How I Plan Weekly Meals with Intention + on a Budget
Start by gathering meal Inspo for the week
If I try to attempt a shopping list without doing this step I end up so frustrated not knowing what we need, I take way longer to select items and I end up over purchasing items for the week. My go-to resources are Pinterest and TikTok, they feel like the easiest platforms to use to quickly look up meal ideas and get inspo for the week. To save even more time, create a folder on Pinterest, and each time you go on add a few new ideas so that when it is time to plan your meals for the week you have many options to choose from.
Reference Past Meals
I love capturing the meals that I make! Seeing the finished product is so rewarding. I keep all of my food pics in a folder to reference as inspiration when I am out of meal ideas. This is such a simple way to get inspired when planning your meals for the week.
Only shop for the ingredients you need
This is a game changer when you want to stick to a budget and ensure that you aren't overbuying or wasting food. There are so many times that I've added random items to my shopping cart, thinking that it would get eaten, and by the end of the week, it ends up being unused or spoiled. I always feel so bad when food goes bad, and I try my best to prevent that from happening by only adding food or ingredients for each meal planned for the week, excluding snacks.
You don't need to cook a new meal each day
Embrace leftovers. From my experience, making three dinners is the sweet spot for the week. Each meal, depending on how many ingredients are purchased, can equate to two days' worth of food per meal, meaning you're covered 6 days out of the week (we typically leave a day open for pizza night or a quick dinner). Tip: Sheet pan meals are a quick and easy dinner idea that are great leftovers.
Choose which meals will require more ingredients and keep the other meals of the day simple
If you are planning to put more effort into your dinners for the week, keep your breakfast and lunches for the week super simple. If I plan for bigger dinners I’ll stick to a few staple foods for breakfast and lunch like eggs as a base for breakfast or tuna for a fast lunch.
Always grab a quick meal alternative for busy days
It can be a challenge to stick to every planned meal each week. There are those days when we are busy, out and about, and need a quick meal when we get home. We typically opt for Diy pizza night on these days! We always have a pizza sauce on hand, a block of cheese, pre-made dough, and add whatever toppings we can find.
