What We Eat…a meal plan share

Meal planning takes time, for sure.  But I’ve come to see that it is always time well spent.  I try to take some time on Mondays to plan out our week of meals and snacks (at least for me and the hubs; the kids’ breakfast, lunch and snacks differ but we all eat basically the same dinner).  I’ve been a meal planner for years now, and I feel as though I’ve tried it all!  I’ve done weekly plans, planned 2 weeks at a time, monthly plans, plans just for dinners and plans with EVERY meal chosen.  I find that when I am just planning dinners and don’t want to be super structured, monthly plans are the best for us.  But when we are really focusing on clean eating and portions, weekly plans with every meal picked out are the way to go.  It gives me a road map for the week.  Here’s what I think are the benefits of such a plan:

*I know exactly what I should be eating and when.  This stops me from rummaging around in the fridge and “finding” something not so nutritious to eat.  It also means I can plan to get in all the food groups each day.

*It helps me plan the grocery shopping.  When I make the plan I think about what I have already available (usually from our meat CSA and veggie CSA) and try to plan around those food items.  Then I don’t go to the grocery store and buy unnecessary amounts of food.  When we are eating generally the same thing for breakfast/snack each day I can also plan for how much of what food we will need all week.

*I use it to meal prep.  I know I need to hard boil 12 eggs for the week.  I need to prep out 5 salads, chop 5 cups of veggies, portion out 5 servings of hummus, etc.  Then my food is mostly ready to go for the week.

I also tend to repeat parts of the meal plan each week.  So it may seem a bit boring and repetitive, but there IS something to be said for not having to make a breakfast choice every day.  Besides, I save the “fun” recipes for the weekend when we have more time!

The meal plan that I’m sharing today is color coded to coordinate with the 21 Day Fix (or Portion Fix) program.  I’m currently using the 1500-1799 calorie range meal plan because I’m  working on maintaining my current weight.  When I was in weight loss mode, I was using the 1200-1599 plan which uses fewer colored containers.

The way I tend to use the meal plan is as a road map.  I follow it closely, especially breakfast and snack, and since I’m home I sometimes have to make a substitution (like if I gave my hubs the last of the chicken). Because it’s color coded I know what food group I’m eating when.  At least having each category of food planned for each part of the day, I know that if the chicken is gone, I just need to substitute a protein and maybe I’ll grab some steak or tuna instead.
For those not familiar with the 21 Day Fix containers, here is a quick rundown:

Red=lean protein
Green=vegetables
Purple=fruit
Yellow=starches/carbs
Blue=healthy fats
Orange=dressings/seeds
gray=teaspoon of oils/fats

Here is a meal plan we’ve recently used in our house.

Bottom line is…meal planning provides me with a way to limit stress around dinner time, manage my nutrition and keep my grocery budget in check.  If you already meal plan, I’d love to hear from you about what it looks like for you.  If you don’t, I hope you will give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Health and Happiness,

Cerissa