#2013alive: How Are You Doing with Your Meal Planning?

We’re halfway through week 5 of our 12 Months of Wellness, all about planning ahead—to eat well. Here at alive we’re incorporating all the good habits we’ve been practising in the previous 4 weeks into our meal planning for the coming weeks.

Here are some of the interesting ways we’re practising meal planning here at alive:

Amanda Pentland, Graphic Designer: “Andrew and I got back from England late Sunday evening, so yesterday we took the day to clean and organize our place and start meal planning our week ahead. We then decided to run to the grocery store with our re-usable bags and walked home with our groceries.

It felt good to not only plan out our meal ahead of time but to also physically spend the time together running there and carrying all of them home. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a week of meals and eating. I made homemade granola and no-bake granola bars and some yummy muffins yesterday, so some of those hit the freezer!”

Bryce Tarling, Editorial Assistant: “One of my favourite ways to prep ahead is with a good hearty salad. I buy a bunch of vegetables that have good shelf life in the refrigerator: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, radish, celery, carrot, red pepper, and green onion. I chop them up into a bowl that will last me about 5 or 6 days. It’s the perfect complement to a soup or sandwich, and can be made into a meal by adding a bit of orzo or quinoa.

If the chopped-up veggies are not all gone by the fifth or sixth day, I throw them all into a pan and stir-fry them with some garlic, ginger, and onion and serve overtop of rice. I usually have some leftover cauliflower, cabbage, and kale, which I can pan-fry as a side dish, or throw into a soup or curry later on.”

Darren Field, Student Services Coordinator: “I don’t plan day-to-day meals as I am never sure what I really want for dinner until I get to the kitchen. I just make sure my weekly shop has enough veggies, proteins, and extras so I have things on hand for when I need to be creative.”

Bronwyn Logan, Marketing and Digital Communications Specialist: “I sit down each Sunday to write out our menu for the week (as best I can). I then go through the fridge to see what I need and make my grocery list based on these recipes. This gives me less stress when I come home from work, and gives me a chance to ask my fiancé and step-son for any requests.”

Vince Yim, Digital Content Coordinator: “Meal planning should be easy, since I live by myself, but more often than not, I’ve been deciding what to eat about 30 minutes before I eat it (you can call it spontaneous or lazy). However, in a certain sense, I am doing a certain amount of pre-planning.

I typically freeze meat portions individually for easier marinating (chicken, usually), certain staples such as brown rice and beans are cooked in bulk, and I do make use of a slow cooker and an electric countertop grill to prepare meals that don’t require a lot of babysitting. I somehow manage to avoid using frozen produce, however.”

Amy Wood, Editor: “I use Pinterest all the time to plan upcoming meals. It is the absolute best tool for saving unique recipes in one place—perfect for referencing in the future. Full disclosure: I even have a pin board titled ‘Put an egg on it.’”

Recipes for planning ahead

Try these delicious alive recipes designed to help you plan ahead:

• Greek Quinoa Salad
• Thai Oven Roast
• Black Bean Veggie Burgers with Sesame Sauce
• Crockpot Gumbo
• Red Wine and Maple Sushi

Enter alive's contest to win your own Urban Cultivator, valued at $2,200! Let us know how you're practising meal planning by dropping us a line via blog or Facebook comments, or by using the Twitter hashtag #2013alive!