Meal planning is touted as a direct route to eating more healthfully, spending less money and saving some time — and it certainly can be. But for many us, it’s more of an annoying chore than a helpful activity. That’s because in addition to being time-consuming, “meal planning” just sounds strict. It doesn’t seem to leave room for creativity and spontaneity — especially when you’re also attempting to craft meals that are nutritionally sound and budget-friendly.
But there’s another way to meal plan that doesn’t involve preparing stacks of identical Tupperware containers for the week ahead. I’ve been doing it for years without even realizing it. After raising three boys and figuring out how to stock my bustling household, I had to keep in mind what was going on that week. Was I having company? How many nights were we eating out? What meals could I cook once and then repurpose the leftovers?
So while I don’t follow a specific recipe, I do picture how individual ingredients will morph into meals. In other words, I picture how the ingredients will work together to create delicious meals without much waste.
I’m not the only one who meal plans without planning. Here are 14 tips from my dietitian nutritionist friends on how to turn a time-intensive chore into a time-saving (and almost fun) weekly activity.
[SEE: How to Become a Meal Prep Expert.]
14 Meal Planning Tips
1. Start with a theme.
The hardest part of planning a meal is figuring out what the heck to make. That’s why registered dietitian nutritionist and culinary nutrition expert Jessica Levinson says it’s important to make that part fun.
“Plan theme nights, like meatless Monday, taco Tuesday and fish Friday,” she says. “This is fun, especially for the kids, and it makes planning a menu easier because you know exactly what kind of recipe and ingredients you need for every night.”
To make theme nights even easier, registered dietitian nutritionist Karen Ehrens recommends making a basic veggie sauté on Sunday with things like carrots, onions, celery, zucchini, peas and broccoli. That way, every night you can reheat it and add a different herb, spice or sauce.
“The idea is that you can change up the flavor to Greek, Indian, Italian, Moroccan or Mexican, depending on the night’s theme,” she says.
[READ: Ways to Keep Veggies Fresh Longer.]
2. Think of your refrigerator as a salad bar.
You know there’s a health revolution in the works when salad bar chains are becoming as popular as Starbucks. Now there’s a new place to get a healthy meal-in-a-bowl: your fridge. Here, you don’t have to meal prep, you just have to ingredient prep.
“If you take 40 minutes on a Sunday to prep all the vegetables you need for a salad, like shredded carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, romaine lettuce, celery, green onions, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini noodles, and store them in separate containers, you’ll save time during the week because the food is all set up and ready to eat. All you have to do is throw it together,” says registered dietitian nutritionist Jen Haugen, a director and kitchen consultant with Pampered Chef and owner of JenHaugen.com.
Prepping veggies ahead of time also makes then more welcoming as finger foods to dunk in hummus or yogurt dips for quick snacks.
You can also choose salads that are pre-washed and combined in bags with a combination of your favorite ingredients. Just be sure to read labels carefully since some premade salads come with dressings and fixings that could add more calories, fat, sodium and sugar than your naked salad supplies.
[SEE: Fresh, Frozen or Canned: What Is Best?]
3. Cook your protein, then get creative.
There’s no shortage of chicken breast recipes
on the internet; in fact, it’s one of the highest-searched terms on Google. Use them to cook 10 (or more, depending on the size of your family) on Sunday night and store them in your fridge to serve all week long, Haugen recommends.
“Prepping the protein ahead of time means you don’t have to have a specific menu in mind,” she says. “Instead, chicken can be ready to go for whatever you are feeling like: quesadillas, soups, paninis, pastas, stir-fry and more.”
If you’re a vegetarian, cook a big batch of hard-boiled eggs at the beginning of the week instead, recommends registered dietitian nutritionist Amy von Sydow Green.
“If you (do that), you can use them in so many ways,” she says. “For example, two eggs and a piece of fruit makes a super quick on-the-go breakfast. Over a salad, eggs make a great lunch.”
Or why not try breakfast for dinner with a veggie-stuffed omelet and some of those leftover veggies from the night before?
And not all protein even requires cooking. Open a can of tuna, sardines or salmon and toss these excellent sources of protein over a salad or make a super sandwich.
4. Stock your pantry.
You’re hanging out at home, scrolling Instagram, watching Food Network or catching up on emails when suddenly it hits you — it’s time to eat! But when you raid your pantry, all you have is some expired yogurt and a half-full bag of nuts. That’s why registered dietitian nutritionist Liz Weiss, founder of Liz’s Healthy Table, recommends maintaining a well-stocked pantry.
“Keeping healthy and versatile ingredients on hand like whole-wheat pasta
, jarred pasta sauce, canned beans, quinoa and canned tuna means you can have dinner on the table in a matter of minutes,” she says.
Not sure what to do with those ingredients? Some of Weiss’s favorite no-plan dinners include pasta with cannellini beans, shredded cheese and sauteed (frozen) broccoli florets or a tuna fish sandwich.
Karman Meyer, a registered dietitian nutritionist at TheNutritionAdventure.com, meanwhile, opts for quinoa bowls with canned beans and tomatoes, and whatever veggies she has in the fridge.
[See: Healthy Staples You Should Always Have in Your House.]
5. Stock your freezer too.
The farmers market may be paradise during harvest season, but frozen fruits and vegetables can be just as rich in nutrients
, since the produce is allowed to ripen fully before being frozen. Frozen foods are easy to store for a rainy day, and if you’re a supermarket sleuth, you can shop when you see sales.
