*This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn a small commission if you purchase something by clicking my link, at no cost to you. Thank you!
I’m a huge fan of systems. They make getting things done so much easier and more efficient. When you’re trying to follow an exercise program or just trying to eat better figuring out what to eat can be difficult. That’s why I’ve developed a healthy meal planning system to make menu planning easier. We call it “on the diet” menu planning.
What is “on the diet” meal planning you ask. Whenever my husband and I are doing one of our work-out programs T25, Insanity, 21 Day Fix, etc. he always wants to make sure that whatever we’re eating is “on the diet”. To be honest I get so tired of him asking, “Is this on the diet?” The first time through a program it’s pretty easy to just follow the meal plan how it’s laid out. But we repeat programs so sometimes I like to mix it up a little.
Healthy Meal Planning System
To make staying with “on the diet” meals even easier I created a little healthy meal planning system. You can make one too with your own favorite healthy recipes.
Supplies
You’ll need:
Step One
Select your favorite recipes. I looked through the different menu plans from the various workout programs we’ve used and chose our favorites.
Step Two
Create labels (click here for printable labels). Include the name of each meal and the meal plan or cookbook it is from. This way you’ll know where to find the recipe. I used recipes from these meal plans: P90X, Insanity, T25, and Brazil Butt Lift.
Step Three
Sort the cards by color then assign each color a main ingredient type. I used the following: beef- red, poultry- yellow, seafood-blue, other-dark green, snacks-purple, breakfast- light green.
Step Four
Put each label on the front of the color card it goes with.
Step Five
On the back of each card write the list of ingredients.
This way you don’t have to try to find each recipe to make a grocery list.
Step Six
Create your menu & grocery list. I usually pull one of each color card for main dishes. I also pull a couple of snack options and breakfast options that can be repeated. Once you’ve pulled your cards to fill out your menu flip them over to create your grocery list.
It’s that simple. Sure it’s a little work up front but once you’ve got it set up your healthy menu planning system will make menu planning and eating well quick and easy.