I’ve been meal planning for Amanda and I for about 2 years now and there are five questions that I ask to get started each week. We sit down with a glass of wine, pull out our calendars and then the questions begin.
1. How many meals do we need to plan for?
If you are new to meal planning, I would recommend that you start planning your families’ dinners only. I wouldn’t recommend that you try to plan breakfast, lunches and dinners from the get go as it might be too overwhelming.
If you are a seasoned meal planner, then I would recommend planning lunches, dinners and desserts. Even seasoned meal planners shouldn’t try to plan breakfasts as it’s can be the busiest time of the day trying to get everyone out of the door on time. I try to make breakfast as simple as possible so that we aren’t adding additional stress in the morning!
Plan 5 dinners to begin with and leave the weekend “free”. This allows for the unexpected to crop up during the week which means you don’t cook one of the meals and so you can use it at the weekend. It also gives you the weekend off from planning and free to eat out or cook one of your staple recipes.
Start with main courses only, if you are new to meal planning. Buy fruit, yoghurts or ice cream for desserts.
Don’t forget to check you and your families’ calendars so you know how many meals you need to plan for.
You can download our free meal planning templates to get started.
2. What type of meals do we need?
Do you need to use up leftovers from previous meals or have you got ingredients in your fridge, freezer or store cupboard that need using up before they go off? Avoiding wasting food can be good for both the environment and your budget!
Do you want to eat more at lunch and less at dinner or conversely do you ten to eat small lunches and prefer a substantial dinner?
One way to make meal planning easier is to assign a meal night to each day of the week e.g. meat free Monday, taco Tuesday and fish Friday. This way you always have an idea starter when searching for recipes to cook.
3. What time constraints do we have?
Do you have any specific time constraints during the week e.g. do you know you’re going to be working late one night or do you have a favourite movie or series on TV that you want to make sure you’ve finished dinner in time to watch?
Knowing that you have a limited time for dinner one evening, helps you to look for quick recipes to cook.
4. What’s this week’s back up recipe?
Even the best meal planners have a day where they just don’t feel like cooking or something unexpected happens like a meeting that overruns or traffic jam on the way home. Having a backup recipe might simply be noting it on the meal plan and making sure you shop for it or it may be having eggs in the fridge for a quick omelette.
5. Is the meal plan balanced?
Once you’ve got a draft of your meal plan, check to ensure that it is balanced over the course of the week. Are you using the vegetables that are in season? Do you have one meat dish on the plan? Do you have at least one fish dish, ideally two on your plan? Are you using alternative sources of carbohydrates?
Eating a varied and balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health and helping you and your family feel their best.
