Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center The First P of Meal Prep: Planning Summer Meal Planning Series Part 2

By Bailey Carr, Culinary RDN

Welcome back for Part 2 of our Summertime Meal Planning Series! How has it been meeting your inner meal prepper the past month? Since tuning in, have you self-diagnosed your meal prep style? If so, the next step is digging into the first “P” of meal prep strategy: planning. Type A’s, pull out your color-coded notebook. Free birds, get ready to buckle in for a wild ride.

Planning disclaimer

As mentioned last month, meal prepping is the result of a strategy that considers a complex tangle of food preferences, cooking ability, schedule conflicts, pantry ingredients, coupons, etc. Planning is the process that can help untangle these factors to create a smoother path forward. Some of you are likely feeling euphoria with this idea, others overwhelmed. Both are normal. As is the repeated sentiment of this series, the idea is to form a planning strategy that is individualized so that it works for you and not against you. We are not looking to change anyone’s personality with this series, but only help you figure out weekly meals in a way that works for you. With that disclaimer stated, let’s plan!

How do I plan for meal prep?

There is a lot to strategize with meal prepping. What do I like? What do I make? How do I make what I like? The hard-hitting questions. Let’s start by backing up a few paces. There are 7 days per week and multiple meals per day. That’s a lot of eating opportunities. Here are general categories to think through to help make a big plan smaller:

1.) Consider How Many Meals You Are Willing to Cook for the Week

• Plan for meals that you don’t cook! Make note of your schedule and already planned takeout nights, restaurant meals, or social events with food.
• Triage. Is there a meal that, if prepared in advance, would improve your quality of life? Is it lunches packed and ready to go for busy weeks? Breakfasts so you actually eat before you start your day? An afternoon snack so that you aren’t starving before dinner?
• Start slow. Jumping all in to meal planning and prepping can be overwhelming. Pick one meal or snack to start with before moving on to other meals.

Once you have a rough idea how many and which meals you would like to start planning for, you essentially have your framework. The next step is filling in the framework with what you plan to make.

2.) Review What You Have on Hand + Implement Money Saving Strategies

Taking inventory of your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry is a great initial step for deciding what to make. Knowing what ingredients you already have on hand can help inspire meal ideas, prevent food waste, save money, and narrow down what exactly you need from the grocery store. After this review, the next step is to build out your grocery list with featured on-sale or couponed items.

Here are a few ideas for making sense of this process:

• Use online recipe generators. These useful tools produce recipes and meal ideas based on the ingredients you input, helping to take the guesswork out of what to possibly make out of pantry + couponing odds and ends.
• Clip virtual coupons. You can find these on websites or by downloading grocery store apps that allow you to save them and compile them on your phone to scan at checkout.
• Search Recipes. Here are a few resources to get you started:
  • KRNC Recipes
  • Grocery store websites: did you know that most grocery stores have a meal planning and recipe tab that also generate grocery lists and online orders for you? Check these 3-in-1 tools out!
  • Consider taking one of our hands-on cooking classes to receive recipe packets and learn the skills needed to prepare them at home!

3.) Reduce the Burden of Decision

We understand that you already have so much to think about. Studies show on average, adults make over 30,000 decisions per day. Many of these decisions pertain to eating. This can produce decision fatigue and a general feeling of weariness when it comes to approaching meal preparation. A broad suggestion for reducing this fatigue is simply making less decisions. While this may be easier said than done, here are some ideas to simplify your meal planning:

• Delegate responsibility. Do you have support in your inner circle who can pitch in to meal prep? (Looking at you roommates, partners, spouses, children). Can they help contribute ideas and preferences for the week to help distribute the decision making?
• Have a theme night. Brainstorm a dinner theme for each night you’re cooking at home. Common ideas include Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, and Pizza Friday. Make up your own or find inspiration from under-celebrated national days (June 2 is National Rotisserie Chicken Day, in case that helps).
• Use convenience items. Make a list of pre-made items you want to have on hand that you can build a meal around. Think BBQ sliders from a rotisserie chicken, or a bell pepper, chicken sausage, and pre-made tortellini skillet.
• Use your favorite restaurants as a muse. What meals do you crave from your favorite restaurants? Would you be interested in finding copycat recipes and making these at home?

Note : when it comes to thinking about what to make ask yourself questions such as:

• What am I craving?
• What foods help me feel full and satiated?
• What are my nutrition goals?
• What meals would make me happy?

This is a topic to be fully explored in another blog, but so often we make what we “should eat” instead of what we “want to eat.” By doing that, we feel less satisfied and “what we should eat” goes bad while we default to seeking out what it is we really desire. What if you instead plan ahead to make what you find pleasure in, relish the full experience of cooking it, switch to an addition mindset for nutrition, and have a joyful meal… just food for thought. If this feels like a wild paradigm shift to consider, set up an appointment with one of the KRNC Registered Dietitians!

Whew! How are you feeling after that run down— have you found at least one point that feels like the first stepping stone of building out your meal planning strategy?  Our hope is that the suggestions in this blog help to reduce the decision fatigue and burnout that can be associated with mealtime decision making and chip away at the stress involved in this process.  Revisit these ideas as often as needed as you establish a planning rhythm that works for you and make the adjustments that are best for your lifestyle. If you’re just tuning in, feel free to rewind to our May 2024 blog to discover your inner meal prepper and establish your meal prep foundation. Otherwise, we will see you in July as we continue our Summertime Meal Planning Series with a discussion on purchasing and prepping!

About the Author

Bailey has been with the KRNC since July of 2023, and works primarily at the CSU Spur campus in Denver, CO. Learn more about Bailey’s culinary dietitian background, training and approach in her KRNC Bio.

More Information

For additional resources for healthy eating, check out these programs from our registered dietitian nutritionists. Find delicious and healthy recipes on our Recipes page! More health tips are also available at the College of Health and Human Sciences Pinterest board. Lastly, don’t forget to sign up for the KRNC monthly newsletter!