How To Plan Out Meals For The Week To Reduce Decision Fatigue And Save Time
My simple, flexible system for planning out dinners for the week
Time-Saving Meal Planning Suggestions
Meal planning has been key for me as a mom, and honestly, it was important for me long before I had kids. I’ve seen advice from people who are incredibly organized and spend four hours on a Sunday doing all their meal planning and prep for the week. That has just never been for me - it strips the joy out of cooking and eating for me, and I like having the flexibility to decide what sounds good for dinner based on my mood that day. I need that freedom.
That’s also one reason I tend not to offer meal plans for my nutrition clients. Giving someone a week of meals and saying they have to eat X, Y, and Z on whatever day isn’t realistic or sustainable for most people. It doesn’t account for changing appetites, energy levels, last-minute dinner plans with friends, or simply wanting something different than what was “scheduled.” That said, meal plans that provide guidance - say, for a health concern - can be practical ways to understand and implement foods that may be beneficial.
That doesn’t mean I’m against guidance. In fact, I think for a lot of people having a loose framework or general ideas of what a healthy day might look like are helpful. That's why the meal plans we share here are designed to be more like examples and sources of inspiration rather than strict prescriptions. They offer ideas for how to structure a day of eating around a specific goal or health concern, but they're not meant to be followed exactly or treated as a set of rules.
But for me, when it comes to meal planning, I like to keep things easy and flexible. Here are four things I take into account when meal planning (plus an extra tip!).
I like to spend about 20 minutes on Sunday (though it can be any day that works for you) picking about five dinners for the week. I aim to keep weekday meals under 30 minutes and might include one or two more elaborate meals for the weekend. I like variety, so I tend to choose a mix of cuisines so there’s something that fits whatever I’m craving on a given night. I try to make sure there’s always at least one meal that contains beans and another with a whole grain! That’s usually:
At least one pasta dish
A grain bowl
Some sort of Latin-inspired meal
An Asian-inspired dish
I look at recipes, make a grocery list, and shop for the week. I try to cook enough at dinner so that we can have leftovers for lunch the next day. I do always keep a few lunch staples on hand, too. We rotate through pretty much the same few breakfasts most weeks, so I always keep those ingredients stocked. It’s really dinner I have to think about.
I intentionally leave two nights open each week for going out, eating with friends or family, or a “something from the fridge” kind of dinner. I also like having a couple of super-easy frozen meals on hand for nights when I just can’t bring myself to cook. I rely on Trader Joe’s for those - we love their frozen pastas and dumplings. (I have a Trader’s Joe’s post coming soon - be on the lookout!)
I always write down the meals we’re making and keep a folder of saved recipes, because I can’t rely on memory right now.
Meal planning and shopping in one go truly saves me so much time. Otherwise, I end up at the grocery store every day, frantically trying to figure out dinner at 4 p.m.
I was not prepared for the mental load of deciding what to make every night. It definitely made me appreciate, in retrospect, what a gift it was as a kid to have someone else think through dinner and put it on the table.
Another piece of advice I have is to plan meals you actually want to eat. If your meal plan is too aspirational, you’ll end up ordering takeout.
That’s how we meal plan in our house! I hope these tips are helpful. Are you a meal planner? What works best for you? Share in the comments!
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