This meal planning blog post goes out to all my fellow theatre folk because it is truly an exhausting lifestyle. Most actors have more than one job and that’s just an acknowledged part of the business. Pre-COVID, a normal day in the life of Maggie could be 12+ hours long between working a full-time non-theatre job, practicing, working out, as well as rehearsals and/or shows. And let’s be honest, everyone these days seems to be working long hours and multiple jobs, So, the struggle to eat well is understandable.
With eating disorder struggles in my past, fast food and other pre-made meals are not viable or healthy options for me. So, the key for me to maintain a busy schedule while still eating well boils down to the magic of meal planning. This is something I have to make room for in my week but ultimately, it saves me time and energy. Not only that, but I eat healthier, avoid wasting food, and steer clear of many pre-made meals that often come in unsustainable packaging. It’s a win for so many reasons!
Having had many conversations about the struggle to eat healthy and consistently when busy, I do understand the difficulties. Meal planning well does take some practice, and my plan won’t work for or appeal to everyone. After all, we do have different needs. But for those of you looking for some inspiration, I hope these tips can help start you down the right path.
Stage One: THE PLAN
I hate imposing rules on myself at the grocery store. If I had my way, I would walk into a grocery store with no list and
buy what looked good in the moment. I also know that I would probably leave the store with only fruit, sweets, and more fruit. I have a sweet tooth, can you tell? As that would not feed me for a week, I unfortunately need a plan. My planning looks something like this:
What do I (and in my case, my significant other) want to eat this week? Do we have any leftovers from the previous week? Once I answer those questions, I move on to figuring out how to multipurpose ingredients. For example, I’m not going to buy 6 different types of vegetables when I could use the same 3 vegetable in a variety of ways. As I decide what meals to make, I add ingredients to my shopping list. I like to keep a shopping list on Microsoft To-Do on my phone.
Once I’ve figured out all the meals for the week, I plan what days we’ll eat those meals. That way we’re putting our easier, lower prep meals on busier days. I’ve found that it’s important not to be overly ambitious and to pick meals that work with my lifestyle. We also like to be flexible. If we’re not feeling like the meal we had originally planned, we’ll switch to one of the others on our list.
Local Eats
Last, but not least, we do plan to eat out about once a week. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on our local restaurant industry, we think it’s important to support our local businesses. One of our personal favorites is Foxy Falafel in St. Paul. It’s walking distance from our house, and they source local, organic, and sustainable ingredients. A huge draw for me is that most of their food is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan. And, of course, it’s just delicious!
Stage Two: THE SHOPPING
This is the easiest stage of all because my list should already be complete from planning! That being said, I’m so guilty of forgetting pantry staples after planning my meals. Just because bananas aren’t in a recipe, doesn’t mean that I won’t want a banana on top of my morning oatmeal. And yes, I will want a banana. I always want bananas. So, don’t forget to add your snacks and other staples to your shopping list and reusable grocery bag!
Our shopping list is split depending on where we plan to get our ingredients. For us, that means we have a Farmer’s Market list, a regular grocery store list, and a Costco list (we visit Costco about once every month or two). I like to start at the Farmer’s Market for as much produce as possible before heading to the store. We also belong to a Meat CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), which means we get our meat from a local farm and pick it up at a home nearby. If you’re in the Twin Cities, I highly recommend TC Farm. Once you have farm meat, you’ll never want to go back!
The Impulse Buy
I like to leave myself room for an impulse buy when I’m shopping. For me, it’s probably going to be some dairy-free ice cream. Otherwise, I do my absolute best to stick to my list. Both your budget and your stomach will thank you!
Stage Three: THE PREPPING
Once I have the groceries, let the fun begin! Well, I honestly find the prepping to be tedious, but I am always grateful that it’s done once the week starts. Meal prepping can mean several different things, so I want to break this down for you.
Grab and Go
My goal is always to make my groceries as easy to grab as possible. This means that I wash all my vegetables and fruits, so they are ready to eat or be used in a recipe. I also make sure that all my vegetables are cut up and stored in containers. If I know that a recipe calls for my vegetables to be cut a certain way (like a celery, onion, and carrot soup base), I’ll pre-cut them and store them that way.
