I love this question because I have personally focused on this throughout the year to make my life easier during the week! Between full-time jobs, social plans, self-care, etc. it can be difficult to put effort into meals each night. Sometimes by the time I’m finished working, walking the dog, working out, it is 7pm and I want to go get fast food or takeout instead of making something. Although I love a good fast food night and think it is a nice treat periodically, it is often an unbalanced and unhealthy meal. Planning ahead for the week has really helped me be thoughtful about my time and my health. Here’s how I do it:
- Ideate: On Sunday mornings (or whichever day works for you) I plan the ideas for meals. What types of things do I want to cook over the week? What lunches do I want? Is there something that I want to bake or try?
- Prioritize: I then use the idea list and circle the top ideas for the week (side note about my love of Mexican food – burritos or enchiladas are always on my list each week). I also use this time to list which meal I want on which day.
- List ingredients: This is the tough one…in order to effectively make meals throughout the week, you have to have the supplies! Go through each item and list the ingredients you need to buy and don’t already have in your pantry.
- Grocery run: Everyone has different preferences but I will tell you, I do not like going to the grocery store. I think I could count on 2 hands the number of times I’ve set foot in a grocery store since 2020. Instead, I make an online order for pickup with all of the ingredients. I typically place the order on Sunday morning after my planning for a Monday pickup. This helps me be most effective with my time but you do you!
- Enjoy! Now that you have all of your groceries and a plan, you can easily make your meal planning goals a reality!
Let me know in the comments if this helps you our how you may meal plan differently!
xoxo, LL
Little Libbie 
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