How to Create a Healthy Meal Plan

Even if you love to cook, you may not want to do it every day. In this post, you will find helpful tips to always have delicious and nourishing meals in your home without having to cook every day!

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I'm sharing my tried and true methods for meal planning that I use in my kitchen. I know it's not for everyone, but we rarely go out to eat. For that to work, I need a consistent plan with leftovers, so I don't get overwhelmed or exhausted with cooking.

It took time to figure out the perfect balance between having enough leftovers and not having to cook every day. But now that I do, I'm able to maintain joy in cooking for my family.

Planning your meals for the week just makes sense, but it can seem overwhelming. So, how to get started?

Steps to Successful

Meal Planning:

Select your recipes.

This is the fun part–choosing the recipes you are going to make! As you cook more, you will find the resources and recipes you gravitate towards. Start there first, especially during busy weeks.

If you feel like being a bit more creative and you have some more time, try new recipes from different food blogs or cookbooks. I would suggest trying only 1-2 new recipes a week to ensure success. Stick to the basics and introduce a new recipe each week until you find what works best for your family. There are times when recipes don't turn out the way you want them to. Sometimes, that is due to the recipe itself, the cook (hello, been there!), or some little eaters who are deciding to be picky that day. Having something in your refrigerator that you know everyone will enjoy for your next meal helps take pressure off.

Determine your cooking schedule.

I can't stress how important this is – cook consistently on the same nights every week. This will create predictability, which will allow you to develop a habit of having more meals at home. Yes, there will be some variation and unpredictable situations that change what your week will look like. However, sticking to your schedule will make mid-week cooking shifts straightforward. Or, you will know when to increase a recipe size to account for nights when you won't be able to cook. I typically cook 3-4 days per week and have 3-4 days where we get to enjoy delicious leftovers. Hooray for fewer dishes!

Layout your menu by day + prep notes.

It's important to take your schedule a step further than just knowing how many days you plan to cook. Visually seeing when you are cooking and how you can make your life easier by prepping ahead of time makes all the difference. After I started writing down our dinners by day, including any preparation notes, breakfast options and snacks for the week in a simple list, I was successful. When you write something down, you are committing to doing it.

Make your list

This one is simple! Create your grocery list by aisle category, taking into account your grocery store's layout. It will make going to the grocery store, or even placing an online order, easy and quick. Plus, it will help you do a better inventory check of what you have before doing your grocery shopping.

Go shopping and get cooking!

Enjoy the fruits of your labor with your weekly healthy meal plan!

I hope you found this helpful! If you're unsure where to start or need inspiration, Well Fed Co. can help. I love our curated menus as a place to begin to see this approach in practice. Plus, all this work is done for you! All you need to do is the shopping and cooking. Want to get more specific? Our custom menu planning takes this one step further. Everyone's schedule is unique and food needs don't always make it straightforward–we can help.

Connect at hello@wellfedco.com!