Minimalist Meal Planning
Meal planning is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. It helps you save time, money, and energy while ensuring that you get the nutrition you need. But for many people, meal planning can be overwhelming and time-consuming. That’s why minimalist meal planning is becoming increasingly popular. Minimalist meal planning is a simple and efficient way to plan meals that are healthy, delicious, and easy to prepare.
What is Minimalist Meal Planning?
Minimalist meal planning is a method of meal planning that focuses on simplicity and efficiency. It involves creating a meal plan that is easy to follow and requires minimal effort. The goal is to create a meal plan that is nutritious, delicious, and easy to prepare.
Benefits of Minimalist Meal Planning
There are many benefits to minimalist meal planning. It can help you save time, money, and energy. It can also help you eat healthier and more nutritious meals. Here are some of the benefits of minimalist meal planning:
- Saves time: Minimalist meal planning requires minimal effort and time. You can create a meal plan in just a few minutes and have it ready to go for the week.
- Saves money: Minimalist meal planning can help you save money by reducing food waste. You can plan meals that use the same ingredients, which can help you save money on groceries.
- Healthy meals: Minimalist meal planning can help you create healthy and nutritious meals. You can focus on whole foods and create meals that are balanced and nutritious.
- Easy to follow: Minimalist meal planning is easy to follow. You can create a meal plan that is simple and straightforward, which makes it easier to stick to.
How to Get Started with Minimalist Meal Planning
Getting started with minimalist meal planning is easy. Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Create a meal plan: Start by creating a meal plan for the week. Choose a few simple recipes that you can make with the same ingredients. This will help you save time and money.
- Shop for ingredients: Once you have your meal plan, shop for the ingredients you need. Stick to whole foods and buy only what you need for the week.
- Prepare meals ahead of time: Preparing meals ahead of time can save you time and energy. You can cook meals in bulk and freeze them for later.
- Be flexible: Minimalist meal planning doesn’t have to be rigid. You can be flexible and switch up your meals if you need to.
Conclusion
Minimalist meal planning is a simple and efficient way to plan meals that are healthy, delicious, and easy to prepare. It can help you save time, money, and energy while ensuring that you get the nutrition you need. With a few simple tips, you can get started with minimalist meal planning and start enjoying the benefits.
FAQs
What is minimalist meal planning?
Minimalist meal planning is a method of meal planning that focuses on simplicity and efficiency. It involves creating a meal plan that is easy to follow and requires minimal effort. The goal is to create a meal plan that is nutritious, delicious, and easy to prepare.
What are the benefits of minimalist meal planning?
The benefits of minimalist meal planning include saving time, money, and energy; eating healthier and more nutritious meals; and creating a meal plan that is easy to follow.
How do I get started with minimalist meal planning?
Getting started with minimalist meal planning is easy. Start by creating a meal plan for the week. Choose a few simple recipes that you can make with the same ingredients. Then shop for the ingredients you need and prepare meals ahead of time. Be flexible and switch up your meals if you need to.
Thank you so much for watching! Looking forward to hearing your meal planning tips, too!! You can find the link for the printable in the video description 🙂 have a great day!! Dawn
This was the BEST!!! 🙌🏻 Thank you Dawn. ❤
Nice. Best video I have watched so far on the subject. Helped a lot 🙂
How do you always find the deeper problem with the issue we all deal with! I’m always amazed how you figure it out and open all our eyes to the real issue!! 😁
❤ You were so ON POINT with this video. Im struggling with the simplification and habit, rather than the list and ideas.
I am so glad you made this video
Between Friday-saturday I look in my fridge, freezer and see what I need to cook. Then I write down everything I have on paper and then I choose what I want to cook and make a meal plan. Also that's how I save money on grocerys because I don't need to buy anything if I already have it on hand. For an example if I make spaghetti and I have the noodles and sauce but no meat then I put meat on my list. Then if I need to get a few things I go get. Vegetables and fruit and dairy is always a staple in my home so I might have to go get those every weekend. I go out to eat either Saturdays or Sunday. That's it. Also Saturdays I usually make crockpot meal and or beans that can last all week for us and including meals.
