5 Keys to Successful Meal Planning

While meal planning is certainly not some form of rocket science, there are some useful strategies that help make for smooth and successful meal planning - which, in my experience, is the only way that we’ll stick with it.
Challenges I see often with clients and program participants is that meal planning can feel really overwhelming. In a fast paced world where “busyness” is not only the norm, but encouraged & glamorized, it’s no wonder that many of us, particularly women, feel as though we are barely keeping our heads above water, even on the good days.
So planning out a week’s worth of meals can certainly feel like a daunting task.
The thing is, meal planning is a form of self care. Once you are able to get into the groove and the routine of it, meal planning winds up supporting you in an incredible, maybe even transformative, way. In my opinion, it’s an important way to foster real food eating, save time, implement an easier weeknight flow, encourage healthy eating habits, and maintain stability within the home.

5 Keys to Successful Meal Planning

1. Preparation & Organization

• Clean Your Pantry/Cupboards: Go through your cupboards/pantry/fridge, remove past dated, the old, the moldy, and evaluate what foods you would like to use as staples and which ones you are ready to let go of. Pay close attention to your oils and aim to stick with health supportive oils only, such as Olive Oil & Coconut Oil.

• Bulk Shopping: Set up a system of bulk foods, with healthy storage solutions, to help save money and also reduce shopping times. I prefer to use wide mouth, glass mason jars to store all my nuts, seeds, grains, beans, lentils, and flours.

• Make a Shopping List: You could go so far as to make a shopping checklist to reuse weekly, but at a minimum, make a comprehensive list that can last you at least 4 -5 days without an extra shop.

• Meal Planning Board: Set up a whiteboard or chalkboard for weekly meal plans in your kitchen, or collect print outs and keep them in a specific meal planning binder or folder.

• 7 Day Theme: A great way to support good meal rotation and food diversity, is to use a 7 Day Meal Planning Theme. Choose a different theme for each night of the week, such as mexi night or soup + salad night, and use these themes as a guideline to help keep meals fun & inspiring.

2. Inspiration

• Create a Community: Online or in person, with your neighbourhood, family, or amongst friends, share what you are doing and offer to swap ideas/recipes.

• Create a Recipe Board on Pinterest: Great for when you are susceptible to using the same recipes over and over, collect ideas here and refer back when you need some inspiration!

• Set Goals: Set weekly goals or goals that are ongoing and adjust them as you continue to move forward. Idea: leave space for goal setting on your meal planning board.

• Follow Me Online – I will often post new recipes or blogs with regards to Meal Planning (Instagram or Facebook). Other great online resources: Pinch of Yum, Oh She Glows, Sprouted Kitchen, Joyous Health, and Blissful Basil.

3. Dedication

• Remember Why: Why did you decide to embark on this project in the first place? For health, for balance, for peace within the home? Take time to remember why and use this to motivate you forward.

• Evaluate What is Working and What Is Not: If you feel as though you are slipping away from the work you have put into place, or it just feels as though it isn’t working – take time to evaluate what is working and what is not, so that you can make appropriate adjustments.

• Enlist a Helper: If you have kids, they are the perfect helpers! If not, enlist a partner, family member, or friend to help hold you accountable to your goal of meal planning and ask her/him to check in with you to see how it’s going and give you a push when you need one.

 4. Patience

• Change Takes Time: You cannot expect to be a meal planning superhero overnight (or maybe you can? 🙃). Have patience and remember to continue to tune back into your tools.

• Deep Breathing: If you meet with frustration, tune inward and try deep breathing: take 10 deep, relaxing breaths to reset your nervous system and ground you. Remind yourself why this is important to you.

 5. Support

• Seek Support Within the Home: Ask that those whom you live with give you their support with this transformation, ask for input & enlist their help with meal prep.

• Seek Support Outside the Home: If this is a big change for you, ask for support from friends, family, and coworkers so that you feel the support of your entire community.

• Ask for Help when You Get Stuck: Reach out when you get stuck: contact a friend, message me or try a session with your health care provider.

Reminders For Meal Planning

ROTATION: Continuous rotation is great for variety. Think about always including all the colours of the rainbow and notice when you are always buying the same things.

INDIVIDUALIZATION: Remember this is for YOU. Don’t worry about what others are doing, make your meal planning, shopping, and prepping, all about what will work for you the best and be the most sustainable.

