Top 5 Tips For Meal Planning

Today I want to talk about meal planning and prepping since this is an area so many of my clients struggle with. It’s next to impossible to eat healthy and stay on track with your health goals if you don’t have at least some idea of how you’re going to get there. I often ask my clients if there was one thing I could provide to help them reach their goals what would it be? Can you guess what the most common response is? A MEAL PLAN!

Although my clients think they want me to tell them exactly what to eat all week, no one actually wants to be told what to eat every day of the week. Heck, I barely know what I want to feed myself all week! So instead of providing my clients with a detailed meal plan, I give them the tools they need to create their own meal plans which empowers them to take the biggest step in the right direction towards their goals. The sooner you are on track with both PLANNING and PREPPING your meals for the week, the sooner you will start to create lasting habits. One of the biggest reasons this is such an important habit to get into, is because without planning for the week you’re forced to make these decisions when you’re either way too tired, or way too hungry to be making proper food choices. However if you’re tired after work and know you have a chili in the crockpot waiting for you when you get home you won’t be tempted to stop and grab a pizza. Likewise, if you’ve made the effort to prepare smoothie bags for the week, you won’t grab a muffin with your coffee on your way to work for breakfast. Ok so you get the point, now how do you go about knowing what to put in your meal plan for the week. I’ve put together five tips for meal planning and prepping for the week, and some awesome resources you can use to find delicious recipes.

1) LOOK AHEAD

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If you know you have a crazy busy week ahead and you know you won’t have time to make a meal in the evening on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for example, plan to have meals prepped and ready to go in the freezer or plan for a crockpot meal for those nights. Here are a few of my favourite meals to make ahead: Chicken Fingers Minestrone Soup Mini Meatloaf

2) STAY INSPIRED

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If you’re tired of eating the same old things week after week, or if you’re simply unsure of what a healthy meal should look like, get inspired by buying a new cookbook, or searching around Pinterest for new recipe ideas. There are also a ton of great blogs out there with oodles of delicious recipes. Here are a few of my favourite places to find delicious recipes: Joyous Health  Against All Grain Meghan Telpner My Pinterest Page!

3) START WITH DINNER

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Since it can be really overwhelming to think of what you’re going to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for all 7 days of the week, I’ve come up with a strategy that makes it a little easier. I always start with planning out dinners first, and then plan to make enough to have leftovers the next day for lunch. So 7 recipes, turns into 14 meals. Make sense? Then I choose just a couple of things for breakfast and repeat those for the week. Check out this Sweet Potato Breakfast Bake, or try making smoothie bags to have ready to go in your freezer for a quick grab and go option. For snacks you can keep it really simple by having fresh fruit on hand, or you could make a batch of these delicious Granola Bars.

4) SET ASIDE AN AFTERNOON

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So you’ve got your week mapped out, you’ve got meal ideas and recipes ready to go, now all you need to do is some prep! Take your time making a detailed grocery list and check your pantry for what you already have on hand. Once you’re stocked up on groceries, take a few hours to batch cook a few things for the week, or get those smoothie bags prepped.

5) PUT YOUR PLAN ON THE FRIDGE DOOR

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I always like to put my menu for the week on the front of the fridge to make sure I use up the ingredients I purchased in the groceries, and things don’t go to waste. This can also be really helpful to keep you on track and organized for the entire week.

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There you have it! My go-to meal planning and prepping tips that will help you stay on track with healthy eating all week long! Just remember to make this your #1 priority for the week and you will be set! Just like anything else that takes up your valuable time during the week, if you make this a non-negotiable task to complete, you won’t have any excuses for not being prepared with healthy food to eat all week long. Click the link below for my FREE Weekly Meal Planner you can use to get started! WEEKLY MEAL PLANNER Amanda