I am going to show you how to overcome your blocks to meal planning so that you can sit down and zip through it, week after week, starting right away.
And I have created a free worksheet that you can download at the end of this post to make it even easier for you.
I know that you see the ads for meal prep workshops, you see how-to blogs for meal planning and prepping (like the ones you see here and here) and you wish that you were the kind of person who followed through on it all.
I know that you realize that by taking 5-10 minutes every week to decide what you are going to eat in the days ahead you will save yourself a load of time, money and energy later in the week by not having to think about this again, not having to make multiple trips to the grocery store and not having to wait while your meat defrosts in the microwave, when you are already starving.
And I will bet that there are other areas of your life that require planning and consistency that you are rocking.
Maybe you are a master at your quarterly planning, maybe you have a solid calendar that clearly tells you what events and meetings you have each day and I bet that you never miss any of them.
So why does meal planning fall by the wayside?
The truth is, meal planning is a skill that is so simple it may even seem tedious. It becomes easy to overlook when so many other seemingly more important things come up.
And on the other hand, it is also a pain at first. It takes time and thought.
I know that you value being at the top of your game in all areas of your life including having a great relationship with food and optimal health, so it is time to acknowledge that meal planning is an integral part of the picture no matter how tedious or onerous it may seem.
So I have created a worksheet that is designed to help you overcome the blocks the meal planning.
And here is how it works.
Think about when you are crafting up a discussion with your husband, wife, partner or colleague. You prepare by determining what their counter-arguments will be and then you create your case.
This worksheet uses the same techniques to prepare you for meal planning.
It allows you to anticipate what blocks are going to stand in your way. And then it prompts you to consider what you can say or do to overcome those blocks.
For example, if you anticipate that you will “just forget” to meal plan (that is your “block”) then you might decide to choose a specific day and time for meal planning that you enter it into your calendar. When an actions step is in our calendar, it is much more likely that we will follow through.
Block #1 overthrown.
If you anticipate that you will think “ugh, I am not up for meal planning” then your solution might be to remind yourself how “not up for it” you feel when you have to go the grocery store four times a week.
Block #2 overthrown.
If your block is that you "don’t know how to meal plan" then your solution is to write out the days of the week on a sheet of paper and then leave a space to write a breakfast and supper for each day. Plan to make enough supper so that you have leftovers for lunch the next day. That is how you meal plan. This sheet of paper will now become a template you use every week.
(I have already done this for you and included it in the worksheet.)
Block #3 overthrown.
Lastly, if your block is that "it just takes too much time" then your solution may be to keep it simple. Choose a meat and vegetable for each day of the week and assume a simple mixed green salad will go on the side. If you like trying new recipes, decide to try only one new recipe each week (so that you do not spend hours searching for new ideas). Keep it simple and use the same plan repeatedly.
Block #4 overthrown.
The worksheet I have created for you to download is so valuable because it allows you to consider all of the objections in advance.
You know yourself best and if you take the time to squash the arguments that you know are going to come up before they happen, then you will have your solution in hand, if the blocks even come up at all.
Go ahead and download the worksheet below so that you can get your meal planning over with and get on with all the other important things in your to do list.
Download the worksheet HERE.
For more simple By Design recipes why not pick up your copy of the Eat By Design Cookbook. I’ve created it in the form of a 28-day meal plan (plus grocery lists!) so you don’t need to think about what’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner for the next month. Or you can grab the first 7 days FREE by clicking here.