3 easy steps for effective meal planning

Over the past few weeks, Joey and I have dedicated our free weekly Trimarni newsletter to the topic of lifestyle changes - specifically meal planning. You can have all the best intentions to eat a more nutritious diet and you may even have a variety of nutritious foods at home. But a busy schedule is one of the top reasons for not staying consistent with nutritious eating habits. Thus, the perfect reason to become better at meal planning. 

Imagine the scenario where you are exhausted, hungry and crunched for time and within a few minutes of walking through the door, you have a delicious home-cooked meal (or brown bag lunch) ready for you. If it sounds too good to be true, with a bit of planning you two can make this a dream come true.

One of the most common reasons why most people struggle with meal planning is that there are many different types of meal prepping strategies. With so many different methods, you want to consider your grocery shopping style, work/life schedule, activity regime, cooking ability and food preferences. Not only does meal planning save time but it also saves a lot of money. It also contributes to a more nutritionally balanced diet as you can avoid those tempting last minute food-related decisions that occur out of exhaustion, hunger and being crunched for time.

To help you out, Joey put together a three-part series (featured below) to help you get more comfortable with meal planning. Like anything in life, don't look for hacks and quick fixes. Take some time to figure out the best style of meal planning that works for you and your lifestyle/family.

Step One: Selecting Recipes


Just as you plan out your week for work projects, training, family events, and so on, having a plan for what you’ll eat can reduce the daily stress of having to answer the questions of “what’s for breakfast, lunch, or dinner?” Meal planning is different for everyone and there is no one right way to plan your meals. It is vital to begin somewhere - give it time, and revise as needed until you find the process that is effective for you.

The first key step towards effective meal planning is selecting recipes. If your breakfast and lunch meals tend to be pretty consistent and simple (think options like cereal, oatmeal, eggs, and yogurt/fruit for breakfast and sandwiches/wraps, salads, grain bowls, and leftovers for lunch), a good place to put your energy is by selecting healthy recipes for dinner. Start small with maybe 2-3 recipes per week. Either batch prepare or cook on the nights that you may have more time. There are a plethora of recipes available through cookbooks, magazines, online (such as on food blogs, food websites, manufacturer websites, social media), meal planning apps such as Mealime, and your past Trimarni newsletters :-). Think about your goals for meal planning and choose recipes accordingly such as:

• Do you want a meal that can be made in 30 minutes or less?
• Do you want to use your slow cooker or Instant Pot?
• Do you want mostly casserole options to have more leftovers?
• Would you like to incorporate more theme nights to keep dinner fun such as Meatless Monday or Taco Tuesday?
• Would you like to focus on what is in season in your area or on sale?

Plan for familiar recipes in the mix that you are comfortable making (and that you and your family love) and then add in some new ones. Once you have selected your recipes, be sure to organize them in an easy and accessible way that works best for you - such as in a notebook, a Google Doc, or in a meal planning app. After you have made a dish, keep notes on things such as:

• Any modifications that you made to the original recipe?
• What you would try next time to make it your own?
• Would you make this recipe again?
• Was this recipe easy to make or time consuming?
• Would you use this recipe as part of your usual meal rotation?

Remember that not all meals in your diet have to be home cooked. A healthy diet has room for outside eats. Leave room in your meal planning regime for a pizza night or take out, if that is something that is important to you. Also, keep in mind that there are meal planning services to assist with meal planning if it all seems too overwhelming.

Meal planning is a marathon, not a sprint. Be realistic. This may mean starting slow and being patient as you create a process that is sustainable (and enjoyable) for your lifestyle.

Step Two: Make a List, Take Inventory, and Go Shopping

Once you have selected your recipes, the second key step in effective meal planning is a 3-part process that involves;
1) Making a list
2) Taking inventory
3) Going grocery shopping

Start by looking at each recipe that you plan to make and creating a master list of the ingredients that you will need for each one. Check your pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator to see what you already have on hand and cross those items off your master list (if an item is a kitchen staple that you like to keep on hand, make sure to always keep that item in stock at your house).

You now have an actual grocery list. If you typically shop at a specific food store, you might try re-writing your list by grouping items by department (such as produce, frozen, dairy, etc) or how you typically shop the store. This will help to keep you organized and for saving time.
Grab your reusable grocery bags and head to the store.

When you return home from shopping, consider preparing foods that can be dealt with ahead of time. This will help you save time when cooking your meals. For example, wash and chop fruits and veggies, cook grains/potatoes, roast veggies for a dish, or brown ground meats. For even greater time savings, purchase pre-cut fruits and veggies if you don't want to spend time chopping.

