The simple guide to eating healthy and saving money through meal planning
When you hear the word meal planning, do you instantly cringe? Thinking about the enormous endeavor of writing out the meals for every day. The task seems like a heavy weight, but I’m here to show you how easy meal planning can be. With a little time and energy, you’ll be saving money and eating healthy!
When I sit down to write out my meal plan for the week. I write my shopping list at the same time. Writing them together makes sure I have all the ingredients I’ll need for a dish. I also jot down where I found the recipe for quick reference when the time comes to cook. You can grab an easy shopping list and printable meal plan here.
1. Jot Down Your meals
The first task I undertake is coming up with the meals. i usually ask my husband if there is anything he is craving or wants to have in the coming 2 weeks. He’ll give me a few suggestions and I add them to my running list of meals. Then, I add a few meals that are easy and quick prep for those days you are running from activity to activity and a couple of crock pot meals that I can set and forget. These meals make eating healthy a breeze because everything is ready to go when you are hungry, to avoid those hangry stops at a fast food joint.
I usually write out a list of 10 meals for 2 weeks. This leaves a few days for left overs, like the nights I work a 12 hour shift and I won’t be eating dinner at home.
2. Plan all other meals and snacks
Next I write down ideas for breakfast and lunches. Typically, I grab the items the boys really like such as turkey and cheese, chicken nuggets and oatmeal. For the adults I make breakfast casseroles or hard boil eggs. I have an idea of breakfast items I can grab on the go or easily prep before work. The same for lunch and snacks. I jot down a list of healthy ideas for snacks and lunches. This makes healthy decisions easy when I am hungry and want something quickly.
3. Put it all together, meal planning
Once I have all my ideas written out I organize the list for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I leave the list on the fridge or our white board. That way my husband can see what meals are planned ahead. Then each day I’ll pick what to make for dinner off of the list, knowing we have all the ingredients and prepping is ready to go.
As i am jotting down ideas for meals, snacks, etc. I am adding those items to my shopping this. This ensures I won’t miss an ingredient or forget to pick something up. Then all there is to do is place the items in my cart at my favorite grocery pick up and load them into my car. Easy, Simple, healthy.
If meal planning isn’t your thing, but you want more consistency and healthy choices, you can try a meal prepping service like prep dish. They make your meal plan for you, based on your diet preferences and have the shopping list ready to go. All you have to do is shop and cook!
Do you meal plan? Let me know in the comments below.