Wondering how to meal plan? In this post I share my quick and easy, four step process for meal planning. There are many reasons to plan your meals. If you’re ready to start meal planning, keep reading.
Grab your copy of the Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ template system – instant download >
What is a meal plan?
A meal plan is document that is created to plan meals over a period of time. You can plan:
- One meal
- One day of meals
- One week of meals
- One month of meals
- One year of meals
Why create a meal plan?
Professional chefs have been using meal plans for decades to plan big, elaborate meals for their customers. Home cooks have also been meal planning for decades in order to make it easy and affordable to feed an entire family while minimizing food waste.
Creating a meal plan is easy, here’s the four basic steps:
- Take inventory
- Choose your meals
- Grocery shop
- Meal prep
4 great reasons to create a meal plan
Here are four great reasons to create a meal plan:
Stick to your food budget
If you’re on a tight budget, or only want to spend a specific amount on your meals, creating a meal plan is a great way to stick to your food budget. By creating a meal plan, you can estimate the cost of each meal in advance. Instead of guessing how much each meal will cost, there is some simple math that you can use to plan meals around your food budget.
Further reading: How to budget and plan healthy meals
Take the stress out of meal prep
A good plan will help you avoid stress during meal times. Instead of opening the refrigerator and trying to come up with a meal every single time you have to feed yourself and your family, you can simply refer to your meal plan which will tell you exactly what to make and when. This is very useful if you are making meals for a group of people, or if you have several people who prepare meals for your family.
Stick to a healthy diet
If your goal is to stick to a healthy, well balanced diet, having a meal plan is a great way to ensure you are staying on track to meet your health goals. Instead of reaching for snacks and unhealthy food when hunger strikes, simply refer to your meal plan which will tell you what to eat and when. Planning your breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinners and desserts ahead of time will help you stick to your diet and avoid binge eating.
Plan your vacation meals
You don’t have to plan your meals every single week. Sometimes you just need a meal plan for specific events, like family vacations. If you are planning to take a trip and want to know what to pack in your cooler or what to stock in your vacation rental kitchen, creating a meal plan is a good idea.
Now, let’s get into our main topic: How to meal plan
How to meal plan
Creating a meal plan is simple and easy with this four step process I created. Using a meal planning template makes this even easier. Grab your copy of the Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ template system >
Step 1: Take inventory
The first step in creating your meal plan is to take an inventory of the ingredients you already have in your kitchen. The Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ includes a template for taking inventory. The inventory list on the template is broken down by category following the Daily Dozen. This makes it easy to plan healthy meals. These categories include:
- Whole grains
- Legumes
- Vegetables
- Leafy greens
- Cruciferous vegetables
- Fruits
- Berries
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Ready-to-eat foods
- Pantry items
The ingredients you already have should be used first before purchasing new ingredients (if your goal is to minimize food waste). Taking inventory is easy to do, here’s how:
- First, go through your refrigerator and freezer and write a list of the cold ingredients you have in there.
- Next, go to your pantry and cupboards and write a list of the dry ingredients you find.
- Lastly, if you keep food, such as fresh fruit, on your countertops or in another location, take inventory of these items as well.
Once you have a final list of all of the ingredients you already have in your home, review the list to determine which ingredients need to be used first. Ingredients that should be used first are ones that are about to expire or perish. Use these items first so that you minimize food waste. This method is referred to as “first in, first out” in the restaurant industry.
Tip: To make it easy to identify which items need to be used first, place the ingredients into your pantry that were “first in” (meaning purchased before the other ingredients) in front of the items that were purchased more recently. This way your refrigerator and pantry are already set up for the “first in, first out” method.
Step 2: Choose your meals
The second step in creating a meal plan is to decide which meals you want to enjoy during the week (or duration of your meal plan). The Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ includes a template with space for listing your meals and creating a 7-day meal plan, all in one sheet of paper. This template also includes your inventory list for easy reference.
