“New Year, New You?”  As we ring in 2021, many of us are looking forward to a fresh start and a clean slate.  We want to shed all of the things (and pounds!) that 2020 brought with it.  I’m here to tell you it won’t just happen — you’re probably not going to wake up and automatically feel or look any different than you did on December 31, 2020.  Therefore, you’re going to need a plan.   Regardless of your choice of diet, (Whole 30, paleo, keto, etc.), meal planning and food prepping are the keys to success.  

Before I started food prepping for my family, I would hear others (mostly my single friends) talking about it.  They’d share with me how they spent their Sunday making different protein and rice meals for the week and how they were marinating roasts for the crock pot.  At the time, I thought, “Who in the world has time to food prep?  No one with kids could possibly find time to do that.”  But lo and behold, now I wonder how I ever lived without food prepping.  

Here’s why:

1. It makes life easier. (Yes, you read that right!)  There’s never a question about what to eat: no contemplating in front of the refrigerator letting all the cold air out(spoken like a true mom!) wondering what to cook.
2. It helps us eat healthier. Since we have a meal plan, we rarely order out on the fly.
3. It saves us money!  We buy what we need for the entire week, and we buy groceries through an app — which eliminates spontaneous purchases. 

Learning to meal plan and food prep has taken me some time to figure out.  I’ve tried it and fallen off the wagon more times than I’d like to admit.  This past year, while forced to be home due to the pandemic and work travel restrictions, in addition to many dining options off the table (pun intended), I’ve had the chance to really figure it out and find ways to stay consistent.  

Here’s what I’ve learned:

• Pick a day to meal plan for the entire week. (I choose Fridays.) Write it down and keep it simple, especially if this is your first time.  TIP: To keep it simple, pick one breakfast that you’ll eat all week.  For lunches on weekdays, eat leftovers from dinner the night before.  For dinner, I like to have a different meal each night, Saturday-Wednesday.  Thursday is leftovers (to clean out the refrigerator for Friday’s grocery run). On Friday, we eat out.  
• Make a grocery list and use it for an entire month.  Yes… a full month.  I like to repeat meals for 3-4 weeks at a time.  So, every Monday we eat the same thing (Whole 30 cobb salad), every Tuesday we eat the same thing (taco bowls), and so on.  If you’re feeling up to it, throw in one new recipe a week to keep it interesting, but otherwise stick with what you know how to cook (that’s healthy) and what tastes good to you.  
• Make it a family affair!  If possible, get your significant other, kids, parents, nanny,  or roommates on board with your plan.  It’s much easier to be successful meal planning & prepping when you have the support of your household.
• Food chores.  I know it sounds horrible, but it’s not — I promise!  Once you’ve established your menu, give everyone in the house their to do list.  TIP: Give each person their food prep/cooking assignment at the beginning of the week.  In our house, our nanny and I do the majority of the food prep (chopping veggies, marinating meat, etc.), my husband mans the grill and takes on dinner at least one night per week, and my kids help put everything on the plate at dinner time. (They love cobb salad night when they get to dump all the different salad toppings into each person’s bowl.)
• Be tech-savvy. If available, use an app to order groceries.  As a mom of 3-under-3 with a full time job who cherishes free time (to go to the gym, catch a nap, or go to Target by myself), I do not want to spend any of my free time at a grocery store.  Using an app to buy groceries has many benefits including: no spontaneous purchases (there are no doughnuts from the bakery calling your name), time savings (no long lines or trips to multiple grocery stores), money savings (again, no spontaneous purchases). NOTE:  Many apps do charge a fee, however I feel the benefit of time & money savings is worth the cost. 

Regardless of where you are today on your healthy meal planning & prepping journey, I want you to know that you can do it!  If a full week of planning seems overwhelming, then start with just three days.  Figure out what works for you and go for it.  Remember that every day is a new day to start again, and you don’t need a new year to do it.  

Here is my menu for January 2021 and my weekly shopping list for my family of 3 adults and 3 children. Take what works for you, and make it your own!

• 

• 

About the Author

Courtney Hennessey is a wife and mom of three girls under three; lover of God, Crossfit, and wine; and a Senior Director of Marketing at Ally.  You can connect with her on Instagram at @mamahenncrew.