Well, if you want to save money, time, and avoid impulsive decisions short answer is YES!! Meal planning is a simple act of blocking out some time to plan your meals in advance. I prefer to plan all meals for myself and my family. This is not the only way! Meal planning just like all health is not a one size fits all kinda thing. Plan your meals in a way that works best for you and your lifestyle. Maybe you plan for breakfast and dinner for the family with a lunch menu designed just for you if you are away from home during the lunch hour. Or if you are currently working from home you plan for all three meals and snacks for the whole family. Whatever your planning style the goal is to plan and prepare in advance. When you don’t have a plan in place, especially on those long challenging days, it can be easy to pick up the phone and order a pizza that you regret only hours after the fact.
How does planning your meals change anything?
There is so much I love about meal planning, but one thing I know we all wish we had more of is time. Planning meals ahead of time is a huge time saver in the long run. By schedule time to plan and prepare I’m ready for my week ahead. Not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. When I have my shit together, (being organized is part of this), I feel supported and taken care of. Planning ahead is one way I take care of myself and my family. All you beautiful mamas know what I mean! Some days can feel like everything is crumbling around you by the end of the day the last thing you want to do is think about what to make for dinner then actually make it.
Planning your menu according to your schedule each week allows you to create easy healthy meals even on nights when time is limited so take-out is no longer an option. When I meal plan and prep I chunk my activities doing several tasks once each week cuts down on daily prep, cleanup, trips to the store, and more. Planning your meals will reduce and eventually eliminate the possibility of impulsive eating and food choices.
How much time do you spend thinking about what to make for each meal every single day? Do you have picky eaters? I do and mine are teenagers now, they don’t like to make life easy at all. When I do ask them what they would like for dinner, it takes forever to get an agreed response if ever. Instead of going round and round with them for every meal we eat, I organize my menu around what I know everyone enjoys and mix it up so we are all happy at meal time.
By creating my menu for the entire week during one block of time once a week I save so much brain energy and lots of time. It requires energy and time each day to decide what to eat for three different meals plus snacks to please myself and my picky kiddos. After a long day this is usually the last thing I want to do. Take-out and drive throughs used to be my go-to. Thankfully, I was forced to change this behavior pattern. Because of a massive lifestyle change I couldn’t afford to splurge on eating out. At first it was an adjustment, but these days it feels strange for me to eat out. I see this as a good thing. Especially since my entire body can feel the effects of a single meal totally blew my mind recently. We had Chinese take-out recently, I felt like I had a hangover the next morning without any of the fun of a night out drinking with friends.
Based on my weekly schedule I create a menu. I know what I will be making for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even treats for the whole family every day of the week, YAY!! Time to create the weekly shopping list from the menu. After I finish my list, I make sure to double-check I am not buying something I already have in the kitchen. I also peek in my cabinet above the oven to make sure I am not running low on spices and oils. This step has been a big area of savings for me.
Giving my inner meal girl fuel!
Before I began planning ahead, I would stop at the store whenever I had time, without a list, usually with my stomach growling at me. Yeah, I don’t recommend this method.
Before planning our family meals, I can’t remember a time when I left the grocery store without feeling buyer’s remorse. A gut feeling deep down of shame and guilt for spending way more than I told myself I would as I walked into the store. The guilt and shame didn’t stop when I left the store. Nope, as I put the groceries away one of two things normally happened. I can picture myself kneeling down to spin around my corner pantry cabinet to put away the cooking oil I just bought only to find I already had 2 bottles from the last BOGO sale still in my pantry unopened, now I have 4 bottles. After the groceries are put away time to cook dinner for the family. I kneel down again spin the corner cabinet around and around and around only to find I don’t have any sauce which I thought I still had 2 jars of. Sound familiar?
My inner mean girl just loved this, tons of fuel for her to slam me with all in less than 2 hours. I would beat myself up for hours if not days, it was definitely a never ending ‘cycle of fuckery’ (as my life coach so lovingly puts it).
Pick up everything you need and nothing you don’t...
