flexible meal planning guide + workbook

Learn more: www.healthymamakris.com | @healthymamakris

 meal planning- made flexible.
time to make meal planning work- for your life!
Meal planning should be simple... right? Write down a few meals your family might like next
week, get the ingredients and cook away! But the reality is, we live BUSY lives and creating a
plan that actually WORKS for our family can be a struggle. We create a plan and it sounds
perfect, until we realize it takes 40 minutes to cook and we only have 30 in between activities
to cook and scarf it down. We create what we think is the perfect plan, full of Pinterest-ready
dishes, and no one eats it. But the reality is-- if we don't plan at all, we'll likely find ourselves
standing in front of the fridge at 5pm with a feeling of defeat- calling for takeout, yet again. So
HOW do we create a plan that is both flexible, simple enough to stick with and friendly for the
whole family? I’ve got you!

Flexible Meal Planning 101

01 start where you're at.
In order to know where you're going, you need to know where you're starting from!
Use the assessment on the following pages to get honest about where you're at-
and mark the starting point in your roadmap!

02 take it step by step.

No matter where you're starting from, following the right order for meal planning is
a game changer in simplifying and streamlining your meal planning- the first step
to making it work is uncomplicating it!

03 try it out for a test run

It only works if it works for you! Test out the meal planning method you've chosen
for at least 4 weeks. Not working? Simplify more or switch it up! There is ALWAYS
a way to make it work for you.

04 re-adjust as needed
Felt like your meal plan was on point for a few months and now it's all out of
whack? Totally normal. Life is filled with seasons and you might just need a light
readjustment for this one. Come back to that assessment and tweak as you need!

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 MEAL PLANNING ASSESSMENT
There are no right or wrong answers to this assessment- it's not pass or fail! This is simply to
create awareness around your routine and help you to create the best path forward to a
flexible meal planning routine, so be as honest and realistic as possible!

Part 1: Your current meal planning routine

When do you typically plan out your meals for the week?

Day of the week: Time of the day:

Is this routine consistent? Y N

How many meals do you typically plan for? 1-2 3-4 5-7

Of these meals, how many do you typically execute each week? 1-2 3-4 5-7

Are you getting meals on the table in a reasonable time frame Y N

(for what you would prefer)?

Are there any days of the week that currently feel more difficult to get dinners
on the table?
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN

On a scale of 1-10, what is your current stress level around getting meals on the table?

1 5 10
How does it feel when you DO get meals on the table all week long?

How does it feel when you DON'T get meals on the table all week long?

Overall, would you say your meal plan is working for you?

a. not at all b. could use some help c. mostly, but I want it to work better!

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Part 2: Making your routine work for you
How much time do you realistically have on a weeknight to get meals on the table
(this might change night to night- we'll get there. Go with a general idea, here!)

a. 15-25 MINS b. 30-40 MINS c. 40-60 MINS

List out all activities and times each weeknight:

Based on this timeline and the meals that feel like more of a struggle- which meals do
you need the most support getting on the table?

MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN

Be real- does your family actually eat most of the meals you get on the table (I'm not
talking takeout!)?

a. hardly ever b. most of the them c. they usually do!

Could you list at least 3-5 meals your family eats (almost) every time you serve them?

a. nope b. I think I could c. absolutely

Brainstorm as many meals, cuisines and/or themes your family loves (save this-
you'll use it later!)

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Part 3: Time to get real.
You know you and your routine better than I do- so take a look at your answers-
do you notice any patterns or red flags (planning, time or family preference) come
up in your answers? Write anything that comes up!

Check those asterisks! If you're looking for specific guidance, here it is:

If you answered mostly A's OR you execute less than three meals a week, it is likely
time AND planning are a factor in your meal planning routine. Start by just planning
for 3 meals- focus on figuring out which three nights you need the most support and
planning easier meals and/or meal prepping to get meals on the table. Then you can
work on planning 4-5 meals.

If you answered mostly B's OR you execute less than five meals per week, it is likely
time OR planning is a factor in your meal planning routine. Work on just planning for
and focusing on five meals- look at the nights you need the most support and work on
planning easier meals and/or meal prepping to get these meals on the table. If time
isn't a huge factor, work on your family favorites list and recipes to try list to streamline
the planning process.

If you answered mostly C's OR you execute MORE than five meals per week, you're
doing great! You might need some light tweaking to your routine- that's what I'm here
for! Focus on honing in on that family favorites and recipes to try list or try a new meal
planning method (like themes) to make the planning process easier and more
streamlined.

Let's dive into making flexible meal planning work for YOU!

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 How to meal plan- in 8 steps (or less)
Alright, let's get into it- HOW do you actually meal plan, in a way that's flexible
and works for you? I've broken it down, step by step to make it as easy as
possible- so let's dive in!