This was excellent.
This is so realistic for me and makes it seem like the most accessible meal plan option for me now. Thank you. Keepin it simple!
You are the most inspiring and light- filled YouTuber I've ever seen. Your light shined and it's obvious where that light comes from. 🙂
What do u do for food shortage
Ahhhh this video is exactly what I needed! Thank you!
I meal plan for four days every Sunday and then shop Monday. Somehow just planning four days seems more manageable than seven. On Thursday I check leftovers and items in fridge and based on that I plan remaining three days of week. I find I almost always have to shop twice a week so this way it's more of a planned event and can account for unexpected weekend activities involving food whether eating out, entertaining, events, etc. I waste less food with this approach as well. Loved this video!
My go-to menu when I host is taco salad. Sometimes I do it all, but other times we have other folks bring different elements. In September we had a "House Cooling Party" (saying goodbye to the home where I grew up and where we raised all our children). Depending on a guest's last name, they brought lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, chips, salsa, guacamole, paper plates, plastic utensils or plastic cups. Beverage was water. No dessert. We're going to do the same thing in a few weeks for a House Warming at our new house! We had about 40 guests!
Move to a town with no restaurants. Voila, you will have to cook at home! Joking aside, I write appointments and activities on my menu before I choose what I’m making. I picture what our day looks like and what I will feel like making that day. Also, I no longer beat myself up about swapping recipes around when we are crunched for time or a recipe doesn’t work out for the day I planned it. I agree about simple recipes. When I was first married I tried too many new recipes each week and they never happened. One new recipe a week on a low key day is what I try to stick to now. And I am better at recognizing simple new recipes to try.
I am wondering why You don’t have lenses or peas on your list. It is so easy to fix a red lenses pot I unse almond milk or coconutmilk and it tastes so good!
Going to the gym to win sth- muscles, fitness or health sounds far more attractive than going there for losing sth – weight (won’t work as well, I promise
I have a list of things we regularly buy like yours Dawn! I've had it for a while and it changes often. I print out a few at a time and I highlight the lines to indicate items we need to buy and the meal choices for the week. It saves me so much energy and brain power.
A list of meals is a must! Easy ones that everyone CAN eat, not necessarily are excited to eat.
And having what I call a game changer meal: something that EVERYONE loves, is easy and we always have the ingredients. Ours is chicken parm. I know! Chicken parm is really our go to meal. Prebreaded chicken cutlets in the air fryer basket. Then onto a foil covered tray topped with sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. While that heats up, I butter up bread and sprinkle garlic salt or throw other veggies in the air fryer. 25 mins for a great meal that is our “back up” meal.
I always add extras onto our frozen pizza, mushrooms, peppers, olives, chicken etc. still fast put throws a bit of healthy back on our convenience meal of the week! 😁
Remember how we ate when we were children in the 60s to 80s. No restaurants and take aways back then in South Africa. Had rice, potatoes, a red/orange veggie (e.g. carrots) and a green veggie (e.g beans), a simple old fashion salad like tamatoes cut in slices, meat (mince, mutton, sausages – we call it boerewors, chicken etc). No recipe needed…just simple old fashion good home cooking. It was not so complicated back then….what has changed? Our mindset?
We don't meal plan. We stock up on foods at low prices and meat only on sale at a good price. Meal planning is okay for some, just not for us. Inventory is key for us. That way, we just cook what we feel like that day from the pantry, frig, or freezer. Meal planning is probably great for those with busy schedules.
Also, my family has become accustomed to eating the same things a couple days in a row. For ex: we make a large pot of soup at the beginning of the week then eat that for several meals (1 day lunch, another day dinner) for a few days after.