Some of the meal planning or recipe services/apps will generate ingredient/grocery lists for you from the recipes that you have selected. If you use one of these services, simply do your inventory, go shopping, and prepare what you can when you get home.

Step Three: Meal Preparation

Now that you have your recipes selected, ingredients purchased, and some ingredients prepped, it’s time to start preparing your meals. You are one step closer to eating!

One of the biggest drawbacks of cooking at home is the time it takes to prepare a meal. Meal preparation can be time consuming, especially if you are the only one preparing food, cooking meals, and cleaning up. Since schedules vary greatly, how you complete this step will require some trial and error until you find the process that works best for you and your family. For example, if evenings are busy and leave limited time for cooking, you might find it easier to pick a day each week that you set aside a small chunk of time to batch prepare all of your recipes that can be made in advance. Prepare what you can ahead of time so that you don’t have to start from scratch every night or, if possible, make the full meal and portion leftovers into storage containers to be reheated. Consider giving each family member a task such as chopping, mixing, or washing dishes. This way each person can contribute to the meal which can be a time saver.

Don't forget to prepare items that you will use for quick breakfast and lunch options, such as baking chicken breasts or tofu for sandwiches/wraps/salads, cooking your grains (brown rice, farro, quinoa, etc) for grain bowls, and whipping up some overnight oats for a speedy breakfast. Tackling dinner meals in advance will allow for reduced stress, faster, easier, and more enjoyable evening meals.

No matter how well you plan, chances are pretty good that your plan will go awry at some point. Don't give up just because one meal goes sideways. Have a back-up plan with things on hand that can be easily made (like wraps, omelets, or frozen tortellini) in case of unforeseen circumstances such as working late, not feeling your meal choice, cranky spouses or kids, etc.

Meal planning is a work in progress.

• Give it a try
• Give it time
• Forgive any missteps
• Revise as needed to best find the process that works for you
• Aim for a successful meal planning habit

How do I fuel if.....

Writing an article for a magazine usually goes like this....

I pitch a lot of articles to a magazine and a few (or one or none) gets selected OR a magazine reaches out to me with an article topic for me to write about.

Back in December, after I received confirmation that I would be writing three articles for Triathlete Magazine for the May (Fueling the Vegetarian athlete), June (Sport Nutrition - progressing from short to long course racing) and July (Common fueling mistakes) issues, I was asked to write a 2000-word, feature assignment for the March/April issue on "How do I fuel if...." with the following topics discussed:
-I don't have time to cook
-I'm trying to lose weight
-I'm (going) gluten-free
-I'm a female athlete
-I bonk in races

The article would include 5 different scenarios (each around 200-300 words or the equivalent of a short article) with specific advice, tips and suggestions for each topic, in addition to a sidebar of common-race day fueling mistakes. 

Not only was this the longest article I have ever written for print (essentially, 6 articles into one) but I had a two week turnaround with a very quick deadline as it was a last minute addition to the magazine.

While reading an article after it is completed is rewarding (and hopefully, it flows well and makes sense), the process of writing an article is not easy. And I think any writer can admit that sometimes words easily flow from the brain to the fingers to paper and viola, an article is written quickly but many times, writing an article is a tough process with a lot of mental struggles, either lack of creativity or difficulty getting anything done.

When I am about to write an article, I always do a lot of research before I start typing and this includes reading a lot of current scientific studies as well as learning/understanding what the masses (athletes) are doing, not doing or are most concerned about (or struggling with). There is a lot of thinking that goes into writing easy to read, easy to apply and easy to understand sentences. Finding a way to get 2000 words on to a blank piece of paper is not an easy process but I love the challenge of being a writer.
(If I didn't write, my brain would stay filled with words. Getting those thoughts on paper clears up my head).

While this article took a lot of time, energy and brain power, and several long days of locking myself in a room (with Campy - who is a professional napper) to work on this article, I loved the challenge of writing this feature article and I am really happy with how it turned out. 

I hope you enjoy the article and can take away something helpful from one or all six of my nutrition topics.

How to be a well-fueled machine
(2016 March/April issue)

If you need a more personalized approach with nutrition or have concerns about specific nutrition topics, be sure to reach out to professional who can help in your individual journey. 

No more excuses - meal planning

Sitting down to a home-cooked meal in the evening is not an everyday occurrence for many people in our society for a variety of reasons; being too tired or hungry, wanting something easy, needing something quick and convenient, feeling too busy, not knowing what to eat or not liking to cook.

