How to Meal Plan: 3 Meal Planning Tips

Meal planning is a way to prepare easy meals that are ready to go. Meal planning lets you practice healthy eating, limit food waste, and experiment with new recipes. Meal planning is most helpful for people on a set schedule, such as those who work nine-to-five jobs, who can prepare breakfasts before work, lunches at work, or dinners for afterward. By cooking dishes in big batches, meal planning lets you save time as you'll have food organized for the whole week.

You can accomplish meal planning and batch cooking by following these simple steps:

1. 1. Check your calendar and make a meal schedule. Start planning a week in advance; if you work Monday to Friday, meal planning on a Sunday might be a good use of your weekend free time. See what days or nights you have meal plans already—dates, dinner with friends or family—and fill in the blanks with potential meals. Create a template for your schedule that you can use week after week.
2. 2. Supply your kitchen with basic needs. No matter what you're making—be it baked chicken breast, tacos with pork and black beans, or sautéed veggies mixed with quinoa—you'll need a sheet pan, stir fry pan, and slow cooker to help you cook efficiently. Similarly, gather stock ingredients like olive oil, spices, noodles, and lentils.
3. 3. Prepare your grocery list. Meal planning lets you create food in bulk, but you can change it up each week. Look up some recipes for beginners, find what you are in the mood for, and write ingredients down on a shopping list so you can save time at the grocery store. It also helps if you know your grocery budget so you can better plan what to purchase.
4. 4. Reserve a few hours for cooking. After grocery shopping, you'll return home and begin cooking. Give yourself a few hours; some foods like sweet potatoes can beef up a meal but take a few hours to roast. You can use a pressure cooker to help speed up the cooking process.
5. 5. Package and label your meals. Once your foods are all cooked, place them in containers. (Containers with separators for main dishes and side dishes can be helpful.) Label them by meal and by date so you can grab them and go.

Meal planning comes with a host of benefits, including saving you time and money. To make the most out of your meal prep practice, consider these tips:

1. 1. Expand your normal eating habits. Prepping and trying out fresh recipes each week can offer a break from eating takeout or freezer meals on repeat.
2. 2. Make healthy choices. Meal planning lets you know exactly what is going into your body, and this means you can plan out diets rich in whole grains, vegetables, and lean protein to let you create healthy meals.
3. 3. Share meals with coworkers. To help further diversify what you eat, your office, classmates, or peer group can all get into the spirit of cooking together by sharing meals for each other. This helps save more time and lets you try out others’ recipes. Just be sure to ask for allergies and map out a schedule to ensure this is a smooth process.

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