Meal Plan Monday…on Tuesday

Hey guys! So, I have probably mentioned this before, but something I love doing is meal planning. I mostly meal plan for myself, but have recently started doing some for patients at work. I thought it would be fun to start sharing my meal plans with you guys and maybe it will give you some ideas/recipes that you can use for yourself. I usually do a weekly meal plan on Sunday and I will either grocery shop on Sunday or Monday. If I don’t plan out my meals I always end up eating unhealthy and eating out.  Because I have been doing the elimination diet that I talked about in my last post, planning my meals has been essential!

Meal Planning Essentials:

• A calendar or planner. You could just write it down on a sheet of paper, but I like having mine in a notebook of some sort so it’s easier to keep up with.
• Cookbooks and/or recipes online (make a Pinterest board dedicated to recipes you want to try)
• Colorful pens (not essential, but it makes it more fun!)

I have this planner that is specifically for meal planning. I got it from Target!

I also recently purchased this Moleskin wellness journal from The Container Store for 50% off! It has several different tabs/sections including “diet” and it also has a section for you to add your own tabs. Really awesome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know, I have a notebook/planner obsession. In fact, I have 5 different notebooks and planners that I use all the time. All these notebooks are really not necessary, but I just love keeping track of things the old fashioned way- pen and paper. I’m sure there are meal planning apps out there you could consider using, or you could even make your own meal planning calendar on excel. Or you can use this one that I made for you. 😉

After you’ve gathered your meal planning essentials the next step is to actually plan. I usually start by writing down 6 or 7 dinner recipes that I want to have for that week. I have pretty much the same breakfast everyday, so that part is the easiest for me. Then I add lunches and snacks. I have leftovers from dinner the night before for lunch a few days each week, so that makes lunch planning that much easier also. I then make a separate list of all the ingredients I need for each recipe. Once I have all of my ingredients written down I categorize them according to what section of the grocery store they can be found. You can use this grocery list I made or just write down your own categories if you want something more specific.

When you have your list made out the last step is to go to a grocery store…my least favorite part! I prefer shopping at Kroger, but I also go to Harris Teeter and Food Lion sometimes. I love Trader Joes, but I only purchase some items from there.

To see my meal plan for this week click here.

Keep in mind that I am still on the Elimination diet, which means I cannot have gluten, dairy, eggs, refined sugars, red meat, nightshade vegetables, coffee/soda, and certain fruits. My typical diet would look a little bit different, but I think this is a pretty healthy meal plan for anyone, even if you’re not doing a crazy elimination diet. Also, the snacks I listed are just my typical snack options. I don’t plan on eating all of those snacks in one day, just FYI.

I think I will include the recipes in a “Part Two” post because this is getting long and my bedtime is fast approaching. I’m an old lady. Check back tomorrow for the recipes and my WIAW, of course! I hope you guys found some of this useful. I will continue to post these every week (but on Monday instead of Tuesday). Have a great night!

Bows and Arrows,

Ashley