Suggestions on creating a simple meal plan!!

Hello! I try to follow meal plans given in diet books but I find them incredibly hard to follow because they usually include different meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks! The recipes usually call for a lot of ingredients and make more than one serving.

I live alone, work 10 hr shifts and am on a budget...I do not have the time nor the money to create +35 different meals A DAY! I try to make Overnight Oats for breakfast and 2 different meals that can be alternated between lunch and dinner. I was wondering if anyone else had any ideas or suggestions on how to make meal planning simpler?

Replies

  • If your low on time id say prepare everything before bed. Follow macros so you can freely choose what you eat and go from there. Its hard to make a meal plan that you follow day in and day out, i get so tired of eating chicken everyday that if i had to do it id shoot every chicken in existence.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    This is probably too specific, but it might give you an idea:
    Monday, I made a big pot of chunky spaghetti sauce with lean hamburger, onion, zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, stewed tomatoes, herbs, and a can of sauce. I put it over pasta for dinner and Tuesday lunch. Yum! Then for Tuesday dinner and Wednesday lunch, I cooked a spaghetti squash and mixed it with the other half of the sauce along with some cheddar cheese. YUM again! When I chopped my veggies for the sauce I chopped twice what I need. The leftover veggies went into the crockpot with chicken breasts and a can of salsa this morning. Tonight I will have it over rice, and tomorrow shredded into tacos maybe with beans. One trip to the grocery store, only one major prep night (chopping all the veggies and making the sauce), inexpensive, and healthy! (Wednesday, I had a work event at dinner time)

    This was for two people. If I had done this just for me, I would freeze a few leftover meals with labels and dates. Then sometime over the next week or two when I didn't have a plan, I could just pop one in the microwave.

    I picked veggies that were on sale. I actually wanted asparagus but it was over $4 a pound, so I got zucchini and mushrooms instead. I was also going to use a pork roast in the crockpot which is usually the cheapest, but the chicken breasts were on sale. A whole chicken would have been cheapest, but I didn't want to go through the work of pulling off the skin and deboning later.

    ETA: I also boil a dozen eggs Sunday (or Monday if I don't get to it) to take for breakfast or snacks. I also get a big tub of greek yogurt and put it in one cup serving tupperwares (cheaper) with vanilla and splenda, nectarine and splenda, frozen berries (these I put in a baggie in the freezer and grab along with the yogurt. Don't premix), or protein powder.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    Another idea which has worked well for me is to cook a large amount of protein on Sunday. Chicken breasts/thighs/whole, pork chops, country style ribs, steaks, etc. Freeze them in labeled, dated baggies in the freezer. Eat the same protein for a couple of days in different ways, and then pull out of the freezer for the rest. Chicken and potatoes, followed by chicken salad, followed by burritos or sandwiches, or pulled with bbq sauce, or omelet, or ... After a couple of weeks, you will have anything you want right there just needing to be thawed. That way all you have to put together is a side. Rice, potatoes, veggies, salad etc are all pretty quick to make.

    This also works with whole meals like chicken florentine casserole, or lasagna, or ....
  • Lalagregg12
    Lalagregg12 Posts: 7 Member
    Thank you for your reply! I love how you just made one thing and managed to pull it over each day into an entire new meal! Great idea, saves time and money!
  • JustineMarie21
    JustineMarie21 Posts: 437 Member
    Buy ingredients that you like and can afford! Prepare soups and whole chickens that way you can stretch them for 2-4 days. I would suggest watching rachel rays week in a day! She makes 5 meals in one days so your ready for the week.
  • Qski
    Qski Posts: 246 Member
    One of my favourite go too quickie meals that is great for leftovers (and I have to credit weight watchers for the recipe) is a filo pastry quiche. The first time I made it as instructed but have made many different versions now, depending on the veggies i like or the protein I want to add to it. I usually add a mozarella or different cheese on top as a sprinkle too.
    My favourite so far has been with turkey, capsicum and mushrooms (instead of ham, asparagus,and spinach). Not sure if it can be frozen, but you could just halve the recipe and do a smaller one - half with veggies or salad for dinner and the other half the next day with lunch.
    Recipe pasted below.

    I also eat the same breakfast everyday at work. I have either a half a cup of rolled oats (or meusli) with some no fat chobani yoghurt (a fruity one) and usually have a fruit bowl on my desk for go to snacks. So far not bored with it. Some days I get a fruit salad when I grab my diet coke (my coffee!) others that is all I would have (for breakfast)


    Ham, feta, asparagus and tomato quiche
    5 sheet(s) uncooked filo pastry
    1 bunch(es) English spinach, trimmed
    1 bunch(es) fresh asparagus, trimmed, thinly sliced
    100 g leg ham, chopped
    75 g reduced-fat feta cheese
    125 g cherry tomato, halved
    4 medium egg(s)
    1/2 cup(s) skim milk, (125ml)
    6 x 3 second spray(s) oil spray

    Preheat oven to 190°C or 170°C fan-forced. Lightly spray a 23cm round fluted tart tin with oil. Lightly spray each sheet of filo with oil and fold in half crossways. Layer pastry in tin, lightly spraying with oil between layers. Place tin on a baking tray.
    Place spinach in a large heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and set aside for 30 seconds or until wilted. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain well, squeezing out excess liquid. Finely chop.
    Arrange spinach, asparagus, ham and feta over pastry base. Top with tomatoes, cut-side up. Whisk eggs and milk in a large jug. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour egg mixture over filling in tin.
    Bake for 40–45 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is set. Remove from oven and stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Step 1: set proper calorie and macronutrient goals
    Step 2: Eat whatever you'd like to acheive those goals, no meal plans required or suggested