Recipe Round Up: Plan to Eat

You know the old saying, “Failing to plan is planning to fail,” and well, friends, truth. I get so many questions from clients about meal planning, about how to come up with new, fresh menu ideas without spending an entire Sunday meal prepping for the week or spending hours each day cooking up chef’s masterpieces. I wanted to give you a quick, easy formula that you can use to plan out your menu for the week.

Have a place that you keep your meal plan, whether in your planner or on a kitchen chalkboard, but have a place where you quickly lay out your meals for the week. This will help with food shopping and planning and cut down on waste, as well as give you a place to make sure you’re hitting all the major nutrient groups without caving and hitting the drive through.

You can get as complex and advanced as you like with your recipes and menus, but I’m going to lay out a basic plan that will help even those on the tightest of schedules feel in control of their meal plan! For each meal, you want to include a protein source, a fat source, and a complex carb source. That’s it! These will obviously vary based on dietary restrictions, preferences, and health and wellness goals, but that’s your basic formula. Smoothies are great for quick breakfasts on the run, and dinner leftovers are great for lunch the next day, or you can always throw together a basic salad with greens, protein, and a quick balsamic vinaigrette. A lot of winter recipes lend themselves to the Crock Pot or Instant Pot, which are huge timesavers as well! Here’s a few ideas to get you started:

Winter Dinner Recipe Round Up

What are some of your favorite winter dinners? Post a recipe link in comments! Happy planning!