5 tips to make meal planning easier, so the question "what's for dinner?" can stop haunting you
Be practical and flexible...and most importantly don't feel bad about using convenience foods!
1. Create a running list of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and desserts/fun foods that you enjoy. And I don’t just mean “homemade” things, I mean all the things: takeout options, frozen meals, convenience foods, and everything that is part of your eating world.
If you’re like me, the minute you need to go to the grocery store is exactly when you forget everything you’ve ever eaten and cooked.
“What do we even eat around here?” is often the thought that pops into my head as I stare down my grocery list that so far only consists of fruit, milk, and eggs. For moments like this, it’s helpful to have a running list of all the different meals you (and the people you eat with, if applicable) enjoy. I’m not just talking about recipes, either.
Keep a list of ALL the breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and dessert/fun food options that are favorites: your grandma’s meatballs, the frozen fried rice from Trader Joe’s, that really good pulled pork from the BBQ place down the street that makes amazing nachos, that cookie recipe you made last year that you want to make again, the breakfast sandwiches at Panera Bread, … you get the point.
2. Before you shop, review your calendar for the week to determine how much food is really necessary.
Instead of just guessing that you’re going to need enough food to cover every single meal and snack for the week, open up your calendar and look at what’s going on: it feels really good to start cutting down the amount of food you need to shop for.
Are you going to a morning meeting where breakfast is provided on Tuesday? Do you normally eat in the work cafeteria on Wednesdays? Do you have dinner plans with a friend on Friday?
Once you’ve done this, you may realize that, for example, instead of needing to plan food for 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 7 dinners, it’s really just 5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 5 dinners, which hopefully feels better!
3. Plan to cook, AND plan to be too tired/busy/*insert an adjective of choice* to cook.
Another benefit of looking at your calendar for the week: you can figure out what days cooking makes sense, and what days don’t look so promising (when you may want to lean on take-out, easier recipes, etc).
Be honest with yourself: are you really going to make that thirty-five-step homemade lasagna recipe on Wednesday? If not, then maybe move it to a day when you will have more time…or if you really think a ~Wednesday lasagna~ is a vibe, consider using a frozen one! (My friend Katie introduced me to Costco’s frozen lasagnas after I had my daughter, and they’re honestly great for an easy dinner.)
You also don’t need to tie each meal to a specific day of the week.
If you shop for food to make 5 dinners, you can choose which one you want to make each night based on factors like: what sounds good tonight, what do I have time for, what produce needs to be used up sooner, etc.
4. If you’re not feeling inspired (I think we’ve all been there), shake things up.
Sometimes I look at my list of meals and snacks that I enjoy and decide that none of them are appealing to me.
These are the moments when it can help to get some outside inspiration, for example:
Free ways to get inspiration:
Ask a friend, coworker, family member, etc: “I’m feeling bored with my go-to dinner recipes. Can you recommend something you’ve been enjoying lately?” (Be ready to give them ideas too because they’re probably in the same boat as you!).
Grab a bunch of cookbooks and/or food magazines from your local library. You’re just borrowing them, so go ahead and take a few that look interesting to you.
Follow a favorite chef on social media that posts free recipes.
Try using “themes” to brainstorm meals: a taco night, a pasta night, a *insert cuisine type* night, etc.
Sources of inspiration that cost money, but may be of interest:
Take an online cooking class. (Share in the comments if you have recommendations! I love King Arthur Baking Company’s online baking classes.)
Subscribe to a favorite chef’s paid newsletter.
Try a meal subscription box for a week or two. Even if it’s not a long-term strategy (not to say it can’t be), it might be a good mental break from coming up with meal ideas.
5. Be flexible about your definition of meals.
Every meal and snack you consume does not need to be “nutritionally complete” (Honestly, what does that even mean? It’s not a real thing!).
There’s nothing wrong with having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner, or whatever easy meal comes to mind for you. Try to zoom out and look at the whole picture: there are days when you may want to focus your energy on connecting with your family/friends, working on a project, taking time for some form of self-care, etc. and that leaves you with less time to focus on food and cooking. There is nothing wrong with that, in fact, I think it’s for the best.
Thanks for the tips! We are working on a department-wide shared cookbook at work and I’m not only excited to try different “kinds” of food but also tried and true favorites from others.