Help! Meal Planning

I plan my meals out for a week - jot them down on a template I created where I also record activities/events that might affect my meals/choices (weddings, parties, kids activities, etc.). I start by adding the activities, then start adding my meals. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are pretty cut and dry for me. There isn't usually anything going on that affects those. Dinner is the biggie. I determine which nights I need to have something quick, or leftover planned. Then I can start adding the meals. Once the meals are all planned out, I write out the grocery list and shop. Then on the weekend I spend about an hour and a half meal prepping in the kitchen for the week. This usually includes making my breakfasts and lunches and prepping snacks. I prefer to have the same breakfast and lunch all week long. It keeps it simple. For example, overnight oats for breakfast - you can prepare several of these in advance. Lunch I usually prep salads and baggie the veggies or put them in glass containers so I can just grab them on the day I need them. Sometimes for lunch I will make sweet potato hash and hard boiled eggs. You can make the entire weeks worth at once and portion it out. Soups are also great for this! Snacks are pretty easy - baby carrots and almond butter, green smoothies (all made in advance - yes they will keep for a few days in the fridge!), trail mix and an energy bite, etc. I think the biggest key here is that when I am cooking, I'm preparing enough to cover a few meals. Even if you freeze some of it for the following week.

Hope this helps!

I try to meal plan weekly and I'm mostly successful. I usually meal plan on Wednesday during lunch since the grocery ads go out on Wednesdays. I try to plan easier meals on the weeknights and at least one night of leftovers. Over the weekends, I usually plan some of the more complicated meals that we really love.

My favorite tip is to keep marinaded meat in the freezer. I buy meat in bulk packages and them bring it home, mix up some marinades, and toss the meat and marinade in a freezer safe ziploc bag. During the week, I just have to pull a bag out of the freezer in the morning and its ready to grill up in the evening when we come home from work. Add some type of veggie and maybe roasted potatoes and dinner is ready.

Favorite marinades for this:
Chicken - 1/3cup canola oil, 1/3 cup worchestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp garlic powder, 1 Tbsp italian seasoning, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper
Chicken - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2014/08/green-chile-chicken/
Chicken - http://www.emilybites.com/2013/05/thai-chicken-skewers-with-peanut-sauce.html (We grill the whole breast, its easier)
Flank Steak or Chicken - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/tacos-carne-asada-recipe.html
Pork Chops - http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/chili-lime-pork-loin/

Recipe for this morning -
Egg White Omelette
2tsp 100% Olive Oil
3/4c Egg whites
1c spinach (or whatever fits in your hand)
1c kale (or whatever fits in your hand)
1tblsp of salsa (I used Mi Elute Heritage Street Food Green Chili Salsa)
Saute your salsa, spinach, and kale until you get most of the moisture out. Then add your egg whites. Viola! Top it off with hot sauce and you have a breakfast with 20g of Protein, 4g carbs, 9g fat, 535g sodium, and only 1g sugar....
For 201 calories!! Great start to the day =]

I'll be watching this thread as I can always use advice on this, too. Even after being married over 30 years.:noway:

I've known people to use one of two approaches. Have something really quick and ready to go, so you can eat dinner very soon after arriving home, or, have a planned appetizer-type snack ready to go, and cook a more involved main meal later in the evening. One of my former co-workers said she didn't eat until 7 or 8 at night, but I got the impression she often had wine and a snack to decompress before getting involved in cooking dinner. I'm more apt to go for a quick, if sketchy, dinner and then snack in the evening.

I know you're aiming for clean eating, so this may not appeal to you, but--frozen pizza, if you read the nutrition labels first. Tonight DH and I are each eating half of a Dr. Oetker pepperoni/pesto pizza. There's a wide range of ingredients and calorie counts on frozen pizza, but I've found that Newman's Own, Dr. Oetker, and Shoprite's imported ones all seem reasonable calorie-wise. Tonight I'll probably throw a quick salad together while it's in the oven. Later on in the evening I'll be snacking on fruit, cheese, nuts, possibly an egg, to top off my protein intake and finish up my calories for the day.

I second the ideas of soup and sandwich, or eggs. And Hatfield ham steaks heat in the microwave in less than 2 minutes. As far as healthy take-out, every other week we get salads from Saladworks. They are surprisingly filling and we really like the whole grain rolls. On days that are going to be really crazy, sometimes we get classic-size hoagies from Wawa, and each eat half a hoagie for lunch and the other half for dinner. I found out that an Italian hoagie with added pepperoni actually has fewer calories than a tuna one; so again, check the nutrition facts online! Hoagies (subs) sound terribly unhealthy, I guess--except at Wawa you can customize them with things like spinach, cucumber, roasted red peppers, and guacamole.

BTW, love the kilt!