CONSISTENCY: Try to be consistent with the days that you shop, the days that you plan, and the days that you prep. Slot in this time and stick to it.

 Weekly Meal Prep

• Set a Planning Day: Preferably a day off, or a day that is less busy, sit down and plan out your week of meals: all meals including breakfast & lunch, or just your dinners etc.

• Set Prep Hours: Set aside approx. 3 hours/week to prep meals & snacks for the week. I suggest:

  • 1 Double Batch Stew/Curry/Soup/Chile – freeze half

  • 1 Double Batch Cookies/Bars/Balls – freeze half

  • 1 Recipe Salad Dressing – double if needed

  • 1 Recipe Dip – double if needed

• Batch Cooking: Look for recipes that you can easily double and freeze – chili, curry, stew, etc. vary ingredients and flavours, and be sure to rotate through them from your freezer. ALWAYS label them with the date.
  If you want more Batch Cooking Support & Inspiration, JOIN IN ON MY UPCOMING BATCH COOKING WINTER SESSION 🤩

Other Tips:

• Prep dinner the night before (ie. dressing/sauce/chop veggies)

• Use a crockpot/slow cooker – leave on low all day

• Organize your fridge & freezer, use labels for family members

• Prep fresh food as you bring it home (wash lettuce, chop fresh veg)

• Designate 1 night/week to your youths/husband/housemate to cook

 Meal Ideas

• Breakfasts: Oatmeal, Overnight Oats, Chia Pudding, Homemade Granola + Fresh Fruit + Coconut Yogourt, Sautéed Veggies + Eggs, Quinoa Breakfast Bowl, Muesli + Stewed Apples/Canned Peaches, Crockpot Apple Pie Oatmeal.

• Lunches: Quinoa Salad, Rice Salad, Chile/Stew/Curry/Soup, Big Bowl Salad, Hummus Wrap, Sautéed Veg + Salmon, Buddha Bowl.

• Snacks: Fresh Fruit, Fresh Veg + Hummus/Bean Dip, Nut Mix, Granola Bars/Cookies/Energy Balls, Chia Pudding, Nut Butter + Celery/Apples.

• Dinners: Veg Chile, Veg Curry + Rice, Soup + Salad, Cauliflower Tacos, Burrito Bowls, Buddha Bowls, Baked Salmon + Vegan Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms, Cauliflower Pizza, Pesto/Avocado/Roasted Veggie Pasta, Roasted Squash Soup, Spaghetti Squash Pasta, Lentil Stew/Soup.

I hope you’ve found some great tips and inspiration here!

And don’t forget to join in on our upcoming Batch Cooking Winter Session! We’ll spend the weekend together, prepping, cooking, & storing, in an online community style, where filling your fridge & freezer feels a lot easier (& more fun) than doing it alone!

Back to the Grind Lunch Ideas

It always seems to take me a few weeks to get back into a good routine of packing lunches and prepping meals after the long hiatus of summer. While I LOVE this aspect of getting back into a good eating rhythm, I’ll admit that I have to remind myself to take deep breaths, remember what’s most important, and to simply take one step at a time moving into a new season.

As I am switching gears in my own life, I thought I might share some of the tools that I’ve developed over the years to support my family and my clients in making really solid lunches that are nourishing, delicious, and don’t suck up too much time!

Something I like to adhere to throughout the school & work year, is a rotation. I often use this idea with meal planning dinners as well. A weekly rotation can help keep things interesting and stimulating for kids and adults alike, but from a nutritional standpoint, it promotes food diversity, supports adequate macronutrient intakes, and can also save spending money on grab & go, last minute lunches.

Here’s a fun concept for you:

There are a few key things to pay attention to when it comes to creating a lunch that is well rounded, sustaining, and packed with nutrients.

Consider Nutrition:

• Rotate Complex Carbohydrates: Whole Grains, Beans, Legumes, & Starchy Vegetables, are great real food complex carbohydrates to include in your weekly rotation. Think about building meals around a complex carbohydrate like brown rice or quinoa, then adding lots of fiber: vegetables & leafy greens, and some protein: tofu, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, organic fish or meat.

• Include a Minimum of 3 Servings of Vegetables: When planning ahead and shopping wisely, it’s fairly easy to keep fresh vegetables on hand for your work week. Whenever you are putting together your lunch, think about choosing a minimum of 3 different vegetables in your dish and do your best to continuously rotate the vegetables that you buy.

• Macronutrient Combination: At every meal, do your best to prioritize the inclusion of ALL 3 MACRONUTRIENTS: Carbohydrates, Protein, & Fat. This combination, something I like to call the “Magic 3 Combo”, not only supports good overall nutritional balance, but aims to keep blood sugars stabilized throughout the entire day - supporting better energy, mental focus/clarity, and preventing crashes during busy days.

• Mind the Sugar: Preparing meals ahead of time really helps us to pay attention to what we are eating. If you like a little sugary treat during the day, choose something containing unrefined sugars like maple sugar or honey, do what you can to make your goodies yourself (I have tons of great ideas in the Healthy Treats section of my Recipes), and be mindful of how much you consume. Sugar content can easily creep into foods that are store bought or that come from local bakeries or cafes, is detrimental to blood sugar balance and also health depleting long term. Pay attention to the kind of sugar, the amount, and how you feel after consuming different sugar containing goodies.

Personal Note: For my boys, lunch will usually include a Main, a few Sides (a vegetable and usually a fruit), and a Healthy Treat (muffins, granola bars/energy balls/bars, cookies - always homemade). Sometimes, I will add in something that is less health supportive & packaged, but fun, like seaweed snacks, tortilla chips + salsa, cauliflower puffs, etc.

Weekly Lunch Rotation ideas:

Pasta Salad: Always well-received and easy to pull-off, a noodle salad is a great way to provide lots of veggies, lots of flavour, and a decent dose of carbohydrates. Be mindful of the noodles you choose (we like fermented noodles made with old world or gluten-free grains), find a good sauce, and add in something fun: toasted nuts or seeds, olives, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, or a fruity punch like mango. Try my Thai Noodle Salad with Almond Butter Sauce.

Rice Bowls: Building a meal over rice is fairly straightforward and fun to play around with. I will usually soak my rice ahead of time and cook it the night before, or early in the morning, then add some shredded veggies and a protein, like nuts/seeds, beans, lentils, or tofu, and top it with a full-flavoured sauce. What’s great about rice bowls is that they can double as dinner first, then for lunch the next day.

Soup/Stew: Especially as the weather cools down and we begin to look for more warming meals, a hearty soup or stew makes an excellent lunch. Be sure to have a good quality thermos on hand (we like to pre-warm ours with boiling water), as this makes all the difference! I like to Batch Cook some soups or stews for dinnertime, then I can easily warm some up for lunches throughout the week. One of our favourites: Comforting Lentil Stew 😋

The “Snack Plate”: An old time favourite, this is just as it sounds: a plate/container with a selection of raw veggies, some protein (baked tofu, candied salmon, cooked chicken, falafel, veggie burger patty), something fun: olives, dolmades, crackers, and a dip on the side: hummus, black bean dip, cashew tzatziki/spread, etc.

Wraps: An easy one to fall back on, creating a good wrap is simple if you have the right things on-hand. I like to use hummus or a cashew spread of some kind, then some shredded carrots, lettuce, and/or other veggies I might have, and some protein: cooked chicken/salmon, tofu, veggie burger patties cut up, falafel. I will usually choose a gluten free wrap or our locally made spelt wraps, but there are many healthier, wheat-free versions out there to try!

Bean/Lentil Salad: One of my personal favourites, a hearty salad built over beans or lentils, will supply a quality amount of nutrients & energy in a small volume. Remember that you can add cooked beans or lentils (so cheap!) to pretty well any salad you like, provided you have a tasty dressing on-hand 😉

Lunchtime Traps to Avoid: Too Many Sandwiches, Luncheon Meats, Too Much Meat, Too Many Refined Carbs, Grab’n Go Lunches, Restaurant Food. Stick to REAL FOOD as much as you can & Batch Cook whenever you have some time!! (Psst….join me for my upcoming Batch Cooking Online Fall Session & get ahead of the lunch game!)

I hope you’ve found some inspiration here!
Happy LUnch Making!

If you have anything you’d like to add, please leave me a comment below!

Conquer the Breakfast Scramble (& Make It Plant Based!)

Do weekday breakfasts sometimes remind you of that time you had a really big dream for your 2 year old’s birthday party?  You said to yourself: “No problem, I got this”. And then, post toddler-apocalypse, your husband finds you, huddled & shaking in the corner, cross-eyed and traumatized, water balloons clogging the toilet, marker scribbles across your favourite painting, streamers stuffed down your shirt and chocolate cake matted to your hair, couch, and up your dog’s nose?  Maybe you’ve learned from past experience? Perhaps you are now able to recognize when it’s time for some simplicity, a few new ideas, and a fresh game plan.

Keep it simple!

I’ve been there. It’s a mad dash in the mornings. People can’t find things, there’s panic over lost keys and matching socks, neatly folded laundry sprays all over the place, and last minute homework tears are watering down the cornflakes. Ok, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but some days feel like the walls are closing in and the idea of making a well-rounded, real food breakfast, feels like a lost cause.

It’s time for a breakfast reset!

I’ve got a plan. I know, I know, you’ve got enough plans on the go at the moment and you don’t need another project. But. But. But. Here me out. Even though you may already have enough things all planned out in your life and you may not be wanting to add more regime to your over-regimented life, creating a game plan encourages change and better guarantees success.
When it comes to feeding our selves and our families real food in the form of delicious meals, you cannot make it happen without a little planning.  This is a fact. The work has to happen and some kind of planning has to be in place or you will not keep up with the eating madness, I assure you. And if your goal is to include eating more Plant Based Foods, this is a great way to keep you on track 😉
AND steer clear of the overwhelm.

So here’s the idea:

What about a 5 Day Breakfast Rotation?

How it works: You choose 5 weekday themes and write them down. Mount them on your fridge on a piece of paper or whiteboard, or even a chalkboard. Before the week begins, insert your 5 weekday breakfasts under each breakfast theme header. It’s that simple. The breakfasts don’t need to be overly elaborate, you can keep them as simple or complex as you like. I suggest you stick mainly to ingredients that you can bulk shop for: oats, buckwheat, chia seeds, gluten-free flour, almond/cashew butter, plant-based milk/coconut milk, nuts, seeds, frozen berries/fruit, etc. Take in to consideration your schedule and time allowance, who’s making breakfast (you, Hubby, Nanny, Gramma, Teen), and what could potentially be prepped the night before.

Simplify the breakfast chaos with a little game plan.

Monday Theme: Oats & Groats

Ideas:
Overnight Oats
Simple Oatmeal
Apple Pie Oatmeal
Apple Date Crisp with Coconut Yogourt
Simple Buckwheat Groats
Overnight Groats
Banana Bread Buckwheat Bowl
Blueberry Buckwheat Breakfast Pudding

Tuesdays: Smoothies & Muffins/Bars

Ideas:
Smoothies:
Blueberry Banana Bliss
Citrus Bomber
Good Morning Sunshine
Green Monster
Banana Chocolate Monkey
Muffins:
Morning Glory
Morning Endurance
Coconut Banana
Apple Sauce
Coconut Mango Blueberry
Berry Explosion
Banana Oat Bars
Energy Cookies

Wednesdays: Chia Pudding Perfection

Ideas:
Vanilla Chia Pudding + Granola + Fresh Berries
Lemon Meringue Chia Pudding + Blueberries + Toasted Almonds
Chocolate Chia Pudding + Sliced Banana + Hemp Hearts + Cacao Crunch Granola
Blood Orange Chia Pudding + Cinnamon Granola

Thursdays: Burrito Styles

Ideas: (just throw them in a wrap & devour 😊)
Roasted Squash + Hummus + Spinach + Grated Beet
Roasted Yams + Black Beans + Avocado + Salsa
Falafel + Cashew Tatziki + Lettuce + Cucumber
Roasted Veg Mix (Beets, Onions, Peppers, Broccoli) + Parsley Pesto

Fridays: Pile Em Up Pancakes

Ideas:
Simple Gluten Free Oat Pancakes
Chocolatey Pancakes + Coconut Yogourt/Whip Cream
Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes
Banana Pancakes + Homemade Chocolate Sauce

And so there you have it! My stance on planning ahead is no secret. Helping my clients get organized, giving them the inspiration to make change, and offering dynamite recipe ideas to persuade them is how I role and really, what makes this work successful & rewarding!
I hope you have found some tidbits of motivation here and will utilize some of these ideas to shake things up in your own kitchen!
In order to make change happen, we need to make change happen!!

May your future breakfasts be magnificent!!🌱

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