Image by Nicole Abalde
I have never been fully on board with those “5-Day Meal Plans” so many people publish. Either they are for a family of 4 or they require 1t of a hundred ingredients that I am never going to use again. I have looked through a couple of them, grabbed a few good recipes and ditched the rest. I don’t need your stinkin’ meal plan, I can figure it out myself. Well I am taking back every negative thought I have had towards meal plans.
I have written before about how much I stress about cooking dinner. Cody and I talked about trying out this new Paleo lifestyle everyone talks about. It sounds great, but no rice? There goes half of my recipes… Chicken and rice or stir-fry was my go-to when I don’t have anything planned for dinner. What was I going to do without rice. I was not prepared to make something already stressful even more stressful and full of restrictions.
Well Cody found an interesting book about the benefits of paleo and the biology of what is happening to your body called The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. I glanced through it and it was way over my head. BUT it included 4-weeks of meal plans in the back. It included a shopping list for the week and a list of meals and recipes. And these recipes were simple. I had my hesitations, but decided to just go for it.
We simplified some of the breakfasts and snacks but we followed all the lunches and dinners. You know what I found to be the best part of this whole experience? Not once did we have to have the “what do you want for dinner” conversation. Eliminating that conversation, the opinion and that decision made dinner 100% times easier. I still had to make dinner, I still had to clean up but all the ingredients were already in the fridge and I just had to follow the directions. I was so surprised at how much less stressful dinner could be.
We did about three weeks of planned meals out of the book. But the planning habit has stuck. We don’t plan out ever meal but we do make a list of that week’s meals and all the necessary ingredients before going to the store. That way when I am ready to cook I have all of the ingredients and a list of meals to choose from. I have been really enjoying cooking again. It seems less of a chore and more of a relaxing, fun activity.
I am changing my tune about created meal plans. So if you are like me and have always been hesitant, I urge you to give a meal plan a shot. You might be surprised.
Has anyone else found a good meal plan to follow?
PS. Looking for more meal ideas? Here are some more of my favorite: Chicken Tikka Masala and Curry
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I don’t know what the recipe this is, but what can be bad with olives? If I had to plan meals myself, I might give this a try. Good for you, to give an honest three weeks. Sounds like it’s working!