Food/Meal PLanning...How do I start?

Reepir
Reepir Posts: 32 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I have my workout plan for the next few weeks and going to push it up to full throttle when I can. But I need some help with meal planning. I have been eating bad stuff recently because that is all I have available. I am planning my grocery trip for when I move into my new place and want to start off on the right foot.

What would you suggest as must haves for the pantry (dry goods and non perishables)?

What are good sweet snacks to have for in between meals? (Like berries but that gets boring)

What type of protein would you suggest if I am not looking to immediately build muscle but more for a meal replacement such as breakfast shake etc?


I know I am asking a lot and I could go to a dietician and nutritionist but I can't afford that right away. So I am looking for some pointers on good stock things to keep around to make a delicious meal or 5 out of.


(I do buy plenty of veggies and fruit)

Replies

  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    1. tuna, canned beans & salsa is my must have
    2. I would have said fruit if you are wanting to be in a calorie deficit. Otherwise, some sort of SF stuff can be pretty low calorie.
    3. meat, eggs, dairy
  • tanyalevan
    tanyalevan Posts: 182
    I usually plan my week of lunches for work on Sunday.

    So I think okay what meat do I want this week...It's almost 99.9% of the time chicken. So I buy 3 Chicken breast
    Then What vegetables do I want with the chicken to steam. So I buy broccoli and cut it put them in little snap lock bags (5 bags mon - fri)
    Then what carb do I wants and it is usually a slice of bread or crackers.

    Then my snacks are always the same...morning snack is 2 rice thins with cream cheese and arvo snack is protien cookie.

    Start slow with planning for one week just plan snacks or just do lunch.

    I learnt that doing it all at once on Sunday has given me SOOO much more time during the week I used to prep the night before.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I pre-log everything a week ahead of time. If you look at my diary, you can see that my diary is filled out through Sunday which is when I will do next week's planning.

    That being said, I have found it much easier to make a plan for the upcoming week because I can change things around before it's time to cook something and make sure that I am hitting my macro and calorie targets as closely as possible. Also, by pre-logging, I save money at the grocery store because I only purchase what I need to make the meals that are on the meal plan.

    I have an extensive list of recipes that I personally use here on MFP and I am constantly adding to it and changing them around to fit my needs. But I always have turkey, chicken, and fish in the freezer and a fridge full of eggs, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, celery, and carrots. These things seem to be in quite a few of my recipes, whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
  • broscientist
    broscientist Posts: 102 Member
    I pre-log everything a week ahead of time.

    Holy crap that's an awesome strategy.
  • shutterbug282
    shutterbug282 Posts: 588 Member
    Pantry goods, I make sure I have beans, tins of chopped tomatoes,

    Sweet snacks, I have danio yoghurts, low cal popcorn, fruit is also a nice one. :D

    Protein would be mostly chicken and eggs for me. :)

    I always try and roughly plan my week in advance. If I make a lot of food, I like to portion it off and keep it in the freezer for when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to cook. It makes it a lot easier that way :)
  • smileyface1115
    smileyface1115 Posts: 24
    I may get kicked off for saying this on here, but SparkPeople has a fantastic meal-planning tool on thier website. You can answer a few questions and it will set up an entire week's worth of meals and snacks for you. It will also have a grocery list for all of those meals. It is so easy and nearly mindless. Just eat what is on the menu. You can go in and switch out meals and snacks if you want as well (Im picky so this helped me). It will give you substitutions and other ideas.
    I think this is one of the most priceless, relatively unknown tools in the weight loss/healthy eating world available FOR FREE!
  • jasmineloses
    jasmineloses Posts: 13
    Like everyone else has said: meal planning is a great strategy. My girlfriend and I tend to plan our week on Sunday night. Staples in our house: avocados, bananas, spinach, OJ, and greek yogurt for smoothies. I often have a smoothie for lunch if I don't feel like cooking and they also satisfy any sweet craving for me. I keep the fridge stocked with whatever fruits/veggies I want for the week and in terms of meat/protein---I eat ground turkey or tofu---they're cheap. I keep my pantry stocked with a lot of flax seeds, brown rice, and salsa.
  • Reepir
    Reepir Posts: 32 Member
    This sounds great and I will check out the tool on SparkPeople. I just need to nudge my boyfriend in the right direction by what we have in the fridge and pantry!
  • traceylynns
    traceylynns Posts: 155 Member
    Hello! I plan everything for the week you can go check out my diary if ya like.

    Some staples that I always have on hand is Natural Peanut Butter and whole Grain tortillas. Special K protein cereal and unsweetened Almond milk.

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