How meal planning can save you time!
Do you find yourself spending a lot of time cooking throughout the week? Or do you end up getting more takeout than you would like? What if there was a way you could get all of your cooking done for the week in one night and release the stress from what you are going to eat. This would create more time in your schedule and help you make healthier choices if you’d like!
I am sure you have heard of meal prepping, and it is one of my favorite time tips for myself. If you are interested in this, keep reading because I share my process of meal prepping.
I start off by sitting down at my desk and planning what I would like. This usually takes about 20 minutes. I grab my meal-planning notebook and write down the meals I’d like for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for Monday-Friday.
After deciding what meals I’d like, I write down my grocery list on the right hand side of the notebook. I usually have the recipe and/or instructions saved in my phone camera roll if it is a new recipe. I organize the grocery list by the different sections of the store (produce, dairy, frozen items, grains, etc) to make the grocery trip focused and easy.
For breakfast a typical meal for me is over-night oats, an egg/potato/veggie bowl, or fruit and granola on yogurt. For lunch, I really enjoy quinoa taco bowls and chicken fajitas. For dinner, I often do a pesto pasta with chicken sausage or roasted potatoes and veggies, with a side of salmon. Snacks consist of a protein box. This usually has a baby-bel, beef jerky, almonds, grapes, carrots and hummus.
Once I get home from the grocery store I organize my meal planning products together. Now here comes the fun part… turn on your favorite music, grab a glass of wine and your apron, comfortable shoes, and start cooking. I start with chopping any fruit/veggies that need to be prepped, and after that I will start making each recipe. If you have your chicken going in one pan, you can also have your quinoa going in another while your salmon is in the oven and so on.
Once all of the cooking is finished (usually takes me 2-3 hours on Sunday evening depending on what I am making and if I have any help), I will divide and portion into individual containers so all of the meals are ready to grab for the week and I just have to pop it in the microwave!
Trial and error is what has helped me the most with meal planning. I started off with easier meals, and then would slowly start adding my own twist to them with more flavors and more items. I think the beauty of meal planning is getting to spend one night with yourself (and your partner if they join you) and get into your creative side with cooking. This 2-3 hours spent on Sunday can save you a lot of time, energy, and money throughout the week. If you would like any recipes for the meals I make, the meal prep notebook I use, or any more suggestions for this, let me know!
I hope you all are having a wonderful summer so far. As always, if you don’t control your calendar, it will control you.
-Tick Tock…it’s about time