Meal Planning, Shopping, & Prepping 101

Ways to set yourself up for success:

1. Meal Planning
2. Shopping
3. Meal Prepping

Sometimes meal planning and prepping can seem overwhelming at first.  It took me a few weeks to get the hang of it.  I thought some of my experience could help you if you are feeling overwhelmed or just don’t know where to start.

Meal Planning

I started by creating a template that I could easily use week to week.  This took about 5 minutes, but saves me time each week.  I don’t mind typing my meal plan, but I know others like to hand write things.  This template works for either person.  You can easily type your meals, change the font colors for different items, and even include links to recipes you will be using.

OK NOW THAT WE HAVE THE TEMPLATE (if you want a copy of my template email me ashleyfrancisfitness@gmail.com)

I like to start my planning off with what I am going to have for dinner throughout the week.  I write down the different items I will need for that meal.  An example is grilled chicken, asparagus, and ½ a sweet potato.  I like to write out all the things that I will need so that I can easily make a grocery list from my meal plan. 

I then move onto my lunch because I will take some leftover food from dinner the night before.  I will usually add a salad to what I had before – maybe put the extra protein on top of the salad.  If I don’t take left overs I usually plan something easy, but I like to have variety through the week.  I don’t want to eat salads every day.

After that I plan my breakfast, which is easy, I have Shakeology every morning with 1 fruit serving mixed in.  I then have a snack around 9:30 at work.  It’s either hard boiled eggs with hot sauce or Greek Yogurt.  So I plan that out too even though it stays the same.  Sometimes I will have a bagel thin with Peanut Butter or Oatmeal with Peanut Butter and Cinnamon.  It really depends on the rest of my meals and how many carbs I am eating.   

I also plan an afternoon snack which is usually a piece of fruit to hold me over until dinner.

After you create one meal plan a lot of things stay the same throughout the week.  For example I don’t usually need to change much for my breakfast and morning snack don’t usually change week to week.  This helps cut down on the planning time.  Sometimes I will have the same lunches the following week and dinners.  It really just depends on what you are in the mood for when you are planning!

Grocery Shopping

If you make your meal plan with all the ingredients listed this will be easy!  I make my list straight from my meal plan.  This allows me to organize things like produce, meat, dairy all in order on my list so I can make my shopping trip nice and easy.  Sometimes I linger in the meat department because I like to check out sales and will buy additional items and freeze them if it’s a good deal! 

If you belong to Costco, BJ’s, Sam’s Club, etc.  I recommend checking the meat selection and pricing there because I usually save money by buying in bulk and freezing.  Another tip check out the frozen fruit at these locations because I add frozen strawberries to my shake and it’s much cheaper at Costco for a large bag. 

Once you have your list created head to the store.  While you are at the store, try to avoid the center isles because they are filled with processed food.  I know that it’s not always possible, but that is where the temptation will get you.   If you are thinking about buying something processed check out the label and see what is actually in the product, can you pronounce the names, is it 50 ingredients?  That product might not be the best choice. 

Meal Prep

When you get home from the grocery store do not put all your food away.  Make sure you leave your veggies out so you can prep them for next week’s meals.  Also, if you bought a lot of meat and need to portion it to put in the freezer keep that out so you can do it right away.  I think the easiest downfall is putting everything away and relaxing on the couch!  Just get it done.  At least the time consuming things like cutting the veggies.  If you’re having hard boiled eggs put cook them while you are prepping everything else.  When you finish cutting your veggies portion them into single bags that are easy to grab throughout the week and take with you.  Also, if you have salads on your plan throw them together and store them so they are easy to grab.  

I also like to cook my protein for lunches at this time.  So I will either bake or grill chicken for my salads or meal.  I will also cook ground turkey to top a salad.  I will make meatballs and store them in easy to grab containers for the week and then have them with steamed veggies.  I will cook extra veggies the night before I have that meal so it’s quick and easy.

My downfall is the weekends.  Make sure you plan yummy things when you are home on the weekends for lunch because otherwise you will want to run and get Chipotle, Chinese, Pizza, or a sub….. I try to plan new things so that I’m excited to try them.  I am not very good on the weekends and it’s something I am working on.  I have noticed that this does help!

I’d love to hear back from you on this and any comments you have to help me make it easier! Or even quick meal ideas J  Shoot me an email at ashleyfrancisfitness@gmail.com

I talk about portions and how many carbs I am having in this I follow the 21 Day Fix meal plan which is simple and easy.  Feel free to shoot me an email about it or you can check out  My website