Curious as to what the recipe was with the pineapple and ground beef and looked like bbq sauce
When I was working full-time and tired after work. I would plan for having nutritious meals with a well balanced diet. So I would buy meat, chicken, fish and the 5 veg and fruit required each day and create simple meals, including taking home made lunch to work. Food was prepped the night before and had to be cooked easy and fast. Looking up recipe books and finding ingredients that you won't use again is a time waster. So cook whatever your parents cooked.
Thank you for breaking the thought process down! I struggle with meal planning. This is very helpful!
This was a very helpful video, thank you.
Eating out has become so expensive too!
This has helped! I spend an enormous time fretting about food, food planning, food buying, all of it. I must cook from scratch but if I just accept that for now, one meal a week may need to be chips and fish fingers (with broccoli!!🥦) I can make it all run smoothly
Excellent video. I love making a list of easy meals that we know. I have been watching a couple of food-related channels (See Mindy Mom, Julia Pacheco, and Christine at Frugal Fit Mom) that have been so helpful with managing food inventory and making very simple easy meals. Even setting aside quick meals in a bag for when we are overwhelmed and didn't have a plan. We used to eat out way too much and these programs have helped me design some very easy dinners each week as well as not let food go to waste. I love the idea of inventory and not keeping too much. I recently went through my pantry and dated every can, box, etc., and put the oldest at the front and have been building my weekly meal plans around them so I can reduce inventory and use items before they expire. The fridge is another story and I'm working on that too. (I love your video about organizing your fridge. I've got tonight set aside for cleaning and decluttering of that! Will watch your video again as I go.) I saw some great tips from the other subscribers as well. Thank you, as always, for your terrific ideas.
Hello Draw,
Could you post the links to the recipes you have listed? I want to eat less gluten and diary therefore would love to know your quick and easy dinner meal recipes!
Thank you, Alana
Thank you so much for this video. Before I saw the thumbnail, I was questioning why I can't seem to stick to a meal plan. This makes sense and I'm looking forward to using your tips. 😊
This just made me mad…I dont do habits..I have no habits ..it takes me 2 hours to make a meal plan…we only eat at home because we have no money….sometimes we don't eat because we have no idea what to make…eating at McDonald's actually mean my kid eat because they 100% eat nothing I make…so piss off and feel stupid and worthless thank you.
This is something I’ve always struggled with. My mom wasn’t a cook and we were a lower income family so I have some issues around that. Plus cooking isn’t my thing. Currently I only have one kid living at home and she is weird with food. It’s hard to make things she will eat and sometimes when I make those, she just doesn’t want to eat it that night bc she had a late huge lunch or snacks or whatever. It’s frustrating. On nights when it’s just me and my husband at home it can be easy to say let’s just go out. The way you explained trying to get into this habit of regularly cooking at home is very helpful. Thank you!
My problem with meal planning is I don't follow them. I made a list and do something else. 😂 I was thinking maybe I'm just a rebel but I think you're right. The meals I plan takes a lot of work that's why I didn't do it or let's say fail to follow through. I will try meal planning again but make it simple and easy. Thank you! ❤️🙏
Excellent breakdown of the complex behavioral steps in meal planning and cooking execution. I have gotten bored with my current system and need a revamp. Your shared recipes will make a great addition to my new system. Thanks for sharing.
I don't follow a specific meal plan, but I do cook in batches about once a week. I also make is a large salad that can last for 3 days like pasta salad or non-mayo coleslaw. This means there are generally leftovers in the fridge and a variety of meals in the freezer, along with the salad. I find burritos are really popular with everyone as they are individually frozen and available as needed or to go. Other things in the freezer are pizza kits (homemade dough), soups, chili, pizza buns, pasta sauce, thai curry, cookie dough, cake batter, burgers, and falafels. One thing that has been useful is a master recipe for dough that can be used for focaccia, buns, loaves and pizza crust. Stays good in the fridge for five days and you can cook fresh as needed. We rarely eat out so it seems to work.