Whether you are trying to eat healthier to slim down or to improve your quality of life, an easy weight loss meal plan can be your ticket to staying on track and keeping your sanity. Meal planning may sound stressful but when it comes to keeping to your diet, planning ahead is key. One afternoon of cooking and organization can set you up for a week’s worth of commitment to your goals!

You can learn to meal prep like a pro, I will show you how!

In this article, you will learn how to prep a week’s worth of meals in a few easy steps. I am also including some tricks and tools that make cooking and cleanup simple. We are going to start with what you know and build from there. By the end of this article, you will have a plan, tools and even some apps to help you on your journey to eating healthier with a solid meal plan.

First, gather your favorite healthy recipes:

Believe it or not, you can get excited about healthy food. The secret is in finding what delights your tastebuds. If you follow a strict diet plan (like Weight Watchers), you will want to use recipes from that program. However, if you are not on a strict plan, you can pick recipes from anywhere you find them.  

There are millions of healthy recipes found on the internet and social media. Tag yourself or save to your collection of posts or take a screenshot of the page and save it to your photos. I have an album in my photo app just for recipes.  

Save these recipes in a way that will be easily accessible for you. You can even print them out, punch holes in them and keep them in a self-made cookbook binder.  

Once you have a few recipes, double or triple them to make multiple meals. As you refine your meal prep ways, you will find that eventually, you won’t even rely on the recipes, but they are the best place to start.  

I started years ago with a simple chili recipe. Making one batch of chili gave me 3-4 meals in one pot. When you are beginning a new diet or plan, it’s best to keep to the same foods on repeat instead of trying to learn five new recipes in a week.

Also, consider the old stand-by meals that you can make more healthily. Take Spaghetti and Meatballs, for example. If you make this regularly, can you swap out some healthy substitutions? Can you replace the meat with ground turkey or ground chicken? Are you willing to replace the white flour pasta with whole wheat pasta or vegetables like spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles (aka zoodles!)?  

Once you have three recipes and all the needed food, you are ready to hit the kitchen – with the proper tools!

Tools of the Trade:

I’m not saying you NEED these items, but they will make meal prep easier. In my world of working single motherhood, an easy weight loss meal plan is essential. 

Here are some tools I use and ways to simplify things:

Food Storage Containers: Preferably made of glass. Be careful with cheap plastic containers. Something you can pop in the microwave without leaking toxic chemicals into your food is preferred. Those dollar-store containers are inexpensive, but if they are poisoning you or can’t hold your food, they aren’t saving you money.

Food Scale: This is my most essential item. You don’t need a fancy one, just an accurate scale for easy measuring. This scale will make it easier to divide your prepared food by containers while keeping each meal the same consistent amount of food. It is also the best way to assess how much you are eating accurately.  

Measuring cups and spoons: Okay, this might be simple, but they are so essential I had to list them. It’s another way of knowing how much food you make and consume. We’ve all tried and failed at the “eyeball method.” Get yourself a good but inexpensive set if you still need one.

Garlic Press: If you love garlic (like me) but hate how chopping garlic can make your hands smell for days, then a garlic press will be a magical addition to your life. Pop in a clove, press it together, and viola! You’ve got the garlic and not the smelly hands!

Air Fryer/Toaster Oven/Microwave: Odds are you already have one or two of these gadgets in your home. Some people also love crock pots and pressure cookers. I don’t use those, so I can’t speak to their helpfulness. These smaller electronics that allow for shorter cooking times (and use less energy than a typical oven) can save you time and money. When I’m in my meal-prepping goddess energy, I’ve got all 3 of these bad boys going at once. However you are most comfortable, consider using these to cut down your cooking time and save on clean-up. 

Value Your Time:

A necessary resource to develop an easy weight loss meal plan is time. Make the commitment, plan ahead, and give yourself time to meal prep. If you love to cook, this might not be a problem. My ideal time for meal prep is a Sunday afternoon. I’ll do my food shopping on Friday or Saturday, and come Sunday afternoon, while the laundry is washing and the kids are playing, I pop on some music and get to work in the kitchen.  

Now, not every week do I have the blessing of two hours to meal prep on a Sunday – I do have a life, ya know. So, how do I make up the time? When I have a good stretch of time for a meal-prepping session, I make enough meals for the week and one or two extra to pop into the freezer. Then, when I don’t have the time for a complete meal prep, I have reserves in my freezer.  

I also use the freezer meals when I want something different to eat during the week. Finding a recipe, I did two weeks ago feels brand new and can spice up my eating without going off track.  

Another way I handle the time crunch is by making a healthy dinner or two per week for my family. It’s just the kids and I at home, so when we are short on time, I make them a relatively healthy meal while I pop one of my pre-made meals into the microwave for me.  

However, I want my children to enjoy a balance of healthy dinners and quick and easy convenience food that keeps a family running. I add in a “healthy” meal once or twice a week. This meal is anything with lean protein, veggies, and carbs, all made from scratch.

Make Adjustments As Needed:

Your easy weight loss meal plan doesn’t have to be the same as mine, and I didn’t develop my routine without a few bumps in the road. Make changes as you need. To this end, I’ve compiled a list of a few meal-planning apps to help you. If you need help getting started, give them a try. Start small with a few meals per week, or go all in with one big cooking fest this weekend. Either way, you are on your way to eating better and saving time for more enjoyable activities.

Meal-planning apps:

• MealBoard
• Mealime Meal Plans & Recipes
• Eat This Much
• MyFitnessPal
• Carb Manager

I hope this article serves as a helpful guide on your path to healthy eating through meal planning. Please comment below and share your best tips for meal planning! And sign up for our newsletter to get more articles like this sent directly to your inbox.