When we plan ahead and double check our list, we no longer have too many of one item and not enough of another. Only buy what is on the grocery list. Shopping for groceries once a week instead of running to the store a few times a week to pick-up last-minute items plus anything else that happened to catch my eye while in the store. You know how that goes. Oh, this is on sale, SWEET, I’ll stock up and while I’m here that cheesecake looks so delicious, I’ll just grab one of those too… Before you know it a trip to the store for milk and eggs turns into $247 worth of extra groceries you didn’t plan for in the back seat of your car as you drive home.
When you buy only the items you’ve planned for you know what you want when you get there. It can be fun to wander the grocery store, I get it! I sometimes used my grocery store visits as a ‘break’ to decompress but this got me into trouble. Buying things, I didn’t plan for and spending way too much time wandering around the store. With new healthy habits there is no need to take a ‘break’ at the grocery store!
For some time, I dreaded my trips to the grocery store. A simple change in my routine changed everything for me. I no longer felt a sense of chaos as I walked into the store. When I started creating my new habit, I treated my trip to the grocery store like a mission. I had a plan to follow and a list to check off. Now shopping for groceries is one of many rewarding experiences for me each week. When I follow my meal planning and prep system I save time, money, and eliminate impulsive purchases/decisions! What more could a girl want??
Planning your menu saves more than time...
I went through a couponing phase for a few months several years ago. I had no clue what I was doing. I’m pretty sure it ended up costing me more than I saved. I do my savings differently these days. I make my list first then if there are any coupons or deals for what I want to buy for my meals that week I grab them. Sometimes if there is a killer deal, I will switch a meal to two around to take advantage but not the other way around. I buy primarily fresh fruits, veggies, and meat. The coupons I’ve seen are normally for processed and packaged foods. Therefore coupons are not really huge savings for my lifestyle. I do however look for different store sales on produce and meat. This is an area of big savings when you plan for it properly.
Prep once for the entire week
Throwing away food is tough for me! As I toss the food in the trash, I feel like I am throwing away my hard-earned cash. There is nothing wrong with leftovers, in fact as a busy single mom I am a HUGE FAN of leftovers. I have taken this a step further in my meal planning and prep. When I am preparing for the week, I like to do whatever I can in one day. Cook a batch of shredded chicken to use in meals during the week. Dice several onions and put them in the fridge in a Tupperware to pull from as I’m cooking meals each day. Whatever I know I’ll need for the week ahead I prepare in whatever way I can in one day. If I know we will have a busy day coming up I prepare meals in advance for a few days stick them in the freezer, so I am not tempted to pick up the phone to order take out.
Here’s a simple example to explain. I cook with onion often. Each time I prepare a meal, I have to pull out the cutting board and a knife to cut the onion plus any other veggies I’m preparing. But if I do the entire step once a week, I only have to wash one cutting board and one knife, one time rather than at each meal. It may seem minor in this example but it’s actually a huge saving when you add up each meal and each item you pre-prep. Publix knows this or they wouldn’t be selling prepared diced onions for 4X the cost of one whole onion. Time is expensive!
Plan for YOUR lifestyle, start wherever you are now
By planning your menu and meals in advance you will be making healthy choices for you and your family every day. You will feel much more prepared and organized, food is a huge part of our lives!! If you struggle to make healthy choices, it’s not because you lack willpower. Our relationships with food can be deeply emotional. Don’t let meal planning scare you. You can begin with as much or as little deal and meals as you like and grow from there. The goal is to have an idea for each meal, so you are not starting from zero. Having a plan will help you make consistent healthy food choices. Some days you could even plan take-out as long as it is planned and you like your reason it will feel good to make the choice!
Making quick emotional choices are way too easy these days! Thank the lizard brain for that short term I want it now, I need it now impulsive behavior. When we are exhausted after a long day, willpower just doesn’t cut it. When you plan ahead you can still support yourself with healthy easy meals!
Do you currently prep or plan your menu? If so, I’d love to hear about any unique tricks and tips that keep you on track!
If you could use help creating a plan or changing your relationship with food, feel free to reach out anytime. It is my passion to help amazing women implement changes to better their overall health and wellness!!