Here are some tips for choosing your meals:
Plan meals around your event schedule
Consider your upcoming schedule of events and choose meals that will be easy to prepare depending on your schedule. For example, if you know you have to take your children to an event on Monday that will end shortly before dinner time, consider choosing a dinner that is quick and easy to prepare. Or, if you know you will be having guests over for dinner on Saturday evening, plan a meal that will be exciting and delicious.
Choose meals that are easy to prepare
If you have a difficult time sticking to a meal plan, try choosing meals that are quick and easy to prepare. This will help you stick to your plan, even on days when all you want to do is head for the drive-thru. Create a list of your favorite meals that take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Refer to this list when meal planning and add these meals to days when you know you’ve got a busy schedule.
Include fresh, healthy meals made from scratch
It’s tempting to fill a meal plan with processed and packaged foods, especially if you know you have a busy week coming up. However, it’s important to consider how these types of meals make your body feel. When your body doesn’t feel good, it’s difficult to enjoy your day. By including healthy, fresh and delicious meals to your meal plan you will be ensuring that you are feeding yourself and your family a variety of nutrient-dense foods that are made from scratch.
Some of the easiest healthy meals to include are ones that are enjoyed during breakfast, lunch and snack time. Here are five healthy meal ideas made from fresh ingredients:
- Salads
- Hot cereal bowls
- Fruit salads
- Smoothies
- Vegetable wraps
Plan meals around your food budget
If sticking to a food budget is a priority for you, it’s wise to have a “Budget Meals” list that includes meals which are cheap to prepare. Calculate the cost of each meal and write this on the list as well. When you’re creating a budget meal plan, simply refer to your “Budget Meals” list to create a meal plan that fits your budget.
Here’s seven inexpensive healthy meals:
- Cold cereal with soymilk
- Hot cereal with bananas and hemp seeds
- Salads with beans and greens
- Pasta with marinara sauce and vegetables
- Fruit salad
- Bean salad
- Baked yams with black beans and greens
Further reading: View all Budget Meals
Step 3: Grocery shop
Once you have taken inventory of your ingredients and chosen your meals, it’s time to grocery shop for ingredients you still need. To do this, you’ll want to make a grocery list that includes:
- Ingredients you need to purchase
- How much of each ingredient you need
- Your grocery shopping budget (if applicable)
The Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ includes a template grocery list which is already filled in with over 150 healthy ingredients. Simply circle or highlight the ingredients you need and write in the amount. This will save you time and energy because you won’t have to write a big long list each time you need to grocery shop.
Take this list with you. Bring a pen or pencil with you so you can check off the items as you place them into your cart. Before you leave the store, double check your list to make sure you purchased everything you need.
There are many great places to purchase healthy ingredients, here’s seven of my favorite places to grocery shop:
- Local grocery stores
- Big chain grocery stores
- Health food stores
- Discount grocery stores
- Farmer’s markets
- Produce stands
- Food banks (for low income shoppers)
Step 4: Meal prep
Once you get home from grocery shopping, it’s a good idea to review your meal plan and do some meal prep (if you have time). Meal prepping is easy and can be as basic or detailed as you prefer. For example, meal prep can be simply placing the ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry in a certain order (like grouping them according to meals) for easy access while cooking. Or, you can wash, chop and mix together any ingredients that you’ll be using throughout the week.
Make a meal prep list
One of the best ways to stay organized is to create a meal prep list. The Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ includes a template for meal prep that helps you stay organized.
When creating a meal prep list you’ll want to include the following:
- The ingredients you will be preparing
- The dates you plan to prep these ingredients
- The dishes each prepped ingredients will be used for
…and that’s it! Once you’ve created your meal plan, the next thing you do will be to use your meal plan.
Easy Vegan Meal Planner™
Ready to create a meal plan? Grab your copy of the Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ template system to take the guesswork out of meal planning. Available for instant download, this meal planner comes in both PDF and spreadsheet formats so you can plan both online and offline. Learn more >
