Are you in the Dreading Making Dinner What Are We Even Having Club? Me too. It’s SO MUCH WORK. I love eating and feeling nourished by food, but man cooking dinner with a toddler swirling around my ankles is at the bottom of my bucket list. So today I’m sharing with you 8 easy ways to simplify meal planning. I use all of these tips and the ease it’s created is amazing. Even if just one of these speaks to you, it will move you over to the I Feel in Charge of Dinner Club. Promise. Also you can grab my free meal planner template at the bottom of this post.
1. Write It Down
This is hands down the number one way to simplify meal planning for me. I have found the most effective way to get a clear plan that I follow through on, is to use a meal planning notebook. Simple, inexpensive and functional. I’ve been using this one, under $10, and I like the layout a lot. We leave it in the kitchen so my husband and I are able to refer to it. I started just using an app for organizing our meal plan and I realized I am a paper and pen kinda gal. When there isn’t a physical checklist, I get lost. I like tangible and somewhere to check in, especially later in the day when things are a bit more chaotic and it’s hard to think clearly. Maybe it’s the same for you?
I write down our dinners for the week, usually grabbing ideas from Pinterest, and then add snacks and breakfast & lunch ideas. Then I write down what I think we need to buy with a question mark beside anything I need to check on. I do that quick check in our pantry and fridge so I’m not getting duplicates or buying anything we already have and put our order through. Done!
2. Schedule Planning Time
With that said, you need to actually schedule the time in your week to make your plan. Make it a routine. I’ve been doing mine on Friday evenings or on our car ride home from Saturday adventures. I’ll say it again, I love using my meal planning notebook. And knowing that I have intentionally laid out time for me to plan out meals, means I’m never scrambling.
Meal planning is a necessary task and if you don’t make time for it, you won’t have a plan. Acknowledge the work it takes and schedule it. I think of it like acknowledging the work I do as well. It is my time and energy that goes into thoughtfully assembling our meal plan so we can eat well and save money. It deserves schedule space because it’s important and so is my time.
3. Save Time & Money – Order Groceries
If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that we can save an incredible amount of time ordering our groceries and it’s worth the convenience cost. This is one of the ways to simplify meal planning, like I said, it saves our precious time and it curbs impulse purchases. You can’t spend an extra $30 on things on sale or that beautifully packaged artisan pasta or grab any of those “I might as well while I’m here purchases.” So treat yo’ self!
4. Don’t Buy Extra
Piggybacking on the impulse purchases, don’t buy more than you need. It is overwhelming when you can’t see everything in your fridge or pantry or you have more than you need and things go to waste. I try to err on the side of less because you can always grab stuff if you need more but having things go to waste sucks.
Overbuying food also tends to come from a scarcity mindset. Which is probably totally legit but it isn’t helping you. Buy just what you need, there will be enough.
5. Digital Paired with Paper
Using a combo, paper and app, is one of the ways to simplify meal planning. I highly recommend Cozi. Their free version is awesome, you can add meals to the recipe box just by popping in the address. The grocery list updates immediately as you add stuff and you can check off as you buy and the calendar allows you to schedule meals, add notes and set reminders. It’s a great go between for my digital heavy husband and me, the paper lover.
It works really well with my $10 meal planning notebook. I just pop the grocery list into Cozi, for the things we don’t get delivered, and slot the meals in once I’ve done my planning. This combo has helped me up my meal planning and organization game big time.
6. Use Sheet Pan, One Pot & Slow Cooker Meals
These are simple, time saving ways to make healthy meals that taste awesome and are simple to prepare. Embrace them all. You can add tons of veggies and throw everything into one place and cook. The best way to ensure you’re eating well and not going crazy.
7. Prep Early in the Day
I don’t know about you but my motivation and energy wane over the day. I try to prep as much as I can or ask my husband to, early in the day. That way if I’ve chopped the vegetables or made the sauce, making the meal feels less daunting with a 5pm toddler.
This, along with my meal planning notebook, are the two things that help me to stick to my plan and follow through. Breaking bigger tasks down into smaller steps for the win.
8. Nourish for Energy
If you often feel low on energy or are tired all the time, think about what changes you can make in your meal plan to nourish yourself more. This isn’t about dieting or eating ‘better’, it’s about thinking of food as nourishment and what could you add in or swap for choices that will give you more energy.
Small changes in diet can have a big impact on energy. I am all about the tiny gains, the little, consistent steps that lead to habits that stick. Maybe you throw a green smoothie into your daily plan or swap crackers for fruit salad. Don’t have to be fancy. Cut up raw veggies or an apple are full of nutrients. Add spinach to your next meal, it cooks down in volume easily in sautés or frozen is an easy addition to a lot of soups. Whatever works for you but eating more fruits & veg equals more energy. So does drinking more water, just saying:) Gaining more energy, will give you more energy for gaining for energy! It’s a crazy vicious cycle.
This green smoothie from Oh She Glows is my staple. I have simplified the recipe so that I actually can make it on the regular and quickly. I’ve trimmed it to:
- 1/2 a cucumber, chopped
- 1 banana
- 1 pear, cut up
- 7 frozen spinach nuggets
- 1 heaping cup of frozen pineapple
- 1.5 cups of water
I toss everything in the blender and blend and it makes 2 adult and 1 kiddo sized servings, so we all get some greens.
I hope these tips help you create a simpler, more streamline meal planning process. They can take the overwhelm out of planning meals, food shopping and eating well. And please use my free download. It’s a very similar style to the notebook (I’ve linked above) that I use and includes a shopping list.
