my approach to meal planning

When it comes to general life I feel like people typically fall into one of two camps: the plan- it camp or the wing-it camp. You can probably tell from reading almost anything I write that I fall squarely into the former, plan-it, camp. But to be honest I have always been in awe of the wing- it people. Those people who don't study and get the A; those people who are hardly working and get the promotion; those people who don't put their babies on a schedule and yet somehow their babies sleep through the night anyway (clearly all from experience 😂). How do you do it and manage to keep it all together, wing-it people? Please let a girl know, because my brain is just not wired that way. Instead, I plan. And while there are probably definitely instances in life that would have been way more fun if I could just for the love of God relax, there is one plan-it instance that has consistently served me well: meal planning.

Planning meals has helped me in a few key ways:
#1: Saving Money. (Eating out every day, especially for lunch, is so pricey.)
#2: Maintaining a Healthy Weight. (I have a better idea of what is in my food.)
#3: Managing Stress. (Knowing what is for dinner is the ultimate decision fatigue remedy.)

Braised Chicken w/Spring Vegetables 

Though it has changed depending on my situation (working, not working, for myself only, for my family, etc.), I have been on this plan-shop-execute repeat kick for the better part of ten years and so it's always really surprising to me when I hear about people who find it overwhelming and hate doing it. So, today I thought I would share a little bit about how I go about it

Quesadillas 

I typically do my planning on Saturday and my shopping on Sunday. I start by making a list that has each day listed out, Sunday through Saturday. I also include a line for lunch (I eat the same thing every day for a week). Any day that one or both of us are busy gets an asterisk so that I know it requires something easy or nothing at all. Friday is always pizza, oven-style or ordered out. Saturday is always left open (we need some spontaneity). Sunday I reserve for more complex meals because my husband is home and can watch Bodhi. Then I fill in the days choosing from the following categories: something between bread, something in a shell (tacos), pasta / salad combo, protein / side combo, bowl food. Below I've put some of the options that we choose regularly from each category and I've linked to anything that has an online recipe. After all the meals are listed, the necessary ingredients get put on a checklist at the bottom.

This week's meal plan; I use the "NOTES" app on the iPhone.

Between Bread Options:
-Grilled Cheese (usually eaten with soup; here I would make myself a broccoli melt)
-Quesadillas (usually served with salsa / sliced avocado and some Greek yogurt)
-Salmon Burgers (buy pre-made frozen; usually served with a salad or rice and a steamed veggie)
-Hamburgers or Turkey Burgers (usually served with oven fries or potato puffs)

Something in a Shell Options:
-Anything goes for tacos; right now, we're on a crunchy beef taco kick but we've made fish tacos (using frozen fish fillets), shrimp tacos (using frozen shrimp), pulled pork tacos (slow cooker), BBQ pork tacos (using prepared BBQ pork), spaghetti squash tacos (yep it's a thing), etc. If I make a side it's usually just rice.

Pasta / Salad Combo Options:
-Raviolis (fresh from the deli; we like the Buitoni brand) and Caesar Salad
-Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and a simple Romaine Salad
-Thin Spaghetti with Shrimp + Pesto and a simple Romaine Salad
-Tortellini / Sweet Sausage in tomato cream sauce and a simple Romaine Salad

Protein / Side Combo Options:
-Pesto Salmon with Rice
-Miso Salmon with Tofu Noodles (yes even Robert will eat this)
-Rotisserie Chicken with Stovetop Stuffing and Roasted Sweet Potatoes
-Cheddar Chicken with Green Beans and Rice
-Steak with Tomato Salad and Corn (only in the summer but it's my favorite 👏)

Bowl Food Options: 
-Sausage and tomato risotto
-Garlic Butter Shrimp with Rice 
-Honey Garlic Shrimp with Rice
-Chicken Pot Pie
-Braised Chicken w/Spring Vegetables

Tortellini with Sweet Sausage in Tomato Cream Sauce 

We are lucky in the sense that we don't have many food limitations; right now the only thing I completely omit is eggs because both Robert and Bodhi are allergic to them. I should also note that at this point, I am really only cooking for me and Robert. Since we take Bodhi up for bath / bedtime between 6:30 and 7:00, I usually feed him around 5:00. I may do a separate post on some of the foods that he's eating at ten/eleven months, but common dinner options are rotisserie chicken, meatballs, salmon burgers, roasted sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli, cheese (Gouda and Cheddar are his favorites), stuffing, vegetable soup and toast with butter. I am fully aware that dinner preparation may become more difficult as Bodhi gets older and potentially pickier, but this is what is working for us right now. One of the things that has helped us build up our repertoire is trying one new dish every two weeks or so. Sometimes we end up liking it and adding it to the rotation and sometimes we're like nope, once and done. My favorite cookbook, hands down, is Simple Suppers. The recipes are mostly vegetarian but it's so easy to adjust and add in a meat. If you're looking for something to jump-start your planning, this would be my number one recommendation.

Tomato Salad

My final note is that once you get into a groove, you'll be able to adjust more easily. Sometimes something comes up (like a sick child / late pediatrician appointment) and you end up eating sausage and cheese sandwiches for dinner on the couch at 8:30 PM. A lot of times I have a meal or two planned that has completely shelf-stable ingredients and it can just be pushed off until the following week. (Like in the meal plan for this week [first image, above] the shrimp dish could easily be cancelled without wasting any food). Simple Suppers (the book I linked to above) includes a lot of canned or frozen products in their recipes, so again, this book is a great starting point, especially if you're on the go a lot.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful to anyone who hates meal planning! I'm thinking that I'll share some of my grocery store hacks next week as a follow-up so stay tuned. :]