So Should I Start Meal Planning?

For many of us, eating has become more than just fuel—it’s an emotional anchor. A highlight in the day. Something we think about from one meal to the next. Snacking often becomes a way to pass the time, soothe discomfort, or inject a little pleasure into the routine of daily life.

But if we take a step back, food—at its core—is simply energy.

The original purpose of eating is beautifully simple: to provide our bodies with the energy we need to move, think, and feel alive. Yet over time, many of us have developed a complicated relationship with this basic need. Diet culture, emotional eating, guilt, and restriction have all woven themselves into our meals, making something that’s meant to be nourishing feel confusing and even stressful.

How Meal Planning Can Support Healing

Meal planning can mean different things to different people. But when it comes to rebuilding a healthy, trusting relationship with food, it can be a gentle but powerful tool.

It creates structure—helping you nourish yourself consistently, so you’re not swinging between being overly hungry and overly full.
It builds trust—by easing the anxiety of decision-making and preventing impulsive or reactive eating.
It supports your energy and mood—by helping stabilise blood sugar throughout the day.
It creates space—by taking one more decision off your mental plate, especially during busy weeks.

And importantly: meal planning doesn’t have to be rigid, boring, or mean sacrificing your entire Sunday to batch cook.

At its core, meal planning is about ease—setting yourself up to have satisfying, nourishing meals ready to go. That might mean planning a few favourite meals, keeping key ingredients on hand, or prepping some basics in advance so you can throw meals together with confidence and flow.

It’s not about perfection—it’s about creating a rhythm that supports you.

Start with Joy: Your Favourite Foods

The most intuitive place to begin is with the food you genuinely enjoy. What ingredients do you find yourself coming back to again and again? What feels good in your body?

To keep things simple, we can break your favourite foods into five main categories. While there is overlap (e.g. vegetables contain both carbs and fibre), this breakdown helps bring clarity when creating balanced plates.

Here’s an example:

• Carbs: quinoa, rice, pasta

• Protein: chicken, tuna, beef mince, salmon

• Veg: broccoli, courgette, sweet potato, peas

• Fats: EV olive oil, nut butter, avocado

• Fruits: mango, apple, banana, blueberries

This is your foundation. A collection of foods that nourish you and bring you joy. Once you have your list, you can start building meals from it that you know you’ll look forward to. This can also be the foundation of your grocery list, making it simple to have these ingredients to hand.

Meal Planning That Fits Your Life

Now, take a look at the structure of your week.

• Do you work from home, where prepping as you go feels doable?

• Do you go into the office and need a bit more structure?

• Do you live alone, with flatmates, a partner, or family—and how does that affect your cooking flow?

• Do you want to prep dinners ahead so your evenings feel spacious and restful?

These are the kinds of questions that shape a plan that actually supports your life—not someone else’s idea of what “healthy” or “productive” looks like.

For example, you might:

• Fully prep 2–3 meals for your busiest days

• Batch cook a few ingredients like grains or roasted veg to mix and match

• Keep a running list of easy go-to meals so you don’t have to think when energy is low

• Make space for flexibility on weekends or slower days

Some Ideas to Get You Started

Meal planning should be personal and tailored to your lifestyle, but here are some gentle ideas to inspire you—take time to explore what truly works for you.

Create a Weekly Meal Template

Rather than planning every meal down to the last detail, build a simple weekly framework using ingredients you’ve already picked up. This gives you structure without being rigid, allowing flexibility depending on your mood, energy, or what’s prepped in the fridge.

Rinse and repeat.

• Breakfast: smoothie / avocado toast with eggs / overnight oats

• Lunch: grain + protein + veg / leftovers / pre-bought salad pack + added protein

• Dinner: veggie tray bake + protein / grain + protein + veg / pasta or rice dish + protein

Pick 2–3 Go-To Meals

This is a similar idea to the meal template, but more specific, having two to three go to meals for each meal allows you to choose meals you genuinely enjoy—ones that satisfy you and give you steady energy throughout the day.

• Breakfast: avocado, banana & spinach smoothie / avocado toast with eggs

• Lunch: chicken quinoa bowl / tuna niçoise / chicken & sweet potato salad

• Dinner: salmon poke bowl / chicken & sweet potato tray bake / pasta bolognese

Prep Key Ingredients

You don’t have to prep full meals in advance—just having a few essential ingredients ready can make all the difference:

• Roast a tray of veggies

• Cook a batch of grains (rice, quinoa)

• Wash and store salad greens

• Marinate or cook one or two proteins

• Chop some veg for snacks or quick salads

Set Dinner Themes

Give your evenings a simple structure by assigning themes to each night. This reduces decision fatigue and adds rhythm to your week. On busy days, themes can mean easy, nourishing meals—or even a planned night for a takeaway.

Themes can also support batch cooking. Prepare a big dish in advance and freeze extra portions. Themed nights let you rotate through these over a few weeks while keeping things fresh.

For example:

• Monday: veggie tray bake with chicken

• Tuesday: stir fry with leftover chicken

• Wednesday:

• Thursday: bolognese & pasta (from freezer)

• Friday: fakeaway night

From this plan, I would cook extra so I could have leftovers for lunch the next day. For my meal prep, I’d pre-chop my veg and prep the meat, so everything was ready to cook. For Thursday, I’d batch-cook bolognese ahead of time and freeze it, giving me multiple future meals. You can switch up your themes weekly to keep things interesting while keeping a structure and staying organised.

The Takeaway

Meal planning isn’t about control—it’s about support.

It’s a nourishing ritual that helps you feel grounded, