Here are the meal planning fundamentals 🔥

Write it down –

Monday to Sunday. What are you going to eat at each meal?

What snacks do you want that week?

When are you going to be eating out? (yes, you can plan this too!)

And level up by writing the shopping list out too.

This will save you money, food waste, and head space later in the week.

You can do this on your phone, on a notepad, or on a specialty planner. Whatever works best for you, but write it down somewhere so you can lay it all out and get it off your mind.

Incorporate Leftovers –

There’s nothing in the Five Tick Boxes that says it has to be fresh. I mean if that impacts the Enjoyment then that’s another story. BUT, if you don’t mind leftovers, then it is such a time saver to cook more servings than you need and benefit the next day.

Reverse Engineer the Schedule –

To be able to guarantee the Five Tick Boxes, it’s a given that some days you won’t be able to cook fresh. Which means you’ll have to cook and store your meals ahead of time. Don’t feel like this has to be a huge time investment or mass catering. Just get a few extra days ready, pre-chop all the vegetables, or do the whole week if it’s easy for you. So look at your week’s meal plan and know which days you need to do ahead of time because of the nature of your schedule. Your future self will thank you.

Clean Foods Only –

Don’t put anything you don’t want in your body in the trolley.

Don’t even let it be an option to eat.

When you have to decide between what you should eat and what you want to eat, the latter is always going to win.

Clean food is roughly defined as whichever foods have the lowest interaction from the wild to your kitchen. With this concept, you’re minimising how much processing each of your foods has been through.

So if it’s wrapped in plastic, marketed to you, or it’s got ingredients you don’t know, it’s probably not the cleanest option out there.

Find a plan B…C…and D –

When it all turns upside down, know what still ticks your boxes.

If Plan A is organised and prepped, plan B might just be half the week, plan C might just be planned, and plan D could be you know what 3 ingredients you can get from the supermarket, then eat in the car and still tick your boxes (trust me – I’ve been there!). These emergency plans aren’t forever plans, they are just there so that you can still tick your boxes even they aren’t the most ‘instagram-able’ options.

Bonus Tip: Healthy House Mates –

We are a result of the people we spend time with. So spend time with people who prioritise their health, especially those of who live with you.

Get your partner, kids, flatmates etc. on board. This will help you follow all the previous tips I’ve mentioned, but more importantly, on the days where energy and drive is low, your systems (and your people) will keep you aligned with what’s important to you and your Five Boxes.

If you’re interested, here’s what my food plan each week:

Ingredients –

Breakfast: Oats, frozen berries, walnuts, chopped apple, cinnamon, boiling water.

Lunch: Chicken or Salmon, kale, kumara, capsicum, cauliflower or broccoli, red cabbage, rice, and lots of olive oil drizzled on the top.

Dinner: Meat, Grain and Veggies! I like to leave this up to what I feel like, but it always seems to be fairly similar.

Snacks: Carrots, Cucumber, Mushrooms, Apples, Bananas, Walnuts, Avocado with sweet chilli (yuuum).

My flow –

Breakfast: Everything is ready to go, so each morning it’s just scooping it out and boiling the kettle. If I know the next day is chaos, I’ll make tomorrow’s at the same time and leave it in the fridge, because all I need to add is hot water.

Lunch: I cook allllll of this on a Sunday/Monday. I’ll take 2 big oven pans, chop it all up, and leave it to cook for 15-20mins. Then I’ll either leave it all mixed together in a big container (not the chicken), or if I need to be really time efficient, then I’ll distribute it into a container per day.

Dinner: Since I know I’ve hit all my quality targets, it’s just about enjoying the food and getting enough of it to meet my energy. I love to do a stove styled meal, where all the veggies get chopped up and put in a pan. The rice is cooking to the side and the meat gets done last. Nice and easy and usually all done within 30mins. Ease is the most important thing for me here.