• About Me
    • Brand Work
    • Portfolio/CV
  • Family
  • Food
  • Health & Beauty
  • Home
  • Style
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
    • Shop My Amazon Picks
    • Shop My Instagram

Dreams + Coffee

North Carolina Healthy Living + Style Blogger

How I Create a Healthy Meal Plan for the Week

June 14, 2018 Comments : 4

I share my weekly healthy meal plan ideas with you guys all the time, but I haven’t really shared my process for coming up with a plan for the week! I’ve been taking meal planning seriously for almost a year now and it’s been a huge time and sanity saver for me as a busy mom of two girls. Create a healthy meal plan for the week

Why I Chose to Meal Plan

Before meal planning, we would just buy things we thought we needed and inevitably would be missing an ingredient we needed for a recipe, which meant an unplanned grocery trip. These little trips happened frequently, wasting time and racking up our grocery bill. I set out to simplify our weekly grocery trip and dinner routine, which led to spending less, eating healthier and having more time in the evening – all thanks to creating a healthy meal plan.

Healthy Meal Plan Process

I actually start my meal planning for the week about halfway into the week…crazy, right? But as I’ve learned from mom life, getting a jumpstart on things means there’s a chance you can actually get it done on time! On Wednesdays, I start thinking about dinner ideas for the week, almost always using my Pinterest boards for inspiration. I try to vary the types of protein we have in a week, but there are times where we might have chicken several times, for example. I recently went through and categorized my boards by type of dish, which makes it simple to find a seafood recipe or a side dish, for example.

I make a list of 5-7 ideas in my Notes app, pull up the recipe links and then I use the Out of Milk app (love this for grocery lists – and it’s shareable, so my husband can add things directly to the list!) to add the ingredients that I know we’ll need for the recipes.

Once I’ve done that, I like to peek in the refrigerator and pantry to see what we’re out of or need more of. Because I’ve been doing this for a year and we’re creatures of habit when it comes to most things we buy, it’s easy for me to glance at everything and know what I need to add to the list.

After I’ve added everything to the grocery list, I will peek at our local Sprouts and Kroger weekly sales to check prices, then pull up Walmart Online Grocery and add things to the cart. If there happens to be a lot of produce or meat on sale at Sprouts or Kroger, it usually justifies a trip and I’ll simply remove that item from my Walmart grocery cart. I love Walmart Grocery and it’s a huge timesaver, but if you’re into saving money, it’s a good idea to check prices to ensure things are cheaper. I’ve found when our regular grocery stores are running good sales (especially on meats and produce), you can get better deals there than you can at Walmart!

Read more about why I love grocery pickup

I don’t really meal plan when it comes to breakfasts or lunches. My husband usually takes leftovers from dinner for his lunches and there’s usually enough for me too. If not, I prep some chicken salad and eat it on top of a salad for lunch. I do prep my husband’s breakfasts – sweet potatoes, turkey sausage and scrambled egg bowls (a Whole30 recipe) and I usually just have a protein pancake or a protein smoothie for breakfast. As I’m in the middle of 80 Day Obsession, I’m supposed to snack throughout the day, so I will prep hardboiled eggs and roasted sweet potatoes for myself before the week begins.

Check out my weekly meal plans here

On Sundays, I usually fill out my planner for the week ahead (love the Simplified Planner!) and this is when I’ll assign a dinner idea to each night. I like to fill out my schedule first to see what my days look like and if we have a busy day or evening, I’ll choose a more simple recipe for that day (or a slow cooker recipe). From time to time, we’ll still shift dinner ideas around if our plans change or we don’t get an early enough start on dinner and need something quick – but for the most part, having these ideas planned out in advance and knowing we have the ingredients makes our week run so smoothly.

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for a new healthy meal plan every week + lots of recipe ideas!

Create a healthy meal plan for the week

brittany worrell boyce

Related Posts

  • Clean Eating Meal Plan for the Week | 42nd Edition

    It's hard to believe I've been sharing weekly clean eating meal plans for almost a…

  • Clean Eating Meal Plan for the Week | 41st Edition

    Happy Monday, friends! Trying to get back in the swing of things after a long…

  • Clean Eating Meal Plan for the Week | 27th Edition

    We have a busy week ahead - Blair is finally old enough to attend Vacation…

4 Comments Categories: Food, Home

Comments

  1. Liz Chapman says

    September 11, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    I love meal planning! I plan each week out on Sunday. After I plan out our week then I go grocery shopping so I have everything we need and nothing is missing! Great information here!

    Reply
    • Brittany says

      September 14, 2018 at 4:13 pm

      Thanks! That’s similar to how I do it, too 🙂 Makes life so much less hectic during the week!

      Reply
  2. Listonic - shopping list app says

    March 29, 2019 at 5:01 am

    Meal planning was crucial for my diet. It is much easier for being strict with eating when you do a shopping list

    Reply
    • Brittany says

      March 30, 2019 at 9:13 am

      That’s so true! Being intentional makes a difference!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Me

Hi y'all! I'm Brittany, a wife, mama to three little ladies and the creator behind Dreams + Coffee, a North Carolina lifestyle blog. Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on my latest family, food, health and lifestyle posts.

read more
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Search

Follow
BrandBacker Member

Subscribe

Follow My Instagram

brittanywboyce

Wife | Girl mama | Pure Barre & Peloton obsessed | Dairy + gluten free | Blogger | Freelance writer | Owner @somethingbleuclt | CLT

Brittany | Mom Life + Style
Is it possible to get 3 kids to smile for a photo? Is it possible to get 3 kids to smile for a photo? Asking for a friend. 
.
.
.
.
Okay, it’s me. I’m the friend. 🤣
.
.
.
.
.
.
Happiest birthday to our SIX year old 🥳 Can har Happiest birthday to our SIX year old 🥳 Can hardly believe it — it seems like yesterday you were just a baby 🥲 You’re the sweetest, cutest and most fun little lady and we love your sense of humor and kind heart 🥰 We love you, Blakely Camille 😘
Happiest birthday to our sweetest THREE year old! Happiest birthday to our sweetest THREE year old! 💕 You’re funny, adorable and a little firecracker who keeps us on our toes all the time 😆 I love how much you love to snuggle and your big hugs 😍 Can’t believe you’re headed to preschool this fall — it feels like you were just born 😭  We love you, Brynn Eleanor 😘
Vacay szn ☀️ Been counting down all summer for Vacay szn ☀️ Been counting down all summer for this little break from reality…I mean, as much of a break as one can have when there are 3 kids involved 🤪😂
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
WFH kitty 🐱 . . . . . . . . . . . WFH kitty 🐱 
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Besties already 😘 . . . . . . . Besties already 😘
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Red, white & bleu ❤️🤍💙 A festive cheeseb Red, white & bleu ❤️🤍💙 A festive cheeseboard is easier than you think! Focus on finding ingredients in your desired colors - red grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blue cheese, wine-soaked cheese, Brie, preserves, and patriotic touches 🇺🇸
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I’m not sure what to do with my hands 🤷🏼‍♀️😆
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Load More... Follow Me on Insta
Design by SkyandStars.co
Back Top

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.