recipes do you and your family want to try? Can you plan themed meals such as Taco Tuesday, Italian night, or an outdoor BBQ?

Keep Track of Your Favorite Recipes

If you find a recipe you like, be sure to take note! I love keeping track of all our favorite recipes on my blog and Pinterest. I tend to repeat favorited recipes every week or two to save time in both the planning and preparing processes.

Know Your Weekly Schedule

What does your week look like? Will you be traveling? Do you have celebrations or events planned that may require going out to eat? Knowing your schedule will make it easier to understand how much time you’ll have to prepare your meals and how many meals are needed each week. If traveling, be sure to use these tips when going out to eat.

I hope you enjoyed my top 10 tips I follow to help with meal planning! 😊