Meal planning is a very broad concept. Therefore, one key point to emphasize is that meal planning is different than meal tracking. Although meal planning CAN be used within diets, and in attempt to lose weight, my blog is not focused on that aspect. Instead, we will focus on the fact that meal planning is subjective to everyone! There are no food rules, no preconceptions, and no “good” or “bad” plans. All in all, meal planning is here to help us ensure that we receive adequate nutrition even when we are preoccupied with other parts of our lives.
Meal planning supports the argument that, “there is no excuse of being ‘too busy’ to eat,” Why? Because mealtime should be built into our days so that we are not left skipping meals, getting hangry, and/or consuming food that is not satisfying.
So where to begin?
Let’s start by planning for next week, something small like one meal a day. It is helpful to choose a meal that yo commonly make it at home, dinner for example. Something I learned in eating disorder therapy, is that a lot of families have dinner together.
The next step is to break things down into days of the week and food groups. Starting with the beginning of the week (Monday), and one of the main components of dinner - protein. Choosing your protein helps to determine what meal to plan, and it is important to consume some protein at each meal to help with mealtime satisfaction.
With this being said, there are plentiful options of protein sources including: red meat, poultry, vegetarian protein or plant-based protein (nuts, beans, seeds, legumes, etc.), fish, etc. Therefore, let's try to fit a variety of protein sources into our week.
Now that we have our protein sources determined for next week’s dinner, let’s plan further. I prefer pairing starches or grains with protein, as they are also an essential part of dinner! Some examples of grains include pasta, rice, bread, buns, potatoes, etc.
Perfect, now we have completed protein and grains! Next is fats. This is generally an easier category to determine because we often cook our proteins with a fat (or have a fat as a condiment). Let’s see what we come up with.
The next food group is dairy. Dairy is often used in recipes, or on the side of meals! Most people love a glass of milk with their dinner. Others prefer ice-cream for dessert after their dinner. Other dairy options include cottage cheese, yogurt, shredded cheese, etc.
The last two food groups are fruits and vegetables. Although it is not expected to always have fruit with dinner, you may more often than you think. Remember, foods with seeds are considered the fruit of a plant. Making tomatoes, avocado, bell peppers, etc. fruit. Let’s fill in fruit AND/OR vegetables for each dinner for next week.
Now our entire dinner meal plan for next week is complete and balanced! It is going to be a good week.
Stay tuned for the next blog!
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