How to Get Started Meal Planning

Are you looking for an easy way to get started meal planning? Look no further than this super easy planner created by The Fit Cookie.

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Disclosure: I was provided free product from The Fit Cookie in exchange for social sharing; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

You might be surprised to know that I am terrible at planning my meals. I am great at collecting recipes, but such is the life of a food blogger. When it comes to my grocery list, I add things as I think of them throughout the week and then hope I have enough to last me through the next week when my grocery delivery arrives. If anyone can benefit from meal planning, it’s me. I was kindly gifted this Ultimate Meal Planning Kit from The Fit Cookie and it could not have happened at a better time. So, let’s get started meal planning.

Kitchen Inventory

My first favorite pages from the kit are inventories for my fridge, freezer, and pantry. I am of the “out of sight, out of mind” variety, so it is nice to know what I have so nothing expires before I use it and I don’t buy duplicates I don’t need.

To get started meal planning, I wanted to look at everything I already had and try to make meals from those items. When I cook for myself, I generally don’t do anything fancy. I also work evenings, so dinners are mostly whatever my parents make or leftovers. Leftovers can be easily incorporated into meal planning. You also don’t need to make every meal from scratch.

I was in for a surprise when I took inventory of everything I had. Two cans of pumpkin, a can of beets, cream of wheat, jasmine rice, and a basically empty fridge were what I found. In the freezer, I found tuna steaks and salmon fillets.

Monthly and Weekly Menu

When you first get started meal planning, it can be overwhelming to plan for the whole month. Luckily this meal planner kit has both monthly menu and weekly menu pages. The Ultimate Meal Planning Kit has pages for favorite recipes and new recipes to try. I think these pages are great because you can always look back on them if you need some inspiration. There are also pages for meal prep if you like to do that. I don’t prep meals, but I will be prepping snack and smoothie packs.

Here are some of the things I have planned for the week:

Tuna steaks with jasmine rice

Salmon fillets with jasmine rice

Beet salad with goat cheese and cucumbers

Peaches with cottage cheese

DIY snack boxes

DIY smoothie packs

(look for more on these last two very soon!)

Shopping List

The Ultimate Meal Planning Kit comes with three different pages for your grocery list, as well as a page where you can track what is on sale for the week. I use Walmart Grocery to get my groceries delivered, so I first wrote down everything I needed on the shopping list page and then headed to Walmart to add everything to my cart. I also use Ibotta to save money. (P.S. Tip your delivery drivers!)

The Ultimate Meal Planning Kit

In conclusion, the Ultimate Meal Planning Kit from The Fit Cookie is exactly what beginner meal planners need to get organized and stay consistent. Meal planning can also help save you money and eat healthier, so it’s definitely worth it. I often thought about getting started with meal planning and having tried it out, I really have no excuse to not continue doing so.