Do you cringe when you hear the term “meal planning”? Does it make you want to roll your eyes into the back of your head? Or, does it make you feel like a failure just hearing the words? Some people think meal planning is just not an option for them. They believe they’ll fail before they event try. Or, they don’t feel like they’re an organized person in other areas of life, so why would it work with this? 

Have you found yourself thinking any of these thoughts? Today I want to discuss some of these thoughts and how you could change that around. And, I want to offer a solution on meal planning for people who don’t like meal planning.

Places people get stuck when they hear the term “meal planning”

I’m not an organized person, so it makes me feel like I’m setting myself up to fail

First of all, that is a feeling and a thought, it is not or does not have to be the truth. Labeling yourself as a “disorganized person” will in turn create a disorganized person. What if I tell myself, “I’m not an exercising type of person, so I don’t even try or it makes me feel like I’m setting myself up to fail”? Now, many of us do operate out of that thought, and it keeps us from exercising, but we know that if we want to create real change in that area it means we have to change our thinking and start exercising. We make the choice of if we are going to exercise that day or not, if we are going to consider ourselves a failure or not.

It’s similar with meal planning. It is a change in your life, and you have to make the decision to change your thinking and start taking action. Also, it’s possible that your type of organization is just different than what you would consider a typical “organized person”. That’s okay. Everyone’s personality is different, and that will come out even in things such as meal planning. Keep reading below, and I’ll provide some meal planning options that work for all types and styles and personalities.

Meal planning feels like it would create more work instead of being helpful

I understand it can feel like that, and at the very beginning when you’re figuring out a plan that works best for you, that may be true. So, at the beginning it may take you some extra time to figure out a plan and get it set up (whether that’s through an app, a meal planning service, creating your own list, etc). However, this should only take you a few days, a week max. After that, you’ll have the plan in place, and it will be much quicker and easier to get your meal planning done.

Again, I understand that it “feels” like more work because you’re not used to having a dedicated time each week or every few weeks to work on meal planning. However, in most cases it is actually less work than what most people are doing right now. Staring at your fridge trying to decide what to eat, going to the grocery store almost every day to pick something up, getting overwhelmed because you have no idea what’s for dinner and you have no desire to cook! Do any of these sound familiar? 

All of these examples take time and are definitely NOT helpful, but it’s what we know, so it feels normal, even thought it may often be stressful. Once you find a meal planning option that works best for you, it will not be more work, I promise. You may just have to do a little changing in your thinking.

Meal planning takes too much time. I don’t need to add something else to my to-do list

This thought is similar to the one above, so make sure to read up on that if you skipped over it. The fact is, you’re already using that much time (or more probably) with the system (or lack thereof) that you are currently using. Right now you’re probably wasting a lot of your time, and you don’t even realize it. So, creating a meal plan system that works for you will in fact save you time (not to mention stress!). 

As for the to-do list. Even if you’re not a “list person”, deciding what to have for dinner and cooking it is already on your to-do list. It’s a fact of life. It is something you already do. Either that or you don’t eat dinner, which I hope is not the case. So, meal planning is just rearranging what you already do and making it more effective and efficient. Why continue living in a pattern filled with stress or dread over dinner time?

What if I don’t feel like cooking what’s on the meal plan that night and decide to change it? If I do this often I start thinking “why bother”?

First, we’ve all been there. I’ve been meal planning since I first got married, and I have nights when I do not feel like cooking what’s on the meal plan. It happens to all of us, and there’s nothing particularly wrong with that. Give yourself grace, make something different that night (or order out), and don’t consider yourself a failure. Just pick up where you left off. 

This issue comes when you start doing this repeatedly. To me changing it up once a week or so is no big deal and not something to cause you to give up on meal planning. Life happens. Moods happen. Plans change. But if you’re finding yourself doing this often, I can see why you’d begin to think “why bother”. The thing is, at that point the issue is not meal planning itself. It is now a discipline issue. 

Going back to the exercise analogy, you have to make the decision to follow your exercise plan, to be disciplined. The same is true with meal planning. In a sense, it does become a discipline. Every time I don’t feel like making what’s on my meal plan for that night, I have to weigh if I really just need the night off and decide to order out, or if I’m just in a “mood” and need to buck up and do it anyway. 

If you tend to go off your feelings often when it comes to food, one suggestion on meal planning for you is this. Make a list of one week’s worth of meals, but don’t specify those meals to a specific night. Make your list and put it on the fridge or a place of easy access, and when you go to cook dinner, you know what options you have available.

I don’t like to cook, or I prefer to eat out

Believe me, I empathize with these thoughts. I would not say I’m a person that doesn’t like to cook, but I definitely have my nights (that sometimes turn into seasons). Not everyone loves or even likes to cook. And, I mean, who doesn’t like to eat out and not have to cook and clean at home?

However, your choice is either you do eat out every night, or you cook even though you don’t want to or you don’t like it. I would tend to say not many people do eat out every night, and if you happen to be one that does, it’s taking a pretty penny from your pocketbook that could be used elsewhere. 

So what can someone do if they don’t like to cook? Well, if you have the funds, you could hire a personal chef (wouldn’t that be nice). But, I know that’s not in the realm of possibilities for most of us. A few more affordable ideas include subscribing to a prepared meal delivery service or trying a meal kit delivery service. For the meal kit service you do have to cook your food, but getting the ingredients sent to you exactly proportioned out as needed with a recipe card might be something you learn to enjoy. And of course adding some nights out at a restaurant on the meal plan doesn’t hurt anything. You could mix and match and do 2-3 nights of prepared meals or meal kits, 2 nights eating out, and then 2-3 nights of planning and fixing your own meals. 

Even if you don’t like to cook, meal planning can help you make better decisions, it can help save money, and it might even help you figure out you don’t hate cooking as much as you thought you did.

Meal Planning for people who don’t like meal planning

So far we’ve come up against some of the common thoughts that people who don’t like meal planning have and how you might change your thinking or find a solution. But how about the practical part? The actual meal planning. We haven’t actually talked about how to do meal planning for people who don’t like meal planning. 

And THAT is where I come in. If you’ve read through these thoughts and you think perhaps meal planning could have it’s benefits for you, but you don’t know where to go from here, I can help. I have 2 options for you that can change the way you’ve thought of meal planning before and help you find just what you need to be successful.

1. Purchase my e-course, How to Make Meal Planning Work For You, for just $27. I’ll help you walk through discovering the best method of meal planning that will work for you and your style, plus you get access to my Meal Planning Resource Guide which will save you TONS of time from doing your own research.

2. Let me create your customized meal plan for you! This is perfect for someone who wants to make meal planning work for your life, but when it comes down to it, you know you won’t actually follow through with the start up part. For this option, we’ll start with a FREE 15 minute consultation to discuss your style, needs and desires. Based off this information I will create a customized package for you. Rates vary depending on the type of meal planning desired and time needed to create your customized meal plan. Get your FREE 15 MINUTE CONSULTATION HERE.

Download your Weekly Meal Planner here!

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Ditch the stress often caused by dinnertime by making a meal schedule with this simple and pretty meal planner. 

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