Weekly Meal Planning and Prepping Tips

Tired of trying to figure out what to make for dinner every night? Need new healthy dinner ideas that the whole family will enjoy? I’m giving you my top tips for meal planning and prepping that will make your life easier.

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The biggest benefits of meal planning are that it makes it much easier to go grocery shopping and you won’t go crazy deciding what to make for dinner every night. All it takes is about 30 minutes to plan out your meals for the week.

Meal planning is especially important for those on a weight loss journey and food budget but I recommend it for anyone who has a busy schedule. It's so much easier to stick to your goals and spend more time with your family or doing other things you enjoy when you have meal ideas planned.

Weekly Meal Planning

How to Plan Your Weekly Menu

• Cater to your cravings. Is there anything that you’ve been wanting to make or eat? Is there a particular cuisine you’ve been craving? If so, plan to make something that helps you beat this craving. The worst is making something and wishing you were eating something completely different. You want and should be able to enjoy the food you eat. Otherwise, you may binge on something you wish you hadn't. Find ways to incorporate your favorite recipes into your week!
• Check your fridge and pantry. Do you have any food left over from last week that needs to be used? Do you have an overflow of rice in your pantry or chicken that’s been in the freezer for a few weeks? If so, utilize things you already have before buying more and adding to your stash. This helps with the organization and also can save you a little money! It also leads to less food waste.
• Find inspiration. Check Pinterest, food blogs, Instagram, Facebook, etc. and see what new recipes catch your eye if you’re lacking inspiration. You don't have to follow these recipes exactly but they may help spark your brain.
• Look out for sales and coupons! Most large grocery store chains have a weekly sales flyer and clipable coupons on their websites or apps. Make sure you are signed up for the free rewards programs and check out the good deals every week. If chicken thighs are on sale, find a recipe to make with these for example.

How to Make Your Grocery List

After all of the above, you should have at least a few meals in mind. From here, start creating your shopping list.

• Don’t assume you have something without checking first. It can be easy to run out of things such as onions, spices, salt or olive oil but we don't often think to check before making our lists. Always check to see if your staple ingredients are stocked.
• Organize your grocery list by department in the store and the direction in which you walk. If you know the layout of the store you’re going to, create your list so the department at the entrance (usually produce) is at the top of your list. It will make for a much easier and faster shopping trip! I like to organize my list by produce, meat, pantry staples, frozen foods, dairy and household items.
• Include quantities when making your list. This will prevent you from buying too much or not enough.
• Try to stick to your list as much as possible to help your grocery budget.

Free Weekly Meal Plan

To get started, grab a free weekly meal plan plus a grocery list here! And stay tuned because every Sunday, I send a new meal plan and list to your email inbox.

Meal Prepping

I’m not a huge fan of meal prepping because I only want to reheat my food when I'm eating leftovers at lunch the next day. I prefer to cook my dinner and eat it the same day. But it can be beneficial and will add extra time to your busy days if you meal prep, so occasionally I will chop vegetables or portion out proteins for the week. Hopefully, in your weekly meal planning, you decided on meals that are not too challenging or require too many steps. This will just add extra unnecessary work and stress.

How do I start meal prepping?

• Start with what you know first. For example, if you plan to hard boil eggs for the week, start that first because it’s simple and something you probably already know how to do. Then, move on to the more difficult or new recipes.
• Use one appliance at a time. If you need the oven for 3 recipes, preheat and get started on those first. Then, move on to others such as the air-fryer, stovetop, slow cookers or pressure cookers.
• Something as simple as chopping the veggies you will use during the week and marinating proteins is also considered meal prep. You don’t need to cook anything for it to be considered prepping. Even this will save you time later in the week.
• If you are able, I suggest leaving things such as steaming vegetables or cooking rice until the day/night of. This will make the meal taste better and fresher.

Healthy Lifestyle Tips

I’m going to share with you my favorite tips and hacks for not only eating healthy meals but also for ways to reduce the amount of time you spend thinking about your meals and cooking. These tips are meant to be practical and easy for the normal, crazy and busy lifestyles most people live.

• My #1 tip is to eat as many whole, real foods made from plants as you can, rather than foods made in a plant. Increase the number of vegetables and fruits you have in a day and decrease the amount of prepackaged grab-and-go foods you eat. You can just as easily pick up an apple or banana as you can a bag of chips or a candy bar. I promise this will make a huge difference in your health, the way you feel, your energy levels, your skin, your happiness, etc. It’s the easiest thing you can do!
• Try to eat veggies at least 3 times per day. I always have veggies with lunch and dinner and then try to include them in my breakfast or one of my snacks. Smoothies, soups, sauces, stir frys and egg scrambles/omelets are some of the easiest ways to sneak extra veggies in!
• Check ingredient labels: buy products with clean ingredients or make your own at home. Be wary of marketing on food products.
  • Avoid unnecessary added sugars- a lot of sauces and dressings are made with added sugars that you don’t need.
  • Fat-free or sugar-free typically means they added some artificial ingredients to maintain flavor. It is sometimes better in these instances to go for the full-fat offering or products with added sugar as they can have more real food ingredients in them.