Back to Busy: This Dietitian's Real-Life Approach to Meal Planning

There’s something about September that always feels like a fresh start.

Summer is wonderful, but schedules tend to be a little more relaxed, weekends fill up, vacations happen, and routines can easily get pushed to the side. Once September rolls around, I find myself craving a little more structure again. I'm not talking about a complete overhaul, just enough meal planning to make the week feel easier.

And for me, one of the biggest pieces of that is figuring out food before Monday morning arrives.

Meal prep doesn't have to look like Instagram meal prep

When you hear meal prep, you might picture a ripped girl in a sports bra standing behind 14 perfectly lined-up containers, meticulously portioning every last bite she's going to eat for the next seven days.

If that's your thing, great. 😂

But meal prep absolutely does not have to look like that. I've found that meal prep is incredibly personal. Some people love cooking everything on Sunday. Some make extra dinner and eat the leftovers for lunch. Some don't want to eat a four-day-old anything and would much rather prep ingredients so they can throw fresh meals together quickly.

The best meal-prep strategy is the one that actually makes your life easier.

Here's what I personally do

I keep it extremely simple.

I open the Notes app on my phone and plan:

4 dinners + 1 breakfast + 1 lunch

That's it.

I choose one breakfast and one lunch that I genuinely enjoy and don't mind repeating throughout the workweek. Then I think of four dinners that work with our schedule.

This takes away SO much decision-making during the week. I'm not standing in front of the refrigerator at 6 PM wondering what we're going to eat, and I'm not trying to come up with a creative new lunch every single day.

And yes, I think about the weekend too.

I don't necessarily plan Saturday and Sunday as rigidly, but I want to know that we have a few easy options available. Otherwise, it's very easy to get to Saturday afternoon, realize there's "nothing to eat," and order something simply because we didn't plan ahead.

My secret weapon: easy foods absolutely count

Not everything needs to be made from scratch.

A bagged salad kit + a can of tuna? Lunch.

Just Bare chicken nuggets tossed in buffalo sauce + air-fried frozen sweet potato fries + a vegetable? Dinner.

Burger bowls with ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, potatoes or fries, and your favorite burger sauce? Another easy dinner.

These aren't elaborate recipes, and that's exactly the point.

Convenience foods can be part of a nutritious diet. Sometimes paying a little extra for something that's washed, chopped, frozen or mostly prepared is what allows you to actually eat the meal instead of ordering out.

I build my meals around two things

When I'm planning my meals, I generally start with protein and fiber.

Instead of asking, "What should I eat for lunch?" I'll think:

What's my protein?Then: Where's my fiber?

From there, I build the rest of the meal.

Maybe that's chicken + a high-fiber wrap + veggies and fruit. Maybe it's salmon + a grain + roasted vegetables. Maybe it's Greek yogurt + chia seeds + berries.

Protein and fiber tend to make meals more satisfying, and using them as my starting point makes meal planning much easier.

But there's another piece that's just as important:

You have to actually like the food.

This sounds obvious, but it's something people overlook all the time when they're trying to "eat healthy."

If I'm going to eat the same lunch four days this week, it better be a lunch I look forward to.

You don't get bonus points for choking down plain chicken, broccoli and brown rice because it looks like a "healthy meal."

Think about flavors, textures, sauces and foods you genuinely enjoy. Nutrition matters, but enjoyment matters too—especially when you're purposely keeping your menu simple and repeating meals.

I also plan for the nights when the plan doesn't happen

Because inevitably...life happens.

I like having a mental—or literal—list of "healthy-ish" takeout options from places near us. That way, when cooking isn't happening, I'm not making a decision when I'm already starving.

And your takeout order doesn't need to be perfect.

One of my favorite examples is pizza. Instead of thinking you either have to avoid pizza or order an entire "healthy" entrée you don't really want, you could order a slice or two of pizza and pair it with a large salad with grilled chicken.

You still get the pizza you wanted, while the salad and chicken add volume, vegetables and protein.

That's the kind of flexibility that makes healthy eating work in real life.

September is a great time to reset—not restart

If summer threw your routine off a little, you don't need a cleanse, a crash diet or a completely new lifestyle.

Sometimes you just need to bring back a few systems that make taking care of yourself easier.

Maybe this week that's simply opening the Notes app and writing down:

4 dinners.1 breakfast.1 lunch.

That's a pretty good place to start.

And if you're interested in understanding more about how your metabolism actually works, our 5-Week Fall Reset Metabolic Weight Loss Program begins October 1st.

Throughout the program, yours truly breaks down the different pieces of metabolism and help you understand how nutrition, movement, muscle, lifestyle habits and your individual needs all fit together—without another fad diet or quick fix.

Because a "reset" shouldn't mean starting over.

It should mean finding your rhythm again.

If you are interested in our class you can secure a spot here. Spots fill up quickly. Insurance covers the class or it's on us! https://secure.gethealthie.com/appointments/embed_appt?dietitian_id=145038

Until Next Time,

Jackie Cataldi, MS, RDN, CDN | Owner/Founder