• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Meal Plan Addict

Find your meal planning inspiration

  • Shop
  • Freebie Library
  • Recipes
  • Tips & Tricks
  • About
  • Work With Me
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Shop
  • Freebie Library
  • Recipes
  • Tips & Tricks
  • About
  • Work With Me
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
  • ×
    Home » Tips & Tricks » My Weekly Meal Planning and Prep Routine

    My Weekly Meal Planning and Prep Routine

    Published: Feb 4, 2021 · Modified: Feb 4, 2021 by Steph · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · About 4 minutes to read this article.

    My Weekly Meal Planning & Prep Routine
    My Weekly Meal Planning & Prep Routine
    My Weekly Meal Planning & Prep Routine
    My weekly meal planning and prep routine featured image
    weekly meal planning & prep routine

    There are many approaches to meal planning and meal prep and it really depends on your goals. 

    My goal is to use meal planning and a bit of prep to make my week more organized and not have to manage decision fatigue everyday - while not spending my entire Sunday cooking. 

    Here is how I do it! 

    My weekly meal planning and prep routine featured image

    This post was originally published May 2019 and was revised February 2021. 

    I do post tips and tricks over on my Instagram and in the Meal Plan Addict Community but I suppose it is better late than never to put my weekly meal planning and prep routine into a post for you!

    First of all, I am NOT one of those meal preppers that cooks the whole week of meals, portions them into containers, and then just reheats them all week. 

    Some weeks I cook and reheat most of the week, but most weeks, I prep ingredients for the week. This makes snacking on healthy foods easier, and it makes dinners come together so quick during the week .

    Here is what my weekly meal planning and prep routine looks like. 

    my weekly meal planning infographic

     Choose meals for the week & write it down

    This probably doesn't come as a surprise, but this is very first step for me. I normally do this on Saturday and put my grocery order in for delivery on Sunday morning.

    Making a plan, shopping, and doing prep all in the same day is overwhelming and exhausting.

    I try and buy only what we need for the week, and plan is critical for this. 

    I created my own template that I use (that you can have for free here), and I use it each week.

    how to build a meal plan

    Pro tips for making a meal plan:

    • Don't over plan! You don't have to plan every single meal for the week. 
    • Create a master list of meals that are loved in your household. This makes it easier to select what to put on the 
    • Don't plan a week of dinners with all recipes you have never made before. 
    • Start building a plan with ingredients and freezer ingredients that you already have on hand. This will save you money week to week as well. 

     Pull out anything from the fridge that is now a health hazard and wipe down all the shelves.

    If you make a plan, buy only what you need, and stick to your plan, this step takes a whole minute. 

    This takes me less than 5 minutes and is not daunting at all when you keep up with it. This also helps keep expired things to a serious minimum.

    This is what my fridge looks like at the end of the week when I started planning and buying only what I needed for the week.

    empty fridge friday

    Pull proteins / meals from the freezer for the next 2-3 days

    No more forgetting to pull things from the freezer and coming home to rock solid freezer ingredients. 

    Pro tips for managing your freezer ingredients

    • Don't pull more than 2-3 days at a time. This way you can adjust your plan throughout the week and not waste food. 
    • Have a "thaw bin" - put all thawing meat in a contained space in the fridge. You don't want raw meat juices on anything in your fridge!

    Wash, chop, peel, and store fruits and veggies

    (and assemble grab and go salads)

    chopped and washed veggies in containers

    If they are prepped - they get eaten.

    This is the single most important thing I prep each week. If I don't, bags of mushed veggies get tossed - and my heart breaks just a little bit.

    I personally like to use clear containers so I can see everything that I have. I really do think that having your veggies stare you in the face on the daily- and having them ready to eat, they will get consumed. 

    You can find the run down of all of the containers I use here!

    Cook and Store Prepped Ingredients, Snacks, or Meal Preps 

    Some weeks, all I cook is hardboiled eggs on prep day, and some days I cook and prep lunches for the week. 

    It all depends on my energy level and how chaotic the week ahead is. 

    Meal prep is not all or none. You can do small prep every few days too. It is totally up to you! 

    prepped meal plan addict fridge

     

     

     

     

     

     

    So, there you have it, a glimpse into my weekly meal planning and prep routine - and how I get my Sunday fridge. 

    For even more meal planning and prep inspiration come follow me over on Instagram, and come join our Meal Plan Addict Community! 

    « Air Fryer Bacon Roses
    Instant Pot Sweet & Sour Meatballs with Rice {Pot in Pot} »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lindsay says

      July 11, 2020 at 10:23 am

      The 4 step guide and templates are sold out on Amazon is there anyway to buy a printable, digital copy?

      Reply
    2. Fredie says

      August 24, 2020 at 8:37 pm

      Could you do a post on vegetable cleaning, prep and both fridge and freezer storage so they’re ready to go when I cook for the week? Maybe popular veggies (broc/cauliflower, mushrooms, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, Zucchini/eggplant, leeks, onions, bell peppers....)?

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published.

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi I am Steph, Meal Plan Addict!

    Steph Meal Plan Addict Headshot

    This is space is about more than meal prep, meal planning, and freezer meals. We help you get organized in the kitchen to make meal planning and prep easy and less intimidating for busy people.

    More about me here

    featured on

    Archives

    Categories

    Footer

    Recent Posts

    • Bacon Cheeseburger Meatballs
    • Hot Honey Chicken Tenders
    • How to Make and Freeze the BEST Instant Pot Bone Broth
    • Coconut Curry Meatballs
    • Instant Pot Greek Chicken Skewers with Lemon Dill Pilaf {Pot in Pot}

    COPYRIGHT

    Meal Plan Addict Inc. All rights reserved.

    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress