Wondering how to plan healthy meals for the week? In this post I share with you how to create a healthy meal plan using a simple, four-step process using meal planning templates. If you’re ready to plan healthy meals, keep reading.

Ready to start planning healthy meals? Grab your copy of the Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ template system >

What is a meal plan?

A meal plan is a document that is created to make a plan for meals over a specific period of time. A meal plan can be prepared for:

• One meal
• One day
• Several days
• One week
• Two weeks
• One month
• One year

A meal plan usually includes the following:

1. A list of meals
2. A list of ingredients
3. A schedule for meals to be served
4. A schedule for meal prep
5. A grocery shopping list

Why create a healthy meal plan?

There are many reasons to create a meal plan, however in this post we are specifically focused on creating a healthy meal plan for one week. If you’re focused on establishing and maintaining a healthy diet, then creating a weekly meal plan can be very helpful. By creating a meal plan, you are able to:

1. Plan a well balanced, healthy diet
2. Keep track of your nutrition intake
3. Keep yourself accountable
4. Help others in your household know your meal plan
5. Look forward to delicious and healthy meals that you put into your plan
6. Stick to your food budget
7. Take the stress out of deciding what to eat when you’re already hungry
8. Create a plan for meal prep

..and many other reasons!

• Further reading: How to budget and plan healthy meals

What is a healthy meal?

A healthy meal is one that includes a variety of freshly prepared, whole food ingredients. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine defines good nutrition as:

The Physicians Committee promotes plant-based diets for good health and disease prevention.

First, go through your entire kitchen, including your refrigerator, freezer, pantry and any other area that you store food, and write a list of all ingredients you already have. This is called “taking inventory” of your food. Also, be sure to include the total amount of each item for easy reference when creating your weekly meal plan.

Choose your healthy meals

Next, choose the meals you want to add to your meal plan. Healthy meals are ones that are packed with whole food ingredients. If possible, avoid adding processed foods to your meal plan. Include plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, berries, herbs and spices.

• Refer to the Daily Dozen for inspiration in choosing healthy ingredients that will fuel your body.
• Here’s a big list of cheap healthy meals featured on this website >

Assign your meals to a date and mealtime

Once you’ve taken inventory of the ingredients you already have and have chosen your meals for the week, it’s time to assign them to dates and mealtimes. This can be done fully in advance, or you can plan your week as you go. For example, if you already know what you want to eat each day, create your meal plan all at once. Or, if you know what ingredients and meals you want to enjoy, but aren’t sure which days you want to enjoy them, plan 1-3 days at a time.

The Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ includes a template called PLAN. This page includes spaces for:

1. Recording your food inventory
2. Listing your meals
3. Assigning your meals to days and mealtimes
4. Calculating the cost of meals and tracking your food budget

Step 2: Grocery shop

Once you have created your meal plan, it’s time to grocery shop for the remainder of the ingredients you will need (if any). The Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ includes a template called SHOP. This template is a grocery list template that is already filled in with over 150 healthy ingredients.

By having the grocery list already pre-filled, all you have to do is simply highlight or circle the items you need to purchase, and write in the amount you need. This is also a great tool for helping you get inspired for meal planning. By having a list of ingredients to review, you can choose ingredients you want to use, instead of having to think of ingredients.

Healthy grocery list template

The SHOP grocery list template is also a great tool for taking inventory because you can record on the same page the amount of each ingredient you already have. This is helpful while grocery shopping because it allows you to easily reference how much of each ingredient you have at home while you’re at the store. If you find a good deal on specific ingredients that you enjoy often, you will be able to estimate how much to purchase if you like to purchase in bulk.

Step 3: Meal prep

What is meal prep?

When you arrive home from the grocery store, if you have time, it’s a great idea to do some meal prep. “Meal prep” is basically preparing some of the ingredients ahead of time to make it easy to assemble meals during mealtimes.

For example, if you know you will be using onions in several dishes, you can “meal prep” the onions ahead of time by peeling and chopping them, and then storing them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When it’s time to assemble your meals that include onions, all you have to do is open the container and add the onions to your dish.

This saves time and effort because you don’t have to chop onions every single time you need them. This is exactly how restaurants prepare ingredients for service.

How to meal prep healthy meals

Meal prep can be as simple or as detailed as you prefer. You can even prepare or cook entire meals in advance. This takes a little bit more time up front, but can save you lots of time and energy throughout the week. Meals can simply be taken from the refrigerator or freezer and enjoyed if they are already fully prepared.

If you don’t have a lot of time to meal prep, you can also save yourself some time by simply grouping ingredients together in your refrigerator or pantry for easy access when it’s time to cook. This is best done when you arrive home from the grocery store and are putting ingredients away.

Instead of scattering ingredients throughout your kitchen, simply place ingredients near by ones that will be used for a specific dish. For example, group together pasta, marinara sauce, kale and mushrooms in your refrigerator for easy access when you’re ready to cook a Pasta Marinara dish.

Meal prep template

The Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ includes a template page called PREP. This meal prep template is a great tool for planning your meal prep. It includes space to write:

1. A list of the ingredients you need to prep
2. How much to prep
3. Directions for meal prepping
4. Which days you want to prep the ingredients
5. What the ingredients will be used for

Step 4: Track your nutrition intake

One the best ways to ensure you’re sticking to a healthy diet is to track your nutrition intake throughout the week. Making a meal plan is the first step, however tracking what you’re actually eating helps keep you accountable and inspired.

Nutrition tracker template

The TRACK template in the Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ follows a whole food, plant-based diet and the Daily Dozen dietary recommendations. It helps you easily track your daily intake of legumes, vegetables, fruits, leafy greens, vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, berries, seeds and nuts.

The nutrition tracker template is broken down by ingredient category so you can track each Daily Dozen item specifically. It also includes areas for tracking your water intake, meals and leftovers.

Ready to start planning healthy meals? Grab your copy of the Easy Vegan Meal Planner™ template system >

Sincerely,

Chef Veronica

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