Making a weekly meal plan is an easy way to create a diet that is balanced and diverse. It can be done every week, every month, or even every year! Plus, there are many resources that offer weekly or monthly meal plans for users looking to add more foods into their diet.

Many people use the grocery store app app to create a weekly meal plan. You can download the app on your phone or computer and use the mobile app to find items and set them as your first item on the list. Then, you can easily switch it up and add new items as your second item!

This article will talk about how to make a healthy weekly meal plan.

Create a list of ingredients you need to buy

When you’re meal planning, it’s important to have enough ingredients to meet your needs. You can pick any order to buy them in, but having enough can make a big difference in how well you cook!

You don’t need to have all of the ingredients listed and stocked all around the house, but having enough should help you save some money in the process. It also helps create a better overall cooking experience as you learn which ingredients go with what other things.

Here are some key ingredients that should be had on your list of supplies: eggs, milk, veggies, fruits, salts/spices/vinegars/sweeteners, breads/buns, condiments/jellies/icing mix, and snacks (usually these should be savory).

Creating your meal plan can help add more depth to what you are eating. For example, having some vegetables paired with some other foods will help create a more complete meal.

Look for recipes that use ingredients you already have

While no world without gluten free foods would be a glorious revelation, you don’t need all of the ingredients listed in every single recipe that is included in this meal plan.

You can find some of them either often or always, and you will be more likely to actually use them. For instance, many people who follow the paleo diet include use of canned food in their diets due to its ubiquity.

You can find all of the ingredients for recipes even if you don’t have any of them in your kitchen. This will help make it easier to include all of the necessary items for making your meal.

The important thing to look for when finding recipes is what they are called. Some people use different names for the same thing, so looking up what they are called will help create a wide repertoire of meals that you can make.

Build your base recipes

Once you’ve created your weekly meal plan, it’s time to build your base recipes. This means creating or redingering some of your favorite foods to eat every week.

You can do this in several ways. For example, you can make a grocery list twice, and then just switch up which items you add to each list. Or you can make multiple copies of each recipe, just one change being the only reason for having two versions of the same food.

Either way, let’s talk about how to make sure these meals are healthy! Each meal should be under 200 calories and made of mostly healthy foods.

DB2 will help you create both of these bases correctly! When we set it up, we were surprised how many recipes we had that were repeatable and easy to create on our own.

Plan your snacks

It’s a good rule to leave yourself some room in your snack and meal plan. This allows you to have some extras or freebies or treats after the assignments are completed.

You can do this by having one or two extra snacks per day, or two if you are doing a second assignment. Or three if you are doing a full-on meal plan.

This allows you to have some healthy choices made for you without overcomplicating your diet. It also helps build confidence that you can make choices in regards to what foods YOU want and need.

Many people end up wasting away on the diet they are planning due to not having enough room for an adequate supply of energy sources.

Plan your dinners

Once you have your meal plan in place, it is time to put it into action. You can either sit down with your kitchen toolbox and pick from a list of recipes or you can create your own.

Either way, try each of your new meals out before giving them to the rest of the world to eat!

Once you have tried all of your recipes, if any of them are not already on the market, they should be. Take some time to look up how they are made and contact the manufacturer if something is not working or taking care of itself.

Your meal plan should be enough to get you through the week, so take some time to add some extra foods if needed. This does not need to be much- just look for easy ways to add more food in capacity and quality.

What are also worth noting is whether or not these foods are budget friendly.

Plan your breakfasts

Once you’ve planned your meals, it’s time to put them into action. You can have all sorts of meals and combinations of meals, so let’s talk about how to make a healthy meal plan.

Your weekly meal plan should include at least one breakfast and one lunch. This lets your body get some food and rest during the day. Plus, it helps create a balanced meal plan.

The best way to make the two lunches you need is to have one ready made in the fridge or freezer, and the other can be made with leftovers from the previous night.

The best way to make the breakfast you need is to mix and match ingredients from different foods, including things you would never think would go together.

Check which foods expire soon and plan around those

Most people don’t think to plan around the times their foods expire, but it’s important to know which foods expire and when in case you need to make sure you have them.

Some foods will last almost forever while others only stay good for a few months before they expire. This is due to when you need it and how well you can store it.

Knowing what parts of things expire and when can help save you money in case of emergency. For example, if a food container has expired but doesn’t look or smell fresh, then you can still have a meal that looks and tastes the same as the day before because it was still safe.

This is also helpful when trying to create a meal plan as each meal costs about $5-10 so having ones that cost less or less money helps too.

Consult a nutritionist

If you have a long-term goal for your body, you should also have a meal plan made up in your mind. Having a daily and weekly goal will help you achieve your goals in time.

You can use the nutritionist’s plan as a guide for creating your own. For example, the nutritional planner for people who want to lose weight recommends two or three meals and one or two snacks per day.

The reason this nutritionist suggests three meals and snacks is because they feel that each food group is important to include and their body uses throughout the day.

This nutrition expert also says that when making meal plans, get at least half of the suggestions into your body within an hour of eating them.