Are you meal planning week by week?
If so, I bet you find that it helps keep your brain organized and your stress levels down. And I’m guessing that really, it helps keep your sanity in check.
If you don’t plan your meals out, do you find that you spend way too much time in the kitchen, staring at your fridge contents, wondering what the eff to cook? On the one hand, you want it to be something healthy but on the other, it’s gotta be fast and really, you just need to get something on the table (and in your bellies). Stat. So then you feel (slightly) guilty and vow to try harder the next day. And when the next day comes… it’s the same story. I mean, why wouldn’t it be if you didn’t take steps to change it?
I don’t mean to brag, but I’m guessing that I’m correct with both scenarios.
And given the choice, wouldn’t you rather be a part of that first camp? The one where you’re in charge, you own your day, and your time in the kitchen is a breeze?
Thought so.
That’s why it’s so freakin important to plans out your meals weekly. But get this: you don’t actually have to plan out every meal. Heck no! In fact, Miguel and I only plan out our weekday dinners. And we include leftovers, right there on our plan. Because that’s realistic, and that’s how we roll. How easy is that?!
So really, when it comes down to it, we only plan to cook 2-3 nights during the week, assuming that we’ll have leftovers the other nights.
For example, here’s our meal planning schedule for this week:
Monday – steak, green beans, caesar salad (make extra bacon and wash extra lettuce)
Tuesday – salmon, Brussels sprouts, Greek salad (chop extra salad veggies and wash extra lettuce)
Wednesday – Monday’s leftovers
Thursday – Tuesday’s leftovers
Friday – slow cooker chicken and veggies, mixed salad
So, we know we’re going to be cooking on Monday and Tuesday, but then we have a break for two days (notice that we plan to prep a bit extra while we’re cooking so we have the salad stuff ready to go), and then our slow cooker is great for Fridays because we do a bit of prep in the morning and BAM – dinner on the table that evening.
Sometimes we’ll cook every other day instead.
So for example, on Tuesday we’ll have Monday’s leftovers, then cook on Wednesday, and have those leftovers the next day. Either way, win, win, win!
Friends, cooking (and meal planning) does not have to be hard! In fact, it should be easy and take so much stress off your plate that you can’t imagine not doing it every week.
Now when it comes to what to actually write on your meal plan (as in, which foods to be eating on the regular), I’d encourage you to keep that easy, too. Start with your protein (meat, fish, eggs, legumes), add a side vegetable, and ideally, add a salad too. We don’t always have one, and we also don’t always have a side vegetable (sometimes it’s just protein + salad OR protein + veg), and you should know that that is all good. But, when you can have all three, well my friend, that is the winning combination.
It’ll satisfy you, help to keep your blood sugar steady, feed and nourish your cells, give you energy… and it’ll taste damn good, too. And don’t forget the fat! This is where you’re adding butter (or coconut oil) to your cooked veggies, and where you’re pouring on that homemade salad dressing that you made with beautiful olive oil.
And what about creativity?
Well, I think you’re gonna like this answer too. You don’t need it! Simply decide which protein you want, then google some recipes. Do the same for the veg and salad. And, for the veg, often all you need is to steam, sauté or roast, then add butter and sea salt. YUM!
I hope you see how easy (and fun) meal planning can be… and how much stress it takes off your plate. ‘Cause ain’t nobody got time for that.
Leave a comment below and let me know… do you meal plan on the regular? Got any tips to share?
Could you use more energy, mama? I mean, who couldn’t, right? Get my free New Mama Energy Guide, where I’ll give you 10 tips to increase your energy stat. Go to bit.ly/newmamas to get your free copy.
Laura Lima CNP, RNCP
Laura is a holistic nutritionist, stay-at-home mompreneur, wife to Hamilton Realtor, Miguel Lima, and mama to Cutest Babies Ever, Ellie and Maggie. (Ha.) She loves teaching women that focusing on real foods can help them feel fantastic and have more energy so they can take on the many calls of mamahood (and life in general). She spends much of her time in her free Facebook group where she teaches how to do just that. Are you a new(ish) mama? She’d love for you to join her there.