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I’m linking up again for Wild Workout Wednesday, which is quickly becoming my favorite link-up. Be sure to visit Nicole’s blog and click around to get more health and fitness inspiration!
A huge component to a healthy lifestyle is effective planning. When I learned how to meal plan and prep effectively, everything clicked for me! With pre-portioned options waiting for me, I’m much less likely to make poor decisions. It also helps me spend less at the grocery store, because I’m not impulse buying or just throwing things in the cart willy nilly.
It took me quite some time to figure out how to meal plan. It started to get easier when I joined the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan. I suddenly had all of these amazing healthy recipes at my finger tips, along with a guide to what I should eat and when. Another fantastic feature of the TIU Plan is that I get lifetime updates for free. It is initially a large chunk of change, but in the long run, a fantastic value. I highly recommend it if you are feeling lost when it comes to your nutrition.
All right, let’s get to the fun part. This is a method I have tweaked throughout the years to fit our lifestyle. We are currently in a supremely busy and stressful season of life. Because of that, meal planning is basic and simple. However, it’s still very important to me, so I always take the time to do it.
1 // Get Organized
Each week, I sit down with my nutrition and fitness notebook (I’m using this one from Erin Condren right now), a list pad (I think mine is from Michaels), and my Tone It Up Nutrition Plan (and other resources). My nutrition and fitness notebook is literally just a spiral in which I write down my meals and workouts for the week. I break it down by listing M (which stands for MEAL) and the number or code out next to it. I eat three meals and two snacks a day, so I write M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5. It is so much easier for me to eat the same breakfast, lunch, and snacks every day, so I do! I cook dinner for my husband and myself about three times a week, so I list M5 three times.
I like to divide my list based on the sections of my store. I highly recommend doing this based on your store! This saves me time by keeping from running back and forth across the store because I wrote things down out of order, or scanning up and down my list when I’m on aisle and then forgetting something because I overlooked it. I haven’t found a printable grocery list that fits my needs, so I make my own by dividing my sections up into 1. Produce, 2. Meat/Dairy (this includes eggs), 3. Canned/Aisle (basically anything not on an outside aisle), and 4. Other (slow cooker liners, foil, paper plates, etc.).
2 // Plan It Out
Many of the Tone It Up editions include 6-8 week meal plans in which every meal is laid out for you. I loosely follow these guidelines for Meals 1-4. My sweet husband, as much as I love him, is not on the lean, clean, and green bandwagon most of the time. 🙂 He eats dairy, and lots of it, and likes 85/15 beef. I like 93/7, so we compromise by buying 90/10. :p He does not eat unhealthy, I just think his dietary requirements are different than mine. That said, my M5 selections are planned with him in mind. I eat dairy, pork, beef, and yes, sometimes starch at dinner!
I select our meals for the week based on a few things. 1. What we already have in our freezer/pantry, 2. What’s on sale at my store, and 3. What sounds good at the moment! As I’m deciding on meals, I write down every necessary ingredient in its category on my grocery list. When I’m finished, I’ll take stock of any staples we may be running low on and add those to the list as well.
BONUS HACK: I already told you I cook dinner about three times a week. Each of those nights has a “theme” to it to help make my life easier based on the week ahead. Mondays always suck and Wednesdays are my long days, so whatever is planned for those days will always be coded M5 Easy (a sheet pan or one pan dinner) or M5 CP (something I can quickly throw in the crock pot on my way out in the morning). The worst feeling in the world is coming home from a long day and having to stand in front of the stove for an hour, or resorting to ordering pizza because you just don’t want to!
I also like to plan for at least one super quick, no prep snack! For example, I might add larabars (our fave) to the list, or elect to have a hard boiled egg with a piece of fruit. And yes, I will buy pre-boiled eggs.
3 // Shop
I plan on Wednesdays and usually head to the store on Thursday or Friday and try my darnedest to stick to my list! Substitutions are made when necessary and I throw in new products I think we might like, but for the most part I only buy what’s on my list. Sometimes this drives my husband crazy because he thinks we don’t have any snacks in the house. 😉
That’s it. That’s how I meal plan! It’s simple, it’s mundane, but it gets the job done. Taking just a few minutes each week to put in the effort up front makes a huge difference in how my following week will go. At this point you may be asking yourself, “Ok, now what do you do with all that food?!” Well, come back next week for part two: How to Meal Prep Effectively, and I will gladly tell you how I get from plan to prep each week.
Other resources I use when meal planning include Lauren Gleisberg’s Eat Your Way Lean Plan, Tone It Up: 28 Days to Fit, Fierce, and Fabulous, Fixate, Mix-and-Match Meal Planner, Mix and Match Mama’s website, anything by Pioneer Woman, and of course, Pinterest!
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says
I have been working on getting better with meal planning it’s not easy! I can usually gt a few days worth until someone throws a wrench into it
jessica1407 says
It’s not always easy, for sure! I sat down to do mine yesterday and what should’ve taken 30 minutes, took twice that long. I find it’s something I just can’t sacrifice though!
Julie @ Running in a Skirt says
Such good tips! I swear by meal planning too. It makes all the difference.
jessica1407 says
It really does. Eating healthy got so much easier when I started creating a plan.
Patricia @sweet and strong says
Great tips. I don’t know what I would do without meal planning! And we also like to ‘theme’ certain days of the week. And I always make sure I have quick and easy meal on nights I have to work late. It’s all in the preparation!
jessica1407 says
You’re so right! My life changed when I figured out that little tip, haha. I would be lost without my slow cooker!
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets says
It’s very interesting for me to learn how others have successfully incorporated meal planning. This continues to be a struggle for me but I’m working on it! I like the way you organize your lists! I just get so overwhelmed trying to figure out what I want to make!
jessica1407 says
It can definitely be overwhelming sometimes! I get bogged down on always trying new recipes. I forget that I’ve had some really great ones in the past I can easily throw back into my rotation!
Kimberly G says
Thank you for these awesome tips. I’m just getting back into meal planning and sometimes I feel overwhelmed, but these tips are going to be so helpful
jessica1407 says
I’m so glad! It can definitely be overwhelming, but I find having a plan makes it so much easier!
Annmarie says
Confession: I am REALLY good about planning my workouts but not so much my meals. I tend to eat pretty healthy but it’s always the same thing every day 😛
jessica1407 says
I used to do that too! I think I ate chicken breast and broccoli for about three weeks straight at some point, haha.
Nicole @ Fitful Focus says
What a great plan! I usually make a BIG family-sized meal on Sunday night and my fiance and I have leftovers all week. I make simple grab-n-go breakfasts and snacks and always pack a salad for lunch to keep it simple.
jessica1407 says
I did that all the time when I was single! I can eat the exact same things for five days straight, but my husband likes s little bit more variety!
Amanda says
This definitely inspired some new ideas. I have had a rocky, mostly unsuccessful relationship with meal planning culminating in many nights of Thai food takeout. Thanks for keeping it so simple and achievable!
jessica1407 says
So glad I could help a little bit! I won’t lie and say there are some nights it ends up like that for us too, but this helps to keep that from happening all the time.