This Idiot's Guide to Meal Planning
I’m walking you through how I started a basic meal planning system.
When I have the energy, I’m trying to do a better job of planning out our family’s food for the week. I’m typically the person that goes to the grocery store without a list, as if I’m a chef strolling through the farmers market with a vast knowledge of what’s in season and flavor profiles, concocting recipes in my head. Ha. Not me. We end up wasting a lot of food and it makes me feel terrible, but it also usually results in our kids eating ‘kid meals’ like frozen mini pizzas or Mac n cheese 5 nights a week. No shade, but I want to make sure we eat real, unprocessed food for the majority of our meals so I’m attempting to step up my game. For context, I’d say our overall family style is very much about balance and moderation. On the health spectrum we’d probably sit right in the middle. Our love for cheeseburgers, pizza and greasy Chinese food is what compels me to occasionally make healthier meals at home.
One of my goals this year is to actually put some thought into what we eat vs winging it 20 minutes before we’re supposed to sit down every night (hence the frozen pizzas. God bless the air fryer, right?!). We are a very food obsessed household so it just feels better to eat good tasting, filling food. I am constantly thinking about my next bite and am a compulsive cookbook purchaser and avid cookbook flipper-througher. No, this is not a word and I know that but it would feel disingenuous to say I’m an avid cookbook reader as that implies I actually read the recipes. I don’t. I look at the pretty pictures and flag things that look appetizing.
All of this is to say that I’m now attempting to put together some semblance of a meal plan for the week ahead. Whenever I buy a cookbook, I’ll flip through and take little sticky tabs and flag the recipes that I not only think look good but also think there’s a chance in hell that the rest of the family might eat it. When I’m ready to meal plan for the week, I start by picking a few cookbooks and then looking at the tabbed pages. When something tickles my fancy, I’ll add it to my list, which I jot down on my legal notepad that I got a massive package of at Costco (still waiting on that sponsorship, Costco!). I make my list in sections by which cookbook and also write down the page number to create an easy guide for myself.
Once I have a good sense of the week, I’ll create a second list (mama loves a list) that shows me everything I need to pick up at the grocery store. If I were an actual type A I’d probably craft my list by grocery store section, but alas, I’m just a type A-.
I’ll base what we cook when on how long something can last in our fridge. For example, this week I picked up some shrimp for shrimp scampi and some sausages for an orecchiette (wow that’s not how I thought that word is spelled) with sausage and rapini. Old shrimp terrifies me so that was the first meal on the agenda, while the sausage and chill for a bit.
And there you have it. My absolute novice version of meal planning our dinners. Is it a perfect system? No. But is it a major upgrade from my previous system of not having a system? You bet.
And now, here are a few of my favorite cookbooks with some brief notes recapping them.
Downshiftology Health Meal Prep: I have been turning to this book frequently because everything’s healthy, makes large portions, and is pretty simple and straightforward with no obscure ingredients.
Mostly Veggies: Similar in concept to the Downshiftology book, these are healthy, veggie heavy dishes with generous portion sizes that work well as leftovers.
Snacking Cakes: Not for dinner (I mean, you do you) but it’s nice to have a little cake situation hanging around the house as a dessert, breakfast or snack. I’ve been making the almond butter banana cake but swapping in PB and adding chocolate chips. Yum.
Truly Simple: This one took me a little courage to share in the list for obvious reasons but it’s actually a pretty good cookbook. Only thing to consider is portion size and making sure you double if necessary.
That’s enough for now!
xW