Whether you are trying to balance your hormones, lose weight or get healthier, meal planning will help you with that goal. It is not about getting rid of good food but about making the right food choices that energize your body. It is not a diet but a WAY of eating.
We can all meal prep! Yep, I said it. Frankly, as busy women, we are often tempted by the lights of fast-food restaurants, the stress of our jobs, and constant kid’s activities to take the most convenient route for dinner. But if you spend just a few hours a week getting ready for the week, you will save money, time, and your waistline.
Here are some of the benefits of meal planning.
Benefits of Meal Planning
It helps you reach your health goals.
Are you trying to eat more ?vegetables ?each day? Or are you perhaps interested in getting more ?vitamin A?from your food choices to improve your immune system? Planning out your meals ahead of time can help you make sure you are doing just that.
Especially with autoimmune conditions and PCOS, getting enough micronutrients takes work. So planning out your meals to get those good vitamins in will make this easier.
Avoids Unnecessary Snacking.
Meal planning with snacks allows you to avoid snacking on foods that aren’t good for you. A chief obstacle among people trying to regain control of their health is hitting up the vending machine at work or grabbing a few cookies. If you bring your snacks, you should already have all the clean snacks you need, from fruit and nuts to homemade baked goods. You won’t need to grab a candy bar while at the gas station.
You can bring a bag of nuts, dark chocolate, or dried fruit and leave them in your office. So you have a week’s worth of snacks ready to go and can avoid temptation. I often put in my weekly grocery list the box or bag of healthy snacks I want for the week. You can even make a snack pack with all three, like a trail mix. I love making those for myself and my kids as snacks.
Minimizes Take Out
Another common obstacle to getting healthier is that you run out of food for meals later in the week, leading you to get fast food or ordering pizza since it’s easier than going back to the store. By planning out all your meals, you can then prep them and have all the hard work done so that cooking is a breeze. And if you follow step 4, in case things happen, you will be ready.
It saves you money AND time.
It may seem like it takes more time planning for a whole week all at once. You’re right; it does take more time. But it saves you precious minutes in your day throughout the week that could be used for something way better! I also find that I save money when I meal prep. I try to use ingredients for more than one meal. For example, stir fry one night and then use leftover rice in chicken soup. It allows you not to waste as well as stay with healthy guidelines.
Decreases food waste
Have you ever bought a bunch of food and then had no plans to use it, and it ends up in the trash? That’s just like throwing money in the garbage as well. Wasted food = wasted money. It also means more food in the landfill that can’t decompose because there isn’t enough oxygen, and then there’s more CO2 in the air, leading to climate change.
Meal Planning in 4 Steps
✨My tried and true four steps to make meal planning easy.
I don’t meal plan every single week. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen. But when it does, it just makes my week so much better.
I look forward to the nights I have time to cook, and I also look forward to the nights I get to have leftovers because I’ve got a lot going on. I am stoked in the morning when my lunch is all packed, and I don’t have to spend 15 minutes figuring out what to bring.
Step 1: Know Your Schedule For the Week
Make sure you look ahead to see if you may go for dinner or to an event. This lets you know exactly how many meals you need to prepare, so you do not waste groceries or stress out.
I put my meals in my online calendar; I use Cozi. That way, my husband also knows what we will eat, so I do not get the afternoon call, “what’s for dinner?” You can also write it out and post it on your fridge. But don’t meal prep without knowing the week’s events.
Step 2: Check out what is in your fridge and freezer already
Do you have frozen veggies you can throw in a stew or meat leftover from taco night that can be made into a chili? Write down an inventory of what you need to use up soon.
Step 3: Make a plan for the week and write it down.
I love using a meal planning workbook. It allows you to plan and see everything one week at a time. Something like this. If you want a copy, click here.
Step 4: Have a when life happens plan.
This can be anything that can be prepared in less than 30 minutes instead of going through the drive-through.
You can have prepared meals that need to be heated up or a quick meal ready to go all the time. For my family of 6, we have teriyaki bowls in the freezer that just need to be heated up.
Breakfast Meal Prep:
It would help if you avoided packages of oatmeals, sugar-packed cereals, and processed frozen waffles. Try making oatmeal by scratch, or use these recipes.
- Make egg bites to eat at home or bring to work.
- Make smoothies and leave them in the freezer for the next day.
- Overnight oats can be an easy breakfast full of hormone-friendly ingredients.
Starbucks egg bites: https://thegirlonbloor.com/copycat-oven-baked-starbucks-egg-bites/
Sausage egg muffins: https://thegirlonbloor.com/meal-prep-egg-and-sausage-mcmuffin/
Lunch Meal Prep:
Bringing the right food to work will set you up for success. It will allow you to avoid the vending machine or office cafe.
- Pack salads.
- Bring snacks.
- Can bring a little piece of chocolate to avoid the vending machine.
Greek chicken recipe: https://thegirlonbloor.com/sheet-pan-greek-chicken-meal-prep-bowls/
Soup: https://thegirlonbloor.com/slow-cooker-tuscan-sausage-and-kale-soup/
Dinner Prep:
If you have a family, you need to make sure you are organized.
- Think about batch cooking grains.
- Make a salad bar night.
- Consider using veggie noodles as a substitute for pasta.
- Keep chopped veggies to use in dishes in your fridge.
- Consider having sauteed veggies ready or baked sweet potatoes that can be diced into stews or stir-frys.
This link has 52 recipes for weeknight meals; it is incredible. https://thegirlonbloor.com/52-healthy-quick-easy-dinner-ideas-for-busy-weeknights/
Lastly, make sure if you pack lunches for work that you put your food in glass containers. Plastic containers have endocrine-disrupting chemicals unless they are BPA FREE plastic. If you must use plastic, never reheat the containers.