As an athlete, you already have so much to squeeze into the day that it’s easy to see why dinner may be an afterthought, especially if you have been up since 5am or you are finishing an evening workout around 6:30 or 7pm. 

But, that's not a good excuse. 

Let's get serious...
You aren't too busy to train so it's all about priorities when you say you are too busy to cook. 

As an athlete myself, I can empathize with how overwhelming it can be to plan nutritious meals, every day of the week and still squeeze in workouts. And this is in addition to work, family and everything else on a never-ending to-do list. 

I realize that I do not share many of my meal creations on this blog but I have to be honest with you, I'm passionate about healthy eating and I love sharing my food pics but my job is not a food blogger. And I also don't like to measure food and make my meals precise for you to replicate.

I am a board certified sport dietitian who spends all day helping athletes maximize performance by personally addressing and tweaking lifestyle, nutrition and sport nutrition limiters.

I regularly share my food pics on Facebook with the hope that you can be inspired to prepare healthy and satisfying home-cooked meals that will work for your active lifestyle but I never want you to feel overwhelmed when it comes to food shopping and food prepping.
There are hundreds and hundreds of food bloggers with amazing pictures, stories and recipes of food.
You should have no problem finding recipes that will work for you...but the key is making the time to actually prep and cook those meals. 

As far as I know, athletes love having a plan to follow so if it works for you to have a training plan, consider a meal plan to guide you in a successful week of eating. 

There’s no need to be obsessed with food as you need to let food enhance your life, not control your life. And there is nothing wrong with the occasional off day of eating. 

I actually feel that allowing yourself an "of" day (ex. breakfast for dinner, yogurt, granola and fruit for lunch, PB & J and a smoothie for breakfast, etc.) can actually keep you on track for healthy eating the rest of the week. It's kinda like a vacation from "typical" eating.  

Above all, you should love to eat and your meals should work for your health, body composition and performance goals. 

Place a similar amount of passion, effort and enthusiasm into your daily diet (and fueling regime) so that you can experience the rewards of having a healthy, nourished and well-fueled body. 

Here are a few of my meal planning tips that will work for your busy lifestyle. 
But in order to make them work.....
 make an effort, not excuses. 

1. Prepare meals on the weekend and always plan for leftovers. A little meal prep goes a long way. Dice, chop, wash, cook — do as much as you can when you have the time so you at least have options for a upcoming meal. Don't overwhelm yourself. Plan for 2-3 days and then do a light meal prep to last you the rest of the week.

2. Prep a meal before a workout.
You don’t want to finish your workout hungry with no patience to meal prep. Prepare as much as you can before working out. This is a game changer. You won't believe how your food choices will change (and how less complicated "healthy" eating can be) when you know that a meal is prepared before you workout. More often than not, if you finish a workout hungry, you will almost always go for what's quick and easy and not always healthy or performance enhancing and find an excuse or reason to eat it (even though you know you should be eating something healthier.)

3. Have a menu for the week.
Knowing what you will eat for dinner (and breakfast, lunch and snacks) will ensure you have those items available. No need to make this menu extravagant, just make a plan. Theme meals or staple meals work really well, especially when you are getting started with this habit.

4. Allow yourself one night a week to get a little help from a pre-made or semi-homemade meal.
Sure, you could dine-out but let's be honest, eating out takes time and it's expensive...you have to wait for food, eat and pay and travel to and from the restaurant. Consider getting help once a week (Wed or Thurs) from a salad bar, pre-made meal option from the grocery, pick-up/take-out healthy item or making something super easy and semi-homemade. Make sure this meal works for you as your meals should never make you feel guilty or should negatively affect your next days workout. 

5. Use your time wisely
Think about your entire day (M-F) - when do you have the most free time? And by free time, this means watching TV or spending time on your smart phone/computer at home. Could you make more time in your day?
Hopefully, there are times when you are home and you can find 10 to 30 minutes in the early morning, when you get home from work or in the evening that you can do some cooking or prepping. Oftentimes, the cooking and meal prep is an afterthought and athletes get busy doing something else or feel too exhausted and hungry to do anything but sit.....and eat something convenient.

As an athlete, food should be high on your to-do list. This means eating, cooking and planning. 

You know how important consistency is with training and you love the results when you follow your training plan.
Put that same focus and attention on your eating habits as you do with your training and you will find yourself doing amazing things your healthy, well fueled and nourished body.