6 Simple Ways to Troubleshoot Your Common Meal Planning Challenges

#1 Lack of time

Alright, out the gate, by show of comments who here does NOT suffer from lack of time?

I’ll wait… … … …

Right. As I suspected, we all do.

But this is the main meal planning challenge everyone mentions. Except that the issue always so much that we don’t have time as much as it is we don’t make time. Or that we don’t manage our time well enough.

SOLVE THAT: Set aside dedicated time each week or every other week strictly for meal planning & prep. Even if that’s just 15-30 minutes, it can make a significant difference in your ability to stay organized and on track. Besides that, I will forever stand by a 20-min timer hack.

Don’t know what that is? It’s exactly what it sounds like. Set a 20-min timer then block out anything & everything else. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish in such as short time span when you hyperfocus. My husband likes to joke me on that word because I use it so much. Hyperfocus.

And you can also use apps or meal planning templates to streamline this for you too.

#2 Cooking skills

This being a challenge is a straight up myth. A fallacy if I ever heard it.

You may not have the confidence & know-how to roast a leg of lamb properly. But I’ll bet you aren’t even putting that on the menu every week anyway.

Girl, we’re talking about spaghetti. Classic meatloaf. Juicy roasted chicken thighs hello.

Real food. Real good. Even I don’t make roasted lamb & all that yet.

And if you have a grasp on the basic cooking skills for cooking from scratch like boiling, salting, roasting, etc. you’re good! If you don’t, start cooking more food so you can perfect ’em. Practice makes progress.

SOLVE THAT: What you need to do is start with simple recipes because the basic cooking skills will be used in every recipe trust me, whether it’s simple or complex. Then gradually expand your recipe repertoire as you gain confidence in the kitchen.

This is what I preach on everything because it’s not just a solid tip to a meal planning challenge. It’s the answer to a lot of kitchen struggles!

Plus, today the InstaPot is all the craze. Now, I don’t have one & have chosen not to get one right now but many people seem to love them.

#3 Lack of Inspiration

Maybe you’ve written down all the dishes you know how to make from scratch off the top of your head like baked BBQ chicken legs. And now they’re starting to bore you. Wear you down.

If that’s the case it’s time to find 1-2 trusty cookbooks & get excited about cooking something new! I think collecting cookbooks is one of my favorite hobbies. Cooking through them though is something I’m still working on. Maybe you don’t have any “real” cookbooks yet. You still have a drawer full of printed recipes from AllRecipes.com like your mom had. That’s cool!

All my cookbooks are used finds I thrifted over the last decade – with the exception of my canning book & my Gaz Oakley’s vegan cookbook I was gifted on my birthday several years ago. Don’t feel like you need to find anything super formal or super thick. Some of my most favorite cookbooks are old (I mean, vintage-y) finds. The bindings are long gone & some of the instructions or ingredients don’t make sense by today’s standard, but they’re my go-tos.

SOLVE THAT: Explore recipe websites, cookbooks or even cooking blogs for new meal ideas. They can be generic like that, or you can search for “Asian meal ideas”, “Casserole dishes for dinner for two.” Just don’t fall prey to “always looking, never buying”. Find what you need & get out of there! You can ask your family or roommates for their input & inspiration too, especially if they’re also eating these meals.

#4 Difficulty with Sticking to a Budget

So you’re doing the menu writing thing & yet somehow, it’s just not saving you dollars yeah?

Ok. Let’s think about the big things for a second.

Why are you spending the money?
Have you shopped your pantry/fridge & freezer first?

If so & you’re still consistently having to buy groceries, this is a sign you’re not actually stocking up. Or that you’re an impulse grocery-er (like I used to be). If that’s the case, you’re overly reliant on a system that could fall out from under you in the blink of an eye. And that’s a very dangerous place to be, lovely.

SOLVE THAT: Plan your meals around 2 things – A) what you already have & B) budget-friendly ingredients & sales. Limiting your meals to what’s already in your possession will curb the impulse buying. And budget-friendly ingredients like oats & rice work double, triple, quad shifts because you’ll use them in multiple meals. If you’re buying items that can only be used for 1 thing, you’re always going to hit this challenge or think meal planning for success is too costly. Every ingredient should be able to work in at least 5 meals or more. This is how you cut down on the expense & maximize savings. Also buy those same foods in bulk. A little here, a little there. Spray a little bleach. No, I’m just kidding! It all adds up.

#5 Food Waste

If for some reason you’re struggling to be successful or hitting this meal planning challenge is because every other time you’ve done it has resulted in food waste, let me ask you this.

Are you properly storing your excess for future meals?
Have you planned meals where the leftovers nicely transition into another meal?
Are you actually sticking to the menu & using the food or just going rogue?

Because making the plan is pointless if you’re still going to go out to eat more times than you cook. Ask me how I know that one. If food is wasted because you haven’t stored it away, you can quickly turn that ship around!

SOLVE THAT: Plan meals that use overlapping ingredients to minimize food waste & save dollars. Use leftovers creatively in subsequent meals. So, that leftover roasted chicken meat can be shredded & used in southwest omelets, or taco Tuesday type meals. (Salsa is my favorite condiment.) It’s never quite enough on it’s own for a full meal (for us) anyway, so use it in a dish where you’d like some meat, but it’s not the star.

If you just absolutely can’t make this work, compost your food scraps to reduce waste further. Just don’t compost meat because it may draw an unwanted crowd!

When done right, composting doesn’t have a smell so it can be kept in a bin in your fridge or in a 5-gal bucket in your pantry until full & ready to be disposed of.

#6 Lack of Motivation

This one has been me so many times, I put my hands in the air. Amen!

I’ll plan a good month of food, cook my way through it & plan the next. Then by the second or third month, I lose momentum. It’s like hitting a brick wall – BAM!

Next thing I know, it’s the 6th or 7th of a new month & I have no plan, no grocery inventory & all the guilt to go along with it. If you’ve been here too, here’s what you can do to course-correct.

SOLVE THAT: Involve others. Hear me – Get help. Encourage them to keep you accountable. Or share the responsibility of planning, prepping & cooking. This alone can lighten the load a bit. Reward yourself. This is big. Whether it’s treating yourself to a favorite meal (or a decadent dessert), enjoying an evening off from cooking or indulging in a hobby or activity you love. These little incentives give you something to look forward to. And that can help keep you motivated to stick to your meal planning routine.

I know it can be difficult doing these things especially if you’re just starting out with this – learning to replace store bought items with homemade ones. Cooking from scratch as a beginner. Meal planning!

But let me tell you something. Finding ways to overcome your meal planning challenge is soooo worth it. You are going to find that you have so much more control over the food that you’re eating. You’re going to feel good about it. And you’re going to learn all these great skills to build on the more you’re in your kitchen. That’s just going to cascade from one thing into another into another into another until one day you look up & realize you have a self-sufficient kitchen too alright?

You’ve got this, lovely!