Mel’s Meal Planning 101 and Time-Saving Tips

Save time, eat well, find your groove & feel incredible – you can do it!

Let me guess…You are too busy to eat healthy. In a culture where we pride ourselves on being occupied (or claiming to be) every single minute of the day, we parade around our tiredness like a medal. Whoever sounds, looks, appears the most tired wins!

But what are you winning? Cooking a healthy meal takes effort. Does this evening routine sound familiar to you: Dinner time is approaching quickly, and you’re already hungry. Within the next 30 minutes your stomach (and, for many of us including myself, tiny humans) will be screaming at you. You open the fridge and pantry and your eyes glaze over…brain fog sets in…you come up with…nothing. Nothing! Going to the grocery store right now is out of the question. Whipping up dinner from scratch on the stove? Nope. Not. A. Chance.

What do you do?

Grab takeout? Settle for a pre-packaged freezer/box meal? If either of these options seems like the “best” option, most nights your meals aren’t nourishing your body. After you eat takeout or pre-packaged freezer food, you’re likely feeling even MORE tired (not to mention bloated), and you probably don’t have any leftovers for tomorrow (and the vicious cycle continues).

For most of us, a healthy lifestyle isn’t about knowing WHAT to eat, it’s actually doing it and having it ready when we need it. We all know veggies are healthy and we should eat more of them. But the process of selecting vegetables to purchase and actually using them in a tasty recipe? Well, that’s the hard part. And let’s be real, it requires your time and effort.

What’s the answer? Meal planning. You knew I was going to say it (or maybe you thought I’d just say “meal prep,” which is also an important part of this process)!

Here are my three SIMPLE meal planning tips and steps to help you start implementing meal planning into your routine this week:

1. Plan Ahead

(As in, farther than tonight. And, yes, even farther than tomorrow.)

One of my favorite quotes comes from Will Durant, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” New habits don’t just happen, we have to plan for them accordingly. When we plan, we create motivation because we make progress and see results.

Plans → Progress = Motivation → Results

The average American spends almost 40 minutes EACH day meal prepping and cleaning the kitchen after a meal (= 4.3 hours per week). By planning to meal prep you can cut these hours in half. How would you like to have 2+ extra hours in your week? Make your time and effort work for (not against) you! My kitchen motto is: Cook once, eat twice. Use productivity and time management tools to block time for non-negotiables. I consider meal planning one of those non-negotiables. How we fuel our bodies controls so many other things for the week — how we feel, how we act and react, our overall health both mentally and physically (the list goes on).

So, start out by picking one day a week, with 30 minutes* to devote to planning meals. For most, a weekend day might be easiest — but it can be ANY day that works for you. All you need is 30 minutes* to brainstorm it all out. Personally, I sit down each week and think about:

• 1-2 easy, make-ahead breakfasts,
• 2 snacks, and
• 3-4 interchangeable entrees that can work as lunch or dinner

This outline works nicely for me, allowing room to incorporate one or two meals out (if that’s part of your plan), and keeps my grocery list and time in the kitchen manageable. Again, this is all about what works for you, so consider your needs for the week – and realize this may change from week to week, too!

Note

*If 30 minutes seems overwhelming just for “meal planning,” or if you’re trying it out for the first time and aren’t feeling like you’re prepared, consider a program with ready-made grocery lists, recipes and/or batch cooking plans all laid out for you. If you’re interested, I offer all of these options with my nutrition services!

2. Shop with Direction

By following step No. 1 and planning your meals, now you can shop smarter. Review your recipes and think through your meals; make your shopping list, and stick to it. As you do this, consider anything you may need to use up in your fridge, pantry and, yes, even your freezer — this is big for me, and it’s an important step to prevent wasted food!

Part of my planning process is to select recipes knowing what I already have, making my shopping list based off my existing inventory. When you make your list, organization is key. I like to divide mine into the following categories (generally following the layout of many grocery stores), which helps cut down on my time in the store while sticking to my list:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables
• Breads
• Specialty cold foods (smoked fish, salami, hummus, etc.)
• Nuts/seeds & spices
• Condiments & oils
• Boxed & canned foods
• Baking needs
• Cold (meat, dairy, etc.)
• Frozen (vegetables, fruit, etc.)

3. Batch Cook

There are 148 hours in your week. Now that you’ve dedicated 30 minutes to plan your menu and done your grocery shopping, I recommend you set aside 2 hours (give or take) for your Batch Cooking Day.

List out the items you want/need to cook for the week. What can be made ahead of time? Start with items that need to be cooked longer, and at higher temperatures. Consider foods that require similar cooking temperatures and put them in the oven at the same time; for example, I like to roast vegetables for the week (think diced sweet potatoes, sliced beets, chickpeas, etc.) while I simultaneously cook protein (think baked chicken). Once you have those foods in the oven, move on to things that do not need cooking (such as chopped raw veggies for salads, homemade dressings, sauces, etc.).

Keep in mind…

You don’t need to have it ALL prepped and cooked for the whole week on your Batch Cooking Day. Your cooked food items should be consumed within 3-4 days, so you don’t need enough chicken to last you 7 days; but perhaps 7 meals, especially if you’re incorporating it into lunch and dinner. Think of this day as knocking out the hard stuff, and getting the bulk of the prep work done (i.e., washing and chopping fresh produce, cooking grains, etc.).

Meal preparation takes time and practice. Each week you’ll start thinking ahead and it will become your routine; you’ll find your brain re-working an entree for tomorrow into lunch for the next day, and so on, with less effort as the weeks go on.

When I work with my clients, I always say, “Start out small!” Pick ONE meal to start with, if that helps make it manageable. Maybe you want to start out with a new muffin recipe, for grab’n go breakfast for the week. As you prep more, you will get better at it; you’ll do it faster and be more efficient — pretty soon you won’t know what to do with those extra hours on your hands each week!

Mel’s Meal Planning and Time Saving Tips:

• Invest in a good set of tupperware containers (I personally like the glass ones); use these to store prepped food/meals for safe and easy reheating.
• Always pack lunch the night before (or meal prep for several days in advance!).
• Purchasing frozen fruits & vegetables, and/or pre-prepped/pre-chopped product can be a big time saver.
• For breakfast, a batch of make-ahead oatmeal bake or muffins are great for the week.
• When making smoothies,I prep ingredients on my Batch Cooking Day, toss them in individual ziplocks/containers in the freezer and then add to a blender with liquid (almond milk, juice, etc.) when I want one for breakfast or a snack.
• For easy snacks, I like having a box of healthy protein bars from my local health foods store on hand, along with easy combos like baby carrots & hummus, apple & nut butter, etc.
• Plan to alternate your meals and leftovers so you don’t get tired of the same dish.
• Double up on a recipe so you have leftovers.
• Consider if ordering food online with grocery pick-ups, or food delivery, is a good option for you.

Here is a suggested chart for alternating your meals. Use my free download to fill in your own variation.

Takeaway

Let’s sum it all up: Meal plans can…

• Save you money & waste less food,
• Give you more time each week,
• Help you nourish your body so you feel better, and
• Most importantly, it lets you spend more time doing the things you love with the people you love!

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I wanted to close out by stressing that your meal plan must work for YOU- choose days and times to shop and cook that fit your schedule (those days may change, but make your time work for you!) Starting a meal plan will hopefully be the best habit you form in 2019. If you need help getting started, please reach out to me. Post specific questions you have about meal planning here on this blog post. For more meal planning tips and inspiration, as well as my best nutrition tips, follow along on my Instagram. I’ll also be looking for you to share your favorite recipes for meal prepping coming soon.