How do you meal plan ? Topic

Soulslayer 01/08/18
I try and look through websites and find recipes I want for dinner, but I'd really like to be able to put together easy lunches for myself along with the dinner recipes. Preferably all in one place.

I work from home so I can take a few minutes to make a lunch each day, but it needs to be simple and quick.

Dietician 01/09/18
Hi Soulslayer-
Some of my favorite lunches are leftovers. I love the idea of cooking once and eating twice. So I'd make a tofu stir-fry for dinner and re-heat the next day for lunch. Or perhaps a white bean chicken chili which saves well for a few days in the refrig. If I don't have leftovers I often turn to a green salad topped with tuna OR black bean tacos (with avocado and lettuce) on a corn tortilla. Here are some articles addressing meal planning. Hope this helps! Joanna (Dietician)
Breakfast meal ideas:
https://www.mynetdiary.com/simple-breakfast-ideas.html
Lunch:
https://www.mynetdiary.com/substantial-savory-salads-how-to-makea-a-salad-a-meal.html
Meal planning overall tips:
https://www.mynetdiary.com/same-old-same-old-how-to-get-out-of-your-cooking-rut.html
Quick and easy lunch/dinner ideas:
https://www.mynetdiary.com/5-quick-and-easy-dinner-ideas-to-save-your-diet.html

Cidalia73 05/01/18
If you’re looking for an easy-to-use app/website, I highly recommend the free service CopyMeThat (there is an upgrade option for extra features, but I’ve never used them). There is a fantastic Chrome extension for the web for clipping recipes from any site. You can plan any and all meals for the day/week/etc. You can even add recipes to a Meal Queue if you know you want to make them soon but are not sure on what day. Shopping list feature is included.

For easy lunch prep, I like to prepare ingredients (rather than meals you eat on repeat until you’re sick of them). For example, on the weekend, you prep boiled eggs, grilled or baked chicken breast, roasted sweet potato (whole or in chunks), salmon, ground turkey, rice, basic salad mix, grilled/cooked/baked veggies, etc. During the week, you mix and match ingredients, adding any needed additional seasonings or ingredients to make different meals.

Dietitian 05/07/18
Another idea - I sometimes hunt Yummly.com when I know an ingredient I want to use (and can search on) - and you can filter by calories, low carb, low sodium, etc.

IceGirl531 05/26/18
I live in a remote community with limited options at the grocery store. I try to add variety to our meals by looking at other cooking traditions for inspiration. I am also a master at refrigerator stew - a melange using whatever I happen to have on hand and spiced based on whims of the moment. The recipe analyzer makes sure I know what the results are worth as I weigh everything as I put it into the pot and also the results as I put it into a serving bowl... very handy tool!

M

Dietitian 05/28/18 replied to IceGirl531
Hi IceGirl531, that is a great way to cook! What is your favorite style stew (I know it varies depending upon what is in your frig, but the basics)? Mine is a basic chili with ground turkey and lots of veggies (yes, the frig determines which ones but onion and sweet pepper are always in there) and spices. Best, Kathy (Dietitian)

Mikesgrl 06/12/18
Hi! I do my meal planning a little differently. I have a Mon-Fri job working at an office. I created an excel spreadsheet, each tab has a week. I then menu plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day that week. I find my recipes, print them, grocery shop on Fridays, and spend Sat and Sun cooking my meals for the next week. Sometimes it's oven stuff that I simply re-heat, sometimes it's bento boxes (basically finger foods like nuts, fruit, eggs, cheese, etc). It just all depends on what I want. I have an especially difficult time in that I have to omit as much gluten from my diet as possible. I'm also severely allergic to seafood, and hate pork. That leaves chicken as my only protein main source, however I look for recipes with lentils and quinoa as they make an amazing substitution to beef just so I can get some variety. Pinterest is my absolute go to for recipes!

Dietician 06/13/18
Hi all,

Great ideas for meal planning!

I like to stock my kitchen with healthy foods and ingredients from all the food groups so I can throw together simple balanced meals. When I make my grocery list, usually on Sunday or Monday, I look around the kitchen to see what I already have and then get things I need, going through each food group. I also like to keep easy items, like a variety of frozen veggies, frozen pasta, rice, quinoa (cook a larger batch, then freeze for another meal) for when I am not feeling much like cooking. I also like to cook extra chicken, pork, lean sausage for pulling out for paninis, soups, stews. It helps to use a dry erase marker to write on what it is and date it.


Brenda (Dietitian)

Xobseoj 11/12/18
My wife and I will usually go through Pinterest and look for low cal foods when we make a grocery list. What we do is make a two week menu for us and two teens (17, 19) and that is how we prep. Most of the time our Wed and Thur are leftovers and “fend for yourself” nights respectively. Sunday’s are our “cheat” day where we don’t count calories and we have the oldest’s family over for dinner and we allow a dessert. Usually a cake or something small.
This usually allows us to make accurate calorie counts and also it really helps to reduce our food budget. When we are buying the food only needed to make the menu we don’t have a bunch of stuff purchased that doesn’t really get used and it helps us focus on getting only healthy food rather than bags of chips and what-not.

Dietician 11/12/18 replied to Xobseoj
Hi Xobeseoj- Great ideas! Thanks for sharing with the group. I really enjoy how you balance out eating healthy (making a meal plan for 2 weeks) with allowing for a day with more flexibility or as you call it "cheat" day. Your meal planning also sounds like it helps avoid the impulse buys. Best to you and your family! Joanna (Dietician)

How do you meal plan ?