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I love being in the kitchen and making healthy meals. I don't love figuring out what to fix and then changing my mind 4 times because I don't have the necessary ingredients on hand. Enter the meal plan. I have six full days of meals printed and posted on the side of my fridge. I don't always do the whole day in order. I may have breakfast from Day 1, lunch from Day 4, and dinner from Day 5, but whatever I choose, I know it fits with our goals, and I have everything I need to make the meals.
Once I have my meal plan printed, with it one hand and my grocery list in the other, I go through my fridge and pantry and figure out just what I need. I can then substitute or tweak meals based on the sales at the grocery store or coupons I have. Last week I got a huge package of whole wheat tortillas from Sam's club. They are awesome: 100 calories each, with 9 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein. They will be used in several lunches and dinners. My produce is always decided once I get to the store and see what it looks like: if the selection of fresh is limited, I fill in the gaps with frozen. Chicken is just a staple but this week I also had a coupon for turkey meatballs. Same with the Kashi crunch cereal.
Whatever ends up on the table, it will almost always be better for you and likely cheaper, than a restaurant or fast food meal. Make a plan. Shop for it. It doesn't have to be fancy. If you aren't a fan of cooking, choose simple meals you can double or even triple and freeze, cooking just once but eating multiple times. Make foods you like to eat and cooking will be become more enjoyable.
Day 1:
Breakfast: egg beaters/veggies
Lunch: veggie burger and hummus lettuce wraps, Greek yogurt
Snack: celery with peanut butter
Dinner: chicken, spinach, tomato, onion quesadilla on wheat tortilla
Day 2:
Breakfast: overnight oats with berries
Lunch: turkey / roasted red pepper grilled cheese sandwich, apple
Snack: rye crisps with cottage cheese
Dinner: spinach stuffed picante chicken on brown rice
Day 3:
Breakfast: egg beaters/veggies
Lunch: black beans and veggie chop with cottage cheese
Snack: Greek yogurt with Kashi crunch
Dinner: vegetable lentil soup with chicken
Day 4:
Breakfast: cereal with milk and banana
Lunch: peanut butter, apple, Kashi crunch on whole wheat wrap, Greek yogurt
Snack: low fat popcorn and raisins/peanuts
Dinner: wheat penne, basil pesto and turkey meatballs, green salad
Day 5:
Breakfast: egg beaters/veggies
Lunch: left over lentils and veggies, green salad
Snack: Greek yogurt with Kashi crunch
Dinner: spinach, tomato, onion, chicken pizza on whole wheat tortillas
Day 6:
Breakfast: overnight oats with berries
Lunch: turkey meatball sub, fruit salad
Snack: celery with peanut butter
Dinner: Parmesan garlic tilapia, couscous veggie salad
Day 7:
free day :)