5 Steps to an Easy & Sustainable Meal Planning Process

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I use to struggle with healthy meal planning for my family. I would buy a fitness magazine, rip out their ‘simple’ two-week meal plan. Go to the grocery store, buy all the ingredients, then realize my family didn’t like salmon or I didn’t even like it. I wouldn’t even get through the first week and I found myself ‘failing’. What I didn’t realize is that I was trying to fit my busy life into the box of healthy meal planning instead of fitting healthy meal planning into my busy life.

After a bit of trial and error, I created a simple 5 step plan for my family’s meal planning.

I use this method every single week and I find our family to be significantly more organized, proactive for our week and no longer running around like a mouse on a wheel reacting to the events of the week!

I have simplified the process for you, so you can also make this fit into your busy family’s lifestyle!

5 Simple Steps to Meal Planning:

  1. List of 10 – sit down and write down a list of 8-12 meals you have as a family. Start where you are at. What are you currently eating? Which meals the whole family enjoys? Write down your meals first and then you can look at them and find ways to make them healthier.
  2. Take Inventory – what is in your cupboards, fridge, and freezer? When you know what you have, you know what you have to work with. This will also help when you are ready to make your grocery list.
  3. Plan your MUST DOs. On a white board or agenda, mark down everything you have to do for the week. Kids have sports or you have a hair appointment, write it down so you know what you are dealing with.
  4. Plan your meals- Repeat after me, MEAL PLANNING IS SIMPLE AND EASY! We tend to over-complicate things. Grab your list of 10 and input them into the days of the week…keeping in mind you want to make the most simple meals on your busiest nights and don’t forget to include a leftover night or even a treat meal 🙂
  5. Make your lists – grocery list and to dos. Once you have your meals written down, create your grocery list…what do you need to pick up? Your to dos are going to include any of your prep activities – do you have to boil eggs, chop veggies, cook rice or chicken. Write it all down and work from that list!