Avoid Lunch Laziness
In my opinion, lunch is the easiest meal to miss or end up eating out if I don’t plan ahead. I hate getting up in the morning and realizing that I don’t have a lunch ready to go. However, my evenings tend to be quite busy, so I don’t always remember to pack something the night before. I’ve found that best practice for me is to pack up all my lunches on the weekend for all five workdays. There is nothing better than a fridge packed up and ready to go.
Magnificent Meal Prep
The last part of my meal prep consists of getting anything ready for breakfasts and dinners that I don’t want to do during the week, or that I know will save me time. For example, rice can take a long time to cook, but it’s so easy to cook in advance while I’m meal prepping other things. Or maybe I want to save time on my breakfasts, so I’ll whip up several mason jars of overnight oats.
A Magnificent Meal Plan Example
I assume that many of you are familiar with the concept of meal planning, but I know it can be difficult to put into practice. So, how about a simple example? I’ll share a sample meal plan, what prep I would do, and the shopping list that would go along with it. We all eat differently, and I am not a nutritionist, so the goal is not to demonstrate healthy or balanced eating. I also don’t expect that everything on my list will sound good to you. Please follow nutrition guidelines outlined by your medical professionals and by listening to the needs of your body. My hope is simply that this will serve as a helpful tool in showing effective meal planning that avoids waste.
The Plan
Monday
- Breakfast: Pumpkin Overnight Oats (’tis the season!)
- Lunch: Vegetable Brown Rice Stir-fry
- Snack: Kiwi & Mixed Nuts
- Dinner: Salmon with Butternut Squash
Tuesday
- Breakfast: Green Glow Smoothie (Recipe will be posted this week!)
- Lunch: Vegetarian Quesadillas with Guacamole
- Snack: Dairy-Free Yogurt & Granola with Banana
- Dinner: Pumpkin Curry Soup
Wednesday
- Breakfast: Avocado Sourdough Toast (Gluten Free) and Egg
- Lunch: Spinach Salad with Salmon (leftover)
- Snack: Apple and Peanut Butter
- Dinner: Eat Out
Thursday
- Breakfast: Cinnamon Apple Overnight Oats
- Lunch: Pumpkin Curry Soup (leftover)
- Snack: Trail Mix
- Dinner: Vegetable Pad Thai
Friday
- Breakfast: Peanut Butter Sourdough Toast with Sliced Banana
- Lunch: Vegetable Brown Rice Stir-fry
- Snack: Yogurt and Granola with Sliced Apple
- Dinner: Breakfast for Dinner (Oatmeal/Banana Pancakes)
The Shopping List
Based off of my plan above, what do I need to buy from the grocery store? Let’s assume that I have the basic pantry staples like salt, pepper, flour, and oils. My shopping list would, then, be the following:
Pantry Items:
- Oatmeal
- Bread (Gluten-free friends! I love the sourdough bread from Bread Srsly)
- Tortillas (Check out the amazing Siete grain-free tortillas)
- Curry Powder
- Cinnamon
- Brown Rice
- Peanut Butter
- Soy Sauce
- Pumpkin Puree
- Maple Syrup
- Granola
- Vegetable Stock
- Protein Powder
- Mixed Nuts
Dairy & Meat Products:
- Milk of Choice
- Eggs
- Yogurt
- Salmon
Produce:
- Bananas
- Vegetables of Choice
- Carrots
- Red Pepper
- Broccoli
- Cucumber
- Kiwis
- Butternut Squash
- Avocados
- Limes
- Apples
I probably would add a few more snack items to this list, as well as my signature impulse buy. Otherwise, this list covers the basics that I need to make my main meals for the week. After purchasing, I would cart this treasure haul up to my fourth-floor apartment and jump into meal prepping.
Check that List
It’s not as fun as Santa’s list, but a good shopping list is certainly a gift. Access to food is also a gift, so let’s all jump on the meal planning express to avoid food waste. A good reminder to treat our resources nicely. We definitely want to stay off the environmental “Naughty List!” Too early for Christmas references? What can I say, I’m “sleighin” it.
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