Registered dietitian nutritionist Melissa Joy Dobbins recommends taking advantage of that by loading up your freezer with frozen produce to complement the fresh produce you have on hand. “This helps ensure that our meals and snacks are balanced, while keeping our food waste down and saving money,” she says.
6. Shop in your own kitchen.
Admit it: How many times have you gone food shopping while hungry and wound up with (sometimes expensive) pantry items or frozen goods you never ended up cooking or eating? Avoid that by looking at the items in your refrigerator, pantry and freezer before
you hit the grocery store, Levinson recommends.
“Using the food you already have that you’re in the mood for can help you plan a meal. This helps reduce food waste and saves you time from having to go grocery shopping,” she says. Budget-friendly eating for the win!
I personally like to take photos of my pantry or fridge before I go to the store to see what I already have. It’s annoying and costly to come home with a jug of syrup and realize there’s no pancake mix — but there’s is another jug of syrup.
7. Have a fallback meal.
Raise your hand if cereal or pasta are your go-to choices when you can’t think of something else to make. According to registered dietitian nutritionist Jeannie Boyer, your fallback meal doesn’t have to be so, well, predictable.
“I always have mozzarella, canned tomatoes or tomato sauce and some pizza dough or spaghetti squash on hand,” she says. “When a busy night of the week comes, I know I can make pizza or pasta — and add whatever vegetables I have in the fridge — to make a meal in under 20 minutes.”
A loaf of whole grain bread and an array of nut butters paired with some fresh fruit makes one of the quickest meals in minutes.
[SEE: Healthy Meals You Can Make in 10 Minutes.]
8. Simply don’t meal plan — and don’t feel guilty about it.
Even if you’re already a meal-planning pro, sometimes days (or full weeks) go by when you simply can’t
(or choose not to). In this day and age of go-go-go, Cara Harbstreet, the registered dietitian nutritionist behind Street Smart Nutrition, says it’s important not to be too hard on yourself when this happens.
“If planning, shopping and preparing a meal seems overwhelming and undoable, select a favorite restaurant, preview the menu and consider that a version of ‘meal planning,'” she says. The best part? “This will allow you to spend more time with the people you care about, without the stress of making a meal,” she says. You can also purchase part of the meal (like the barbecue chicken) and add your own sides.
The upside here is that if you bring home a doggy bag, you can embellish upon it with some of the foods you’re already prepped in your fridge and create a meal for another day.
9. Ask your family for input.
You could be serving up a plate from Gordon Ramsay or Giada De Laurentiis him or herself, and still someone in the family would have a complaint. That’s why Stephanie Van’t Zelfden, a registered dietitian nutritionist and founder of Nutrition Hungry, lets each member of the family pick one meal they’d like to have for dinner during the week.
“By asking what they’re craving and letting everyone choose a meal before I go shopping, I don’t have to come up with meals,” she says.
As a bonus, registered dietitian nutritionist Sandy Nissenberg, says, “This makes it easier to solicit help in the kitchen and get the kids excited for dinner.”
This could backfire, however, if someone asks you to whip up a soufflé or create a dish that takes hours to make. It might be best to give family members choices from simple recipes that you can get to the table with a fuss.
10. Fall in love with your slow cooker or Instant Pot.
“I make a huge pot of crockpot pulled chicken breast with super simple ingredients like halved chicken breasts, 1 cup of chicken stock, seasonings and 2 tablespoons butter, and cook it on low for six to seven hours,” says Shoshana Pritzker, a private practice registered dietitian nutritionist and sports nutritionist in Long Island, New York. “Then I use the pulled chicken in various ways for lunch and dinner. For example, an open-faced sandwich for lunch and pulled chicken and rice with a vegetable for dinner.”
A bonus: There’s only one pot to clean when your food is ready. Slow cookers and Instant Pots can make eating healthy a breeze.
11. Cook once eat thrice.
I love to cook, but I don’t love to cook all the time. As an example, when I bake or barbeque salmon, I make enough for a crowd even if it’s just the two of us for dinner. The first day the salmon may have been accompanied by roasted veggies and potatoes. The next day, some of the salmon will get thrown over a salad or tossed into pasta with vegetables. The third day, the leftover salmon gets mashed with with egg, breadcrumbs, seasoning and chopped veggies to get morphed into patties. They’re easy to bake or pan fry on your stovetop. Serve it with the veggies you prepped in tip No. 2.
12. Comb through circulars for sales.
When it’s hard to decide what to make, it might be best to lean into sale items as displayed in supermarket circulars. Some stores even combine sale items to make meal suggestions by featuring something like a pasta and a complimentary tomato sauce, or ground meat and burger buns. These ideas provide a head start on meal planning and saving some cash too.
13. Shop in season.
By buying fruits and veggies in season, it’s easier to pick up fresh ingredients and you’ll also find an abundance of seasonal recipes in the news to help you decide what to do with your produce. Buying in season also saves you money, and it adds variety to your diet.
14. Not every meal has to be a culinary masterpiece.
Just the fact that you are getting, gathering and creating a meal could be a big plus towards saving you money, sparing yourself from consuming less healthy ingredients and giving yourself a pat on the back for the effort. And in the worst-case scenario … you can order in part of the meal and add a salad.
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Meal Planning Pro Tips From a Dietitian originally appeared on usnews.com
