Meal planning newbie

I don't use any website for my meal planning. I have an office job, working the typical daytime hours M-F. For breakfast and lunch I eat pretty much the same thing everyday, so I don't include those meals in my planning. I create a dinner schedule for every day of the week. I cook for my husband and myself, so I get his input on what he would like. I take into consideration what nights I have plans and won't be able to cook and schedule a crockpot meal or leftovers for those days. I write down the schedule on a chalkboard in the kitchen and use that to make my shopping list.

The meals I make are ones that I have learned to cook over the years. Some are simple, like grilled chicken and steamed veggies. Others take a bit more work, such as my "Skinny" Alfredo with Chicken & Broccoli. I have created a catalog of recipes over the years and work from that. Anything that is more complicated than throwing meat on the grill and cooking veggies gets written on an index card and placed in a recipe box. Every couple of weeks I will try a new recipe that I found on a website. If I don't like it, it doesn't go in the recipe box. If I like it, I keep the card and make it again.

I always have at least one meal that uses freezer and/or pantry ingredients that way if something comes up and I can't cook (such as last minute dinner plans with friends) I can shuffle around my schedule and not worry about food spoiling.

I second Skinnytaste.com--their website is really nice too. Great food pictures! Check out their crock pot section... ANYONE can cook with a crock pot, and it would be great for work days.

Krissy Mae Cagney is a personal trainer I follow on Instagram. She's funny and down to earth (though probably not for those who are easily offended by swearing), and she's studied nutrition, so she's not just spouting bro science. She released an ebook a few months ago called "This Is Not a Cookbook" that talks about meal vs. food prep (meal being portioning things out, food being just cooking a bunch of stuff to have on hand for the week). The book has some recipes, which might be helpful to you since you're just starting out, but what I really found helpful was that she goes through a bunch of different proteins, carbs, and vegetables and talks about best ways to prepare them and store them, including how long they'll keep in the fridge or freezer. This is where I bought it: https://gumroad.com/kmaecags#lESt

Since you're just starting out, I'd say keep it simple at first. I cook just for myself, and I usually make three things on a Sunday so I have options for lunches and dinners and am not just eating the same thing over and over. Another thing I do some weeks is make a bunch of basic ingredients--chicken, veggies, rice or quinoa--and then try to combine them in different ways. I made chicken and whole wheat pasta the other night. I've had it a few times with tomato sauce and cheese, and I've also used smaller portions in salads with a lot of veggies.

Budget Bytes is another site I really like. Not everything she makes is healthy, but it can be pretty easy to adjust ingredients to get the recipes to suit your needs.