1.Check yourself (err, calendar) before you wreck yourself

This is the FIRST thing I do, ALWAYS. We use a shared google calendar in our
family, but I also have a paper planner (I am totally a pen-and-paper girl, if you can't
tell). Checking your calendar to see what's coming up is CRUCIAL in planning meals that
work FOR you and simplifies your life. Sure, that 30-minute-in-the-oven casserole with 16
ingredients LOOKS good on Tuesday, but not if you work til 5 and have soccer at 5:30, and
the kids go to bed at 7.
So how could you make that night a slow cooker or instant pot night instead, to simplify
things? A crock pot meal that's ready as soon as you get home or a meal pulled together
with prepped ingredients will work much better, here. How often you meal plan is
generally based on how often you grocery shop and how far out you plan events- in our
current season I do a rough plan for the month, with lots of flexibility and sit down each
week to plan then upcoming week based on our day-to-day schedule. I use the monthly
meal planner, for this- then I fill in the weekly planner, with shopping list, for the week- to-
week. You might plan two weeks at a time, because you grocery shop every other week;
or life might be crazy so you might be a weekly planning gal. It doesn't matter how often
you do it; it's how it works for YOU and your family.

2. Check your pantry, fridge and freezer.

I do my best to update my inventory lists once a month (and you'll find the
pages to do so in the planner quarterly, and I just do a quick update
monthly) so I know what I have on hand to work with before going
shopping. This ends up being a HUGE budget lifesaver, because although
we systemize a lot of our food shopping with online orders, if I see a sale on
grass-fed ground beef, I've been known to buy 10 packs to freeze.
Same with going to Trader Joes, you know I'll be buying a few bags of their wild Alaskan shrimp
because my girls love it so much, and I'll pretty much buy them out of cauli rice. I leave some
wiggle room in my budget to make these type of purchases, because they save us in the long
run- and make meal planning SO much easier. Each week, I do a quick check of my pantry,
fridge and freezer and use the 'on hand this week' list weekly to start with what we HAVE,
instead of reinventing the wheel, each and every week.

3. Reference your family favorites

This is such a game changer for meal planning for a family! Having a list of meals
(and sources) on hand that you know the family loves gives you a great
head-start on planning for the week (or longer). It can also help you scan
through and choose recipes that have similar ingredients, the first step to
simplifying grocery shopping, meal prep and dinners throughout the week. It's also helpful
to seasonally update your 'recipes to try list' and compile recipes you've found in
cookbooks, online, on social media- into one place for easy access when you're going to
plan your meals for the week.

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4. what's your style?
Everyone is different, and everyone has a different meal
planning style that resonates with them. 20 Meal Themes To Try:
Here are four styles to choose from: Taco Tuesday
Meatless Monday
Traditional: Pick five dinners (this can be recipes OR meal Breakfast for dinner
ideas) you want to make that week and choose a day for Spaghetti Night
each meal. This works well if you're ok with less flexibility
Balance Bowls
because life is busy and you need to know exactly what's on
the menu. Salad bar
Italian
Flexible Traditional: Pick five dinners you want to make that Tex Mex
week, leave the days open- you'll have the ingredients you Sheet Pan
need so you can choose which meal you want to make each
Grill Night
night. This works great if you like having more choice and
leaning into your intuition a little more when it comes to Stir Fry
choosing your meals each day (but you still want some Soup and Sandwich
structure!) Burrito Bowls
Burger Night
Themes: This style can actually be used in combination with
Baked Potato Bar
any other style- but some like to think of this as a style in and
of itself. You can choose your themes based on cuisine or Slow Cooker
meal type (see the sidebar for ideas!) Instant Pot
Pizza Night
The 4-3-2-1 method: This is my solution for simplified meal Charcuterie Night
planning based on ingredients. Click here for how I do this.
Seafood Night
You can start with 1-2 recipes you want to make, and utilize Kids Choice
those ingredients to make other recipes with similar
ingredients to save time planning and prepping ahead, if you
so choose. You can also choose to plan just ingredients, and
mix and match throughout the week. This requires a lot
more creativity, though- so keep that in mind!

5. planning time!
Time to plan dinner! As dinner is our big family meal of the day, and usually requires the
most prep (and also contributes to lunches), I plan dinners first. I use that family favorites
list, along with my recipe binder to plan just FIVE recipes- yep, that's it- each week,
because that gives me some leeway to be flexible, have a leftovers night, or grab takeout.
We're real humans with busy schedules! This allows for mixing it up when we aren't
feeling one meal on a particular night, mixing and matching and still having the basis for
healthy meals throughout the week, and even stretching meals for two nights.

6. lunchtime
Leftovers are a HUGE part of our lunch planning- so knowing what we're having for dinner,
first, is a necessity, then I can plan for leftovers for myself and my husband. If you're not
fans of leftovers, decide what you'll need to have on hand for your lunches. When our kids
are in school, I choose two 'main dishes' for lunches to rotate through for the week
(whether it be deli meat, homemade chicken nuggets, leftover stew or sunflower butter
sandwiches; I like to provide variety) and make note of ingredients I need and prep I need
to do.

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7. make a flexible plan for breakfasts + snacks
I drink a smoothie pretty much every single morning. So for me, all I need to do is have
a few smoothie bags on hand for busy mornings. Are you similar? Decide 1-2 breakfast
options you'll have on hand for adults for the week, and for the kids. These might be
same or they might be different- but you don't want to be stuck with nothing for
breakfast! Just having a plan so we have the options on hand is key. Same deal for
snacks- I try to meal prep at least one snack option every week so we have a
homemade option (like power balls) along with some of our favorite packaged options,
so I just check our pantry, and write down anything we need.

8. Create your grocery list + plan out your meal prep for the week.
The final and most important part of my planning is actually putting it into action! I
create my grocery list based off my plan (and using the staples list for the items I buy
each week), go shopping and plan out my meal prep for the week.
I know this seems like a lot of steps. But I assure you: it does NOT have to be
complicated! It's all about creating a routine-- the more you do it, the more it
becomes a habit- and the easier it will be.
Happy Planning!

xo, Kris
Want all the meal planning tools you need in one place?

The Healthy Mama Meal Planner

available in print or print-at-home formats

Kris' signature system- all in one easy-to-use guide + notebook!

10+ pages of templated lists (family favorites, recipes to try, pantry and
freezer inventory and more)
grocery budget breakdown
months of planning and grocery list templates

Click here!

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 Weekly Meal Plan
Week:
sunday groceries
produce meat/fish

monday

tuesday
dairy/freezer dry goods
wednesday

thursday

friday lunch + snacks to prep

saturday
 sample meal plans psst... recipes are

Flexible Traditional: Themes:

clickable!

Utilizes similar ingredients for easier shopping Focuses on nightly themes to simplify and streamline
and prep; flexible on days served unless there meals each week. Change up your themes season to
are specific busy nights. season!

MEAL 1: Beef and Butternut Squash Chili MONDAY: Soup Night

Comfy Chicken Soup

MEAL 2: Perfect seared salmon with rice

and sesame roasted broccoli
TUESDAY: Taco Tuesday
Grain-free crispy chili shrimp tacos with
honey lime slaw

MEAL 3: Sweet Potato, Kale and White

Bean Soup WEDNESDAY: Italian Night
Spaghetti (or spaghetti squash) with five
ingredient meatballs

MEAL 4: Tex Mex Sweet Potato Turkey

Taco Pie
THURSDAY: Slow Cooker
Slow cooker sweet potato, kale and beef
stew

MEAL 5: Butternut Squash Chickpea Curry FRIDAY: Asian-inspired

One Pan Egg Roll in a Bowl

4-3-2-1:
Planning based on ingredients for easier and less-
stressed shopping. May or may not assign days to
meals based on personal preference!

4 VEGGIES (not including staples): MEAL 1: Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

spaghetti squash
peppers
mushrooms
cilantro
MEAL 2: Easy Weeknight Chicken Enchiladas

3: proteins
ground beef
chicken breast
MEAL 3: Chicken Pot Pie Soup

steak

2: starches MEAL 4: Weeknight Picadillo + mashed sweet

potato
sweet potatoes
tortillas

1: flavor boost/sauce MEAL 5: One Pan Steak Fajitas

sour cream

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 put it all together...
OUR GO-TO WEEKNIGHT MEALS:
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Tex Mex Turkey Taco Pie
Beef & Butternut Squash Chili
One-pan shrimp, pineapple and
broccoli with hawaiian BBQ
Greek chicken meatballs + orzo
Peanut chicken bowls
Weeknight Picadillo
Instant Pot chicken + broccoli
5-ingredient meatballs + pasta
One pan fajitas
Butternut squash, chickpea +
kale curry
Asian turkey lettuce cups
Kale caesar with chicken or
shrimp
Homemade chicken tenders +
veg + fries
Taco night (click for my
homemade taco seasoning)
Perfect seared salmon + rice
Thai green chicken curry

about kris
Kris is the holistic health coach, trained chef and founder behind
Healthy Balanced Mama, the podcast and brand designed to help
moms stress less about food through balanced eating, simplified
meal planning, meal prep and confident cooking. She encourages
and inspires women worldwide to uncomplicate eating and find joy
in balanced living through her digital courses, cooking classes and
top rated podcast. She lives in New England with her sailor husband
and two tiny sous chefs.

CONNECT WITH ME:

@healthymamakris @healthymamakris Kristin Dovbniak

www.healthymamakris.com