A 5-Step Guide to Simplified Meal Planning
I have a confession to make: I love the grocery store. I shop at Whole Foods in my dreams. There’s nothing quite like a leisurely stroll down a lush produce aisle, the smell of buttery brioche wafting from the bakery department, or even the soft, familiar hum of the freezer section. (Yup, I’m a major nerd.)
But, as I’m sure you’ve experienced too, the pandemic turned my grocery store oasis into a dreaded, chaotic mess. My once leisurely trips have become rushed market marathons, where I try to appear casual while dodging passerby and holding my breath whenever someone gets too close for comfort.
Meal planning has emerged as my life raft in these trying times.
It’s the single strategy that gets me in and out of the store in record time, relatively unscathed, meticulously bulleted list in hand. It’s also helped me cut my shopping trips down to weekly ventures, with significantly less stress and agitation.
In this post, I’m going to share my simplified, Virgo-approved meal planning method (complete with a FREE printable meal-planning guide!), so you, too, can take some stress out of pandemic-era grocery shopping.
Let’s get real about Meal Planning
Meal planning gets a bad rap, and honestly, I get it. When it burst onto the food scene as a hyper-trend a couple years ago, it was touted as a way to save time and money and achieve an Instagram-worthy fridge full of glass storage containers. Well, that turned out to be a bit of a stretch.
In reality, it can be time-consuming, physically exhausting, and downright draining to plan, buy, and prep a week’s worth of meals. And once said meals are finally prepared and sitting in your fridge, they can get so boring, so fast. But the good news is, I’ve found that with a little extra planning and a more realistic approach, you can lower the frustration factor of meal prep while also cooking much better food!
The Process
1. Keep a running grocery list throughout the week.
I keep a weekly note called “TO BUY” where I keep running lists of what I need to buy from each store I shop at. Whenever I’m running out of something or realize I need something, I write it down immediately on the list before I forget. This prevents a kitchen full of random sticky notes saying “NEED KETCHUP” and “NEED SPINACH”.
You can either do this in the Notes app on your phone or a physical paper if handwritten lists are your jam. If that’s the case, make sure you snag my free printable meal planning template!
I sort mine into Trader Joes, Target, and Amazon, like this:
TO BUY
Trader Joe’s
Cinnamon
Turmeric
Target
Napkins
Kombucha
Amazon
Bulk chamomile tea
2. Plan ahead before you shop.
Since I’m only shopping once a week, I like to plan out my meals for the week the day before I go shopping.
I’ll create a new note (either paper or digital) that says “MEAL PLANNING - (whatever week it is)”.
Then I break it down by meal. I usually like to plan 7 days worth of breakfast, 5 days worth of lunch, and 5 days worth of dinner since I like to go out or order in a couple days a week.
Depending on the serving size, many recipes make enough for two meals. I also make sure to include snacks and any beverages:
MEAL PLANNING - August Week 1
BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
SNACKS & DRINKS
Then, I go on Pinterest and look up lunch and dinner ideas to list under each meal category.
If I’m feeling inspired, I’ll buy ingredients to test a new recipe or two for the blog.
When I find a recipe that looks delicious, I’ll copy and paste the link into the list on my phone, or scribble down the blog and recipe name on my meal planning sheet, so I can access it later when I’m cooking.
While it’s important to eat healthy, make sure you’re being realistic and planning meals you’ll actually eat!
In my opinion, it’s better to plan pasta and veggies for dinner one night than decide to go raw vegan, not eat any of eat, and order pizza (speaking from experience, here!).
Lately, I’ve been eating smoothies and avocado toast for breakfast pretty much every day. I also make sure I buy chocolate, snacks, and drinks for the week. I’m really enjoying salads I can make in advance (like greek quinoa salad, pasta salad, etc) and bowls for dinner.
Here’s an example of a typical week for me. The tabbouleh, salad, sushi stacks, and pasta make several servings, so I’ll plan to eat them for multiple lunches and dinners throughout the week:
MEAL PLANNING // August Week 1
Breakfast
Smoothies
Bananas - 2 bunches
Spinach - 2 bags
Frozen berries
Almond milk
Chia seeds
Avocado toast
Whole wheat bread
Small avocados - 1 bag
Everything but the bagel seasoning
Eggs
Lunch
Quinoa
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Scallions
Mint
Parsley
Cucumber - 1 large
Cherry tomatoes, 2 cups
Feta cheese
Beets, 2 large
Carrots, 2 large
Granny Smith apples - 2
Lemons - 2
Olive oil
Honey
Dinner
Sushi rice
Rice vinegar
Sugar
Carrots - 1
Rice vinegar
Radishes
Red pepper flakes
Cucumber, 1
Avocado - 1
Edamame
Seaweed
Sesame seeds
Sriracha
Soy sauce
Wasabi
Jammy Cherry Tomato Pasta with Crisp Lemon Rosemary Chickpeas
Olive oil
Chickpeas, 1 can
Fresh rosemary
Lemon, 1
Linguine, 1 lb
Cherry tomatoes, 4 cups
Garlic, 3 cloves
Apple cider vinegar
Honey
Butter
Tuscan kale, 1 bunch
Fresh basil
Burrata cheese, 2 balls
Simple green salad
Spring mix, 1 bag
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Snacks & Drinks
Chocolate
Pita chips
Trail mix
Sparkling water
3. Create your shopping list.
Next, I make a shopping list for whichever store I’m planning to go to, for example “TRADER JOE'S SHOPPING LIST”. First, I create categories for each section of the store:
PRODUCE
CANNED / DRY ITEMS
SNACKS
BEVERAGES
BAKERY / BREAD
DAIRY
PROTEIN / MEAT
BAKING
FROZEN
MISCELLANEOUS
Then I go through the Trader Joe’s section from my “TO BUY” running grocery list and sort each item into the proper category.
Next, I sort through my “Meal Planning” note, checking my fridge and pantry and crossing off any items I don’t need to buy, and adding whatever I need to my shopping list.
The final product is a neat, efficiently organized list of everything I need from the grocery store.
4. Go to the store and shop!
When you get home, remember to properly freeze any perishable items you won’t have a chance to cook within the next few days.
5. Meal prep / cooking.
I personally don’t love the idea of batch-preparing all my meals for the week. When I’ve done this in the past, I find the food doesn’t stay as fresh, and also, what’s more exhausting than cooking a week’s worth of meals in a day? I highly recommend cooking and prepping throughout the week, if you can.
I also try to cook the most perishable meals first, like salads and anything really produce-heavy, so they don’t go bad before I get to eat them.
I hope this meal planning guide helps you simplify your meal planning process! And don’t forget to snag your FREE printable meal planner before you go:
