Have you ever wanted to try meal planning but gotten a little overwhelmed just thinking about it? Not really sure what meal planning is? ONIE has three simple steps to help you meal prep for the week.

But First, What is Meal Planning?

Meal planning is shopping for and preparing ingredients ahead of time.  You can do this for a few days at a time or even for an entire week. Some recipes, such as our our Sweet Potato Shepards Pie or Cheesy Broccoli & Rice Casserole, can be prepared completely ahead of time and either frozen or left in the fridge to pop into the oven when ready.  Another easy way to prepare ahead of time can be simply washing, chopping, and storing all the ingredients for each recipe so they are ready to use when you start to cook.

This may seem like a lot of work, but one day can save you several days time.  If you are thinking about trying it, ONIE has provided 3 easy steps:

1. Select your recipes

Start thinking about how many meals to plan for, five nights is the most common number, but depending on your schedule you might find 3 nights to be your sweet spot. Think about your schedule and see what type of recipes will work best for you. For example, if your kid has an activity late one night a slow cooker recipe may be an easy option. 

Head over to our recipe page to find quick, tasty recipes for  your plan. When meal planning, it sometimes makes it easier to choose recipes with similar proteins, like 3 chicken recipes.  This saves money, time, and sometimes preparation if you can cook all the chicken at once.

2. Shop for ingredients

Before you go to the grocery store, it is best to write a shopping list. A great way to start is to write down all the ingredients your recipes need, then go through your kitchen and cross off any ingredients you already have. Again, look for recipes with some overlapping ingredientes to save time and money in the store.

3. Prepare those ingredients 

Sundays are often the best days to prepare your recipes so they make it to Friday before going bad. Cooking up some chicken ahead of time, chopping vegetables, washing lettuce, and even dicing up some garlic can be helpful and save time later when cooking. 

Remember, meal planning doesn’t have to be hard. It takes change and perfect new habits so don’t be frustrated if it doesn’t work perfectly the first time, instead, be thinking of ways you could adapt meal planning to better work for your schedule and priorities!

Some Tips

• To make sure you don’t get tired of eating the same meals, try rotating 3-4 different recipes each week.
• Plan to use leftovers for lunches throughout the week. 

Roasted vegetables are easy to cook and keep in the fridge. Add some rice and chicken and you have a delicious, simple dinner.