8 Useful Steps to Reduce Overwhelm when Meal planning

Do you constantly feel overwhelmed by the thought of not knowing what to cook for dinner most nights of the week? Maybe you just “wing it” every night, ending up at the supermarket most days after work, wandering around thinking about what to have for dinner.  And maybe, you have thought about meal planning, but feel overwhelmed by the process because it feels like too much work that you don’t have time for.  Keep reading to learn the 8 useful steps to reduce overwhelm when meal planning, and never feel strapped for time again.

 

What is meal planning?

 

Meal planning involves planning for your weekly meals in advance, shopping for the ingredients needed and pre-preparing the meals (or parts of the meals) in advance. Meal planning is the key to good nutrition, health and wellbeing as it eliminates the confusion, decision making and reaching for whatever is in the pantry or fridge for snacks and meals. 

 

How to meal plan

 

When meal planning, there are few things we need to consider before beginning such as:

 

• What does our calendar look like for the week ahead?
• How much time do we have on any given night to cook and eat dinner?
• Do we have the recipe on hand to cook the meal?
• Is the meal mainly plant based?
• What day/s of the week do we want to spend planning, shopping and pre-preparing our meal plan?
• How much time do we have to plan, shop and pre-prepare?
• Are there family members that can help out and share the load?

 

If you work Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, it will usually be dinners that will be the most challenging to get organised, especially if you have other commitments outside of your working hours.  I am a big advocate for having leftovers for lunch (I always tell my clients to do this) as this eliminates decision fatigue, and if you choose a couple of breakfasts that you have time to make in the morning, you can rotate them throughout the week.  Overall, meal planning has many advantages, including:

 

• Saves money
• Saves time
• Reduces overwhelm/decision fatigue/stress
• Adds variety to meals
• Improves health and nutrition
• Reduces food waste
• Seasonal eating adds to saving money and food miles
• Can involve the whole family in choosing, shopping and pre-preparing meals

 

8 useful steps to reduce overwhelm when meal planning

 

1. Decide what day/s of the week/weekend you are going to plan/shop/prepare

 

You may find that if you plan on a Friday night, shop on a Saturday and prepare on a Sunday works well for you, or, maybe you prefer to plan one day and do the shopping and preparing on another day.  I would suggest doing it over a couple of days rather all in one day, because you will find that you will spend your whole day doing this and it may be off putting.  Make it easy for yourself, and don’t overthink it.

 

2. Collect recipe books, magazines, websites, your diary or calendar and meal planner

 

Have a look through your diary/calendar for the week ahead and write on your meal planner anything that you have booked and that may impact on your meals.  These could be things like:

 

• Do you have a lunch time meeting?
• Do you have an event after work?
• Are you going out for dinner during the week?
• Are you working late any night?
• Do your kids have after school activities?
• Are you going to the gym or some other activity/sport?

 

Make sure you write down what it is and the time frame on the meal planner as this will give you an idea how much time you have to prepare and eat your meal on any given night.  This will then allow you to narrow down the recipes based on the hands on time you need to cook.

 

3. Select recipes based on your diary/calendar and time available during the week

 

Once you know how much time you have on any given night, you can then start selecting your recipes from the books, magazines and websites, or maybe you have a family favourite in your head that’s quick and easy on those busy nights!  Start making a list of the dinners you think would fit into your schedule for the week. Don’t make this too complicated for yourself and choose recipes that are relatively easy to follow and simple.

 

4. Make a list of the ingredients needed

 

Taking into account what ingredients you have in your pantry, fridge and freezer, start making a list of the ingredients you need to buy. Also being aware of what fruits and vegetables are in season will save you money.  Look for ways that you can substitute some ingredients.  Some examples are:

 

• Swap white rice for brown rice (the same for pasta, swap white for wholemeal)
• Instead of regular beef mince, use lean or extra lean
• In place of butter, lard or coconut oil, use extra virgin olive oil
• Low fat dairy products in place of full fat
• Instead of buying a packaged sauce or dressing, make your own from scratch

 

5. Write and finalise the shopping list

6. Go shopping!

7. Prep what you can for the week ahead

 

Once you have the shopping home and put away, have a look at the recipes you have chosen again, and see which ones you can prepare now for later in the week to save you time.  Some examples are:

 

• Pre-cut vegetables for salads and roasting
• Pre-roast vegetables for later in the week
• Pre-marinate meats
• Portion yoghurts for snacks for the week
• Make up snack bags of mixed nuts and dried fruits
• Hard boil eggs in advance to have for breakfast mashed on toast, or for a snack or lunch in the afternoon, add to salads or other dishes
• Pre wash all salad vegetables such as lettuce, rocket and kale, so that it is ready to use when needed
• If a meal is freezable, make the the meal in advance and freeze for later in the week

 

8. Placed finished planner on the fridge and follow it for the week.  Leave the recipes in a place in the kitchen that is easily accessible, ready to go each night.

9. Enjoy!

 

Meal planning can make our week seamless with less stress, decision fatigue and more calm, a feeling of being organised and choosing nutritious meals.  Menopause can be hard enough without dragging our feet every night, throughout the week not knowing what we are going to cook for dinner.  Print off your own meal planner here to use and let me know how it goes planning for the week ahead!

 

If you are needing some guidance with your nutrition and menopause, please connect with me by booking a Free 15 minute Discovery Call.