How does meal planning look to you? Open the fridge, see what’s there, throw something together and hope for the best? Or, open the fridge, see that there’s nothing there, feel stressed then snack/pick up the local takeaway menu? Perhaps it’s a quick dash to the supermarket on the way home, forgetting what you have in the fridge, and buy odd things in a hurry?

If any of this sounds familiar, we hear you! Life is busy and we have lots of things to juggle, meaning that what we eat takes a back seat. 

But with a little preparation, things really can be different and we can be proud of the choices we make over what to eat. Here’s our step by step guide to planning your meals each week so that each one is nutritious, healthy and filling - for the whole family. 

• First up, decide on the best day of the week to set aside an hour to meal plan. (You’ll quickly become a pro and it’ll take a lot less time!) Sunday mornings work well, as it gives you time to plan what you need and go shopping. If you work on Sundays, work out when works best for you, and then try to stick to the same routine each week. 
• Now, work out how many meals you need for the week. This will obviously depend on the number of people in your house! Include all the meals that might need to be made for packed lunches and make a note of any extra guests planned such as play dates or friends over for dinner and minus any planned meals out. 
• Next up, make the most of the OYG Meal Planner to record all the delicious meals you’re going to create. 
• You can plan for breakfast, lunches and dinners as well as snacks. Base everything around what you and your family enjoy, and you know you’ll have time to create. Simple breakfasts such as this Carrot Cake Porridge work well during the week and can be made up in batches at the weekend so it’s good to go. Then maybe go all out at the weekend with this Egg Bread with Avocado. 
• Lunch can be made the evening before and boxed up. Our Chickpea Sandwich makes an ideal filling, protein packed lunch. Or why not try our Aubergine Penne Pasta and make it into batches to cover more than one lunchbox? 
• Dinners can be made in batches too. For example, this Chilli Bean and Chestnut Mushroom Combo and this Slow Cooker Kedgeree. 
• Meal planning doesn’t have to mean that all meals are home cooked from scratch. Having a supply of freezer dinners is perfectly ok. So keep a stock of fish fingers and potato waffles! Fresh pasta and sauce is also a good bet, and is super quick and easy.
• Make use of leftovers too. If you’re planning to make a spaghetti bolognaise for example, make a large batch of mince and keep half aside to turn into a chilli later in the week by adding kidney beans and chilli powder. 

For more meal prep tips, check out our How to Plan Your Weekly Shop for the Week Ahead blog post!