I’m an avid meal planner. It actually pains me to go into a grocery store with no concrete plans or shopping list. I end up forgetting what I need, purchasing random stuff and wasting money. Then, in the middle of the week, we’re struggling trying to put a meal together. It just makes me crazy!
My Weekly Meal Planning Formula
I try to meal plan on Thursdays. This gives me wiggle room to actually complete the meal plan on Friday. I also try to meal plan when I’m hungry, because it really gives me the inspiration to think about food. All of this comes from Atomic Habits by James Clear. Having the weekday habit of planning meals keeps the routine going.
My old plan – On a typical week, I would usually make five entrees and five side items. We then pick what we want to eat daily. As a convenience for my healthy husband, I pack some of these menu items into reheatable containers so he can grab and go.
My new plan – I prep all of my ingredients, then make two or three different entrees and side items. I do my best not to pull out any pots and pans during the week, but this prep work allows me to get a quick meal on the table for a little more variety.
Start out with your go-to’s
Consider the foods you’re consistently into. What are the foods that you can’t get enough of? What are the safe foods that you don’t get sick of? Write them down, stick them in an easy to access place, and look at it whenever you need inspo.
Example:
- I make roasted split chicken breasts, chicken thighs and/or diced boneless chicken breasts or thighs every week without fail.
- I like to roast frozen veggies for a quick, healthy side option. I tend to rotate broccoli, mixed vegetables, fresh brussels sprouts, etc.
- In the past, I would make spaghetti one week, and chili on the next week, especially in the Fall and Winter months.
- A big pot of rice is a great sidekick to many meals
I know this is probably an easy one, but Pinterest is a treasure trove of meal ideas! I suggest following specific boards that cover dietary needs, types of cuisine, grocers, etc. For instance, if you follow me on Pinterest, I pin new posts to my general food board, Taste (it has over 2,000 pins!). I also have boards for breakfast, salads, Trader Joe’s meals, pasta, seafood, chicken wings, sandwiches and more.
Cookbooks (purchased or library)
I’ve been a cookbook collector for over a decade. I love being able to refer to different books to learn new recipes, pantry essentials and techniques. While I own about 70 cookbooks, I like to get books from the library to browse through them and see how cookable they are. It’s my way of trying before I buy. It might take some time, but go through and bookmark recipes that you might be interested in making. You can make note of them in a document, write out a list somewhere, or use a software like Eat Your Books.
Cookbooks I Love
Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ: Every Day Is a Good Day: A Cookbook
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No Crumbs Left: Whole30 Endorsed, Recipes for Everyday Food Made Marvelous
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Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
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Trejo’s Cantina: Cocktails, Snacks & Amazing Non-Alcoholic Drinks from the Heart of Hollywood
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Digital Repository
I save any digital recipes that I’m interested in in a couple of different places. I use Pocket (the free version) to save only recipes. When I’m looking for food to make, I browse my list of saved recipes.
I’m also fond of Eat Your Books, a digital space to “bookmark” recipes that you’re interested in cooking. Most of the cookbooks are indexed, so you can save your favorites and even find accompanying grocery lists! I pay $40 a year for this service.
Social Media
Along the same lines as the previous idea, most of the TikToks and Reels that I save are cooking related! I’ve created specific folders for general meals, iced coffees, grilling/smoking, etc. When I’m looking for inspiration, I just head over to these folders and add anything interesting to my meal plan. Sometimes these posts have recipes, and sometimes they don’t.
There are also tons of Facebook groups, subreddits etc. that discuss different types of food. You’d be surprised how many things people post that will remind you of something you used to love when you were growing up, or something new you’d like to try.
Restaurant Menus
You’ve got food at home! Going through restaurant menus can give inspiration that you didn’t know you wanted or needed. You can look at local joints, fast food and Michelin star menus. I will often just look through Grubhub, Doordash, Uber Eats etc. to see what I might want to recreate.
Grocery Stores
When you’re at the grocery store and you’re on the fence about trying something, jot it down and consider it later. I’ve found a few frozen items that might be good in a pinch, but I didn’t necessarily want to try them at the moment. For instance, I’ve been considering the seafood boil in a bag at Aldi. I have watched reviews on it, I’ve looked at it in I also like to take pics of different items and look up reviews when I get home. I do this all the time in Costco, Sam’s Club or BJ’s. I hate spending $20-$30 on food in bulk and end up hating it.
Recipe Sites and Apps
I proudly spend $5 a month on the NYT Cooking app (This chicken tortilla soup recipe will change your life). I’ve found some absolutely mind-blowing recipes there. I’ve also purchased a few other apps in the past, including Budget Bytes, Fit Men Cook and Epicurious. You’ll find countless meal ideas there!
Friends and family
My sister in law and I discuss our meal plans all the time. We send recipes and ideas. I have a few friends that also send the “omg I tried this and it’s amazing” text. Those recipes end up getting saved to one of the digital repositories.
Friends and family
What can’t chat GPT do?
Create a cookbook/meal book
Gather family recipes, pages from cooking magazines, etc and compile them into a book! I have a binder that includes recipes I’ve printed out, written out or torn out of magazines.
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