If you've ever gotten home from work and realized you have no idea what to eat for dinner and have nothing in your fridge...this is for you!
(And side note, 53% of dinners are planned within an hour of eating...so you aren't alone!)
One of the biggest hurdles to eating a healthy diet is planning ahead.
Eating healthy isn't complicated, but you do have to do a bit of planning.
I'm going to break it down into 3 easy steps so that you can finally tackle meal planning and feel confident in the process.
Because guess what! It's a lot simpler than you think!
1. Find Recipes
The first step is actually finding recipes you love and or want to try! I suggest finding at least 30.
You can do more or less, but 30 recipes allow you to have some variety so you aren't eating the same thing over and over again.
So, how do you find these 30 recipes?
First, think about what you typically eat right now and write those down. For me, I eat some version of tacos pretty much every week! It could be chicken tacos, fajitas, or even beef tacos.
Next, it's time to find more recipes! This is the fun part! I'm sure you have a Pinterest board full of yummy ideas. Go through that and pick the ones that look good to you.
I also get a ton of recipes from Instagram and Tiktok. I've started a folder on each app labeled "Recipes" so that I can easily find them again.
As you are finding these recipes you'll want to have a variety! Variety in genre, timing, and how it is prepared.
Genre: Mexican, Italian, American, Japanese, etc.
Timing: How long does it take to make? Most of my recipes are under 30 minutes, but I do have a few that I make on weekends that take more time.
Prepared: You'll want to have some that are crock pot (for those days when you have no time), baking in the oven, or even cooking on the stove.
Reminder: you don't have to find all 30 recipes at once! Give yourself some time and remember it's one step at a time!
2. Get Organized
Now that you have your list of 30 recipes, it's time to organize them!
I know we all have Pinterest boards filled with hundreds of recipes! But when you are trying to plan out what you will make, it can be overwhelming to go through that many recipes.
You want to ask yourself how you like to stay organized.
I have one client that likes to print out her recipes and keep them all in a binder. She knows exactly where that binder lives and doesn't have to scroll through the backstory of each recipe when she's ready to cook!
Another client uses google sheets! She has the name of each recipe, the link to the recipe, and notes.
(If you are someone who likes to use google sheets, I have a template for you to use! Plus it already has 5 recipes, so all you need is 25 more! Here's the link to get access!)
If those both seem like too much work, maybe it's creating a note on your phone where you list the different recipe ideas.
Pick what works best for you!
3. Pick Your Days
Now that you have your recipes and are organized it's time to ask yourself two more questions.
How many times a week do you want to cook?
Think about your schedule on a general week, when do you have scheduled events or conflicts that you don't have time to cook (and would rather eat leftovers or go out to eat)?
For example, right now my husband has baseball games on Monday nights and I help out at church on Tuesday nights.
I know that I would rather cook a big meal on Sunday than cook on Monday and Tuesday nights, so I plan to cook on Sundays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
How often do you want to go to the grocery store?
Do you want to go once a week? Once every two weeks? Once a month?
Whatever you decide is great, but that lets you know how many meals you need to plan in between each time you go to the grocery store.
I typically go to the store once a week, so that means I need to plan for 3 dinner meals. If you want to go every two weeks and only cook 3 times, that means you just need to plan 6 dinner meals.
The next step is picking what day you want to go to the grocery store.
But you also need to already have your meals picked out and a grocery list created before you go to the store.
I recommend breaking these two events (planning your meals and going to the store) into two different days!
Pick your days and then write them down!
Remember that you are creating a new habit so be sure to put them in your planner, calendar, your phone, etc.
When we are creating a new habit, we need those reminders so that we actually do the thing.
Final Thoughts
Meal Planning doesn't have to be complicated!
All it takes is a little bit of prep work (and please don't try and do it all in one day), step by step, and you'll be ready to tackle meal planning.
Find your recipes, put them somewhere you can find them, and come up with a general plan for your week.
You got this!
Shaina Joyce
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