Meal plan or not?
Cmachuca39
Posts: 28 Member
I have a super busy schedule and I am a bit of a picky eater (on healthy foods.. go figure) . Was wondering how people felt about meal planning and do I plan the full week or should I plan half week?
0
Replies
-
It really depends on what works for you. I meal plan a week or sometimes two out because it helps keep me organized and on track. But I also try to stay flexible enough that if something comes up it doesn't throw me for a loop.
Planning ahead also cuts down on grocery store trips which is a bonus for me.4 -
You should do what works best for your schedule. There's no right or wrong way to do it, but a lot of people find it helpful for making good decisions at meal time. With my schedule it's easier to plan and prep for the whole week. I bought a bunch of containers (hint, get the same kind so everything will stack in your cabinet and fridge better). After prepping on the weekend, everything gets portioned right into the containers--ready to go! We do meat on the grill and veggies separately so it's easy to calculate calories for each serving. Some veggies don't hold up as well when cooked in advance, so in those cases, we just chop on the weekend and cook the night before. Either way, the idea is to save time with prep during the week, and it really helps. I hope some of those ideas will help you! Keep us posted.3
-
If you are going to do it, do it for the whole week. I really miss it when I don't. I part out cottage cheese, diced fruit or whatever in small containers, throw normal serving sizes of snacks in baggies and so forth. I cook a few meals and set out lunch size portions in containers. If I make enough I freeze half of the rest. You end up with three fresh suppers (at the least). For the rest of the week, if needed I have steamable vegetables in the freezer. I either cook thin sliced pork or chicken breast and add stir fry veggies or use as a side. Doesn't take long and is a nice break from what you prepped over the weekend. What I have in the freezer fills in gaps for lunch or busy nights that you cannot cook.
Just what I do, everyone has different methods.5 -
When I cook, I cook for the whole week. Sunday afternoons I will shop, prep and pack pretty much every single bite I plan to eat for the upcoming week. Then for the next 6 days, I don't have to do more than pull out a container and heat it up. If I even bother with the heating... My go to is either microwaving or airfrying some chicken or pork and dumping a half a bag of frozen veg and a scoop of rice over it all. Whatever the vegetable sauce is flavors everything else and the required muss and fuss is minimal.1
-
It really depends on what works for you. I meal plan a week or sometimes two out because it helps keep me organized and on track. But I also try to stay flexible enough that if something comes up it doesn't throw me for a loop.
Planning ahead also cuts down on grocery store trips which is a bonus for me.
Thank you!0 -
You should do what works best for your schedule. There's no right or wrong way to do it, but a lot of people find it helpful for making good decisions at meal time. With my schedule it's easier to plan and prep for the whole week. I bought a bunch of containers (hint, get the same kind so everything will stack in your cabinet and fridge better). After prepping on the weekend, everything gets portioned right into the containers--ready to go! We do meat on the grill and veggies separately so it's easy to calculate calories for each serving. Some veggies don't hold up as well when cooked in advance, so in those cases, we just chop on the weekend and cook the night before. Either way, the idea is to save time with prep during the week, and it really helps. I hope some of those ideas will help you! Keep us posted.
Thanks for some great ideas!1 -
bobshuckleberry wrote: »If you are going to do it, do it for the whole week. I really miss it when I don't. I part out cottage cheese, diced fruit or whatever in small containers, throw normal serving sizes of snacks in baggies and so forth. I cook a few meals and set out lunch size portions in containers. If I make enough I freeze half of the rest. You end up with three fresh suppers (at the least). For the rest of the week, if needed I have steamable vegetables in the freezer. I either cook thin sliced pork or chicken breast and add stir fry veggies or use as a side. Doesn't take long and is a nice break from what you prepped over the weekend. What I have in the freezer fills in gaps for lunch or busy nights that you cannot cook.
Just what I do, everyone has different methods.
Thank you! Great ideas0 -
When I cook, I cook for the whole week. Sunday afternoons I will shop, prep and pack pretty much every single bite I plan to eat for the upcoming week. Then for the next 6 days, I don't have to do more than pull out a container and heat it up. If I even bother with the heating... My go to is either microwaving or airfrying some chicken or pork and dumping a half a bag of frozen veg and a scoop of rice over it all. Whatever the vegetable sauce is flavors everything else and the required muss and fuss is minimal.
Thinking about the airfryer!0 -
I meal plan a month at a time and it makes things a lot easier for me during the week. I have a master list, with recipes pulled and attached, and then each week I spend a few minutes looking at my calendar and lining up meals with days. As we go through the meals I just cross them off. I shop bi-weekly but get the most of my groceries/meal items the first trip of the month and then the second trip is mostly to replenish fresh produce and dairy.
Month to month the menu plan varies a little bit, with new recipes and such, but the majority of the meals are just rotated through again. Once I did it for a couple of months it became a very easy process to do. Also, I eat differently than my family does, so I have their menu plan and then mine. It's a bit of an art form to keep it all going smoothly LOL
3 -
I meal plan a month at a time and it makes things a lot easier for me during the week. I have a master list, with recipes pulled and attached, and then each week I spend a few minutes looking at my calendar and lining up meals with days. As we go through the meals I just cross them off. I shop bi-weekly but get the most of my groceries/meal items the first trip of the month and then the second trip is mostly to replenish fresh produce and dairy.
Month to month the menu plan varies a little bit, with new recipes and such, but the majority of the meals are just rotated through again. Once I did it for a couple of months it became a very easy process to do. Also, I eat differently than my family does, so I have their menu plan and then mine. It's a bit of an art form to keep it all going smoothly LOL
That is a excellent idea! Thank you:)1 -
I plan, but I don't prep really. We plan in order to know what we need to get grocery shopping on the weekend. My breakfast usually is just alternated between oats and eggs...lunch is usually leftovers from the night before or a sandwich or something. Dinners we cook fresh every evening and we usually make enough to have leftovers the next day for lunch or some other day for lunch.3
-
Cmachuca39 wrote: »I meal plan a month at a time and it makes things a lot easier for me during the week. I have a master list, with recipes pulled and attached, and then each week I spend a few minutes looking at my calendar and lining up meals with days. As we go through the meals I just cross them off. I shop bi-weekly but get the most of my groceries/meal items the first trip of the month and then the second trip is mostly to replenish fresh produce and dairy.
Month to month the menu plan varies a little bit, with new recipes and such, but the majority of the meals are just rotated through again. Once I did it for a couple of months it became a very easy process to do. Also, I eat differently than my family does, so I have their menu plan and then mine. It's a bit of an art form to keep it all going smoothly LOL
That is a excellent idea! Thank you:)
I know it sounds overwhelming but once you do it a couple times it's actually really easy-I can now do a whole month's plan, along with corresponding grocery lists, in under an hour
1 -
Cmachuca39 wrote: »I meal plan a month at a time and it makes things a lot easier for me during the week. I have a master list, with recipes pulled and attached, and then each week I spend a few minutes looking at my calendar and lining up meals with days. As we go through the meals I just cross them off. I shop bi-weekly but get the most of my groceries/meal items the first trip of the month and then the second trip is mostly to replenish fresh produce and dairy.
Month to month the menu plan varies a little bit, with new recipes and such, but the majority of the meals are just rotated through again. Once I did it for a couple of months it became a very easy process to do. Also, I eat differently than my family does, so I have their menu plan and then mine. It's a bit of an art form to keep it all going smoothly LOL
That is a excellent idea! Thank you:)
I know it sounds overwhelming but once you do it a couple times it's actually really easy-I can now do a whole month's plan, along with corresponding grocery lists, in under an hour
That is awesome! I have just been back to calorie tracking this week and i am so proud of myself because i am doing really really good on it and it's an eye opener on foods, i assumed were good were actually not! When you meal planned do you still calorie count everyday per say on the app?0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I plan, but I don't prep really. We plan in order to know what we need to get grocery shopping on the weekend. My breakfast usually is just alternated between oats and eggs...lunch is usually leftovers from the night before or a sandwich or something. Dinners we cook fresh every evening and we usually make enough to have leftovers the next day for lunch or some other day for lunch.
Great idea! thank you 0 -
I'm using a on-line site that has a weekly meal plan and shopping list. I modify the meals to what I like from other recipes there, and check the list to what I have on hand before shopping. Works great for me as I'm terrible with planning.0
-
Cmachuca39 wrote: »Cmachuca39 wrote: »I meal plan a month at a time and it makes things a lot easier for me during the week. I have a master list, with recipes pulled and attached, and then each week I spend a few minutes looking at my calendar and lining up meals with days. As we go through the meals I just cross them off. I shop bi-weekly but get the most of my groceries/meal items the first trip of the month and then the second trip is mostly to replenish fresh produce and dairy.
Month to month the menu plan varies a little bit, with new recipes and such, but the majority of the meals are just rotated through again. Once I did it for a couple of months it became a very easy process to do. Also, I eat differently than my family does, so I have their menu plan and then mine. It's a bit of an art form to keep it all going smoothly LOL
That is a excellent idea! Thank you:)
I know it sounds overwhelming but once you do it a couple times it's actually really easy-I can now do a whole month's plan, along with corresponding grocery lists, in under an hour
That is awesome! I have just been back to calorie tracking this week and i am so proud of myself because i am doing really really good on it and it's an eye opener on foods, i assumed were good were actually not! When you meal planned do you still calorie count everyday per say on the app?
I track on another site and still keep an eye on my calorie intake, though right now I'm focusing on my carb intake/playing around with that. I'm in maintenance so I have a bit of wiggle room at this point, but I still use my food scale every day to measure out the correct portion sizes for most of my food 3 -
lorifrance wrote: »I'm using a on-line site that has a weekly meal plan and shopping list. I modify the meals to what I like from other recipes there, and check the list to what I have on hand before shopping. Works great for me as I'm terrible with planning.
May I get the site name?
Thank you0 -
If I'm not actively prepping, the least I will do is keep a list updated that goes three days out, of what I can make and eat with what's on hand or with things I can get in the course of what's going on daily. This usually keeps me out of trouble.1
-
MelanieCN77 wrote: »If I'm not actively prepping, the least I will do is keep a list updated that goes three days out, of what I can make and eat with what's on hand or with things I can get in the course of what's going on daily. This usually keeps me out of trouble.
Great idea to start doing now since I am still learning!1 -
Thought about you again and wanted to come back and add one more thing--for those really busy weeks when I don't have time to prep, I stock up on stuff that is easy to grab on the run. Yogurt, cottage cheese, frozen or pre-sliced veggies, rotisserie chicken, deli meat, tuna, nuts, whole fruit, canned beans, and sweet potatoes--they cook in the microwave in 7 minutes and are actually good cold. 1
-
Thought about you again and wanted to come back and add one more thing--for those really busy weeks when I don't have time to prep, I stock up on stuff that is easy to grab on the run. Yogurt, cottage cheese, frozen or pre-sliced veggies, rotisserie chicken, deli meat, tuna, nuts, whole fruit, canned beans, and sweet potatoes--they cook in the microwave in 7 minutes and are actually good cold.
That is perfect!! I can do that for sure.. thank you again:)😀1 -
I plan and I prep.
I used to plan a month at a time, but am now doing a very basic monthly plan and don't finalize it until the week before (my therapist had me change this due to my anxiety with food and being "perfect" with my diet). This now gives me a lot more flexibility to make changes based off of what I am craving which means I stick to it better. It for sure saves me money and time at the store. I also enjoy sitting down with some cookbooks and Pinterest to try and decide what sounds good to me.3 -
I plan and I prep.
I used to plan a month at a time, but am now doing a very basic monthly plan and don't finalize it until the week before (my therapist had me change this due to my anxiety with food and being "perfect" with my diet). This now gives me a lot more flexibility to make changes based off of what I am craving which means I stick to it better. It for sure saves me money and time at the store. I also enjoy sitting down with some cookbooks and Pinterest to try and decide what sounds good to me.
Thank you!0 -
We’re in the same boat as you- as a family we want to eat more healthily but meal planning/prepping is time consuming and surprisingly difficult to begin with.
We stick with just tea time for now and plan mon-fri evening meals but leave lunch and breakfast flexible. For me breakfast is usually porridge and I have different additions (fruit, cacao powder, nuts and seeds) so it’s not always plain porridge. Lunches are typically a salad using similar base ingredients but mixing up the protein and grains and playing with dressings.
One thing we’ve found is how repetitive things can get so finding a wide variety of recipes (that don’t need you to buy the whole shop) is the biggest challenge. But it definitely helps to know what I’ll be cooking when I come in from work rather than get in and rifle through the cupboards and try and concoct something
We haven’t tried proper meal prep yet, just a loose plan which seems to work as long as someone else cleans the kitchen!
1 -
Cmachuca39 wrote: »I have a super busy schedule and I am a bit of a picky eater (on healthy foods.. go figure) . Was wondering how people felt about meal planning and do I plan the full week or should I plan half week?
I used to make four lunches and four dinners on Sundays, but that was because I was cooking two packages of chicken thighs and they were four to a pack I would make four using one recipe and the other four with another recipe.
While doing this, I also made five days worth of hard boiled eggs for snacks.
On Fridays I would get Chipotle for lunch, eat half, and have the other half for dinner.1 -
I always plan out what I will be eating for the week, otherwise I'd be driving to the grocery store on a daily basis and spending tons of money. I do not prep though. I plan out what I'll eat for breakfast, lunch and snacks every day, and then I choose 3 meals (usually) to make for dinner, and just make enough to last a couple nights each. Works for me.1
-
I do various levels of planning and prepping depending on how busy we are at the time.
I like to chop veggies ahead of time so they can go in the oven as soon as I get home and still have freshly cooked veggies. My favorite thing to do this with is thinly sliced zucchini sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
Casserole type foods are nice for prepping because I can assemble them ahead of time, pop them in the oven when I get home, and work on other chores while the food cooks.
When I make pancakes, I always make a double batch so the kids have a few breakfasts worth of leftovers, and pancakes reheat well.
Chili in the crockpot is great and can be as complicated or as easy as you want it to be. I chop any veggies, sit out cans, and measure out spices I'm going to use ahead of time and throw it all together in the crockpot before I head out to work in the morning. It also makes several servings so you can use the leftovers for lunches.
I hope some of this helps you. Good luck.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 394.2K Introduce Yourself
- 43.9K Getting Started
- 260.4K Health and Weight Loss
- 176.1K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 439 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.1K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.9K MyFitnessPal Information
- 15 News and Announcements
- 1.2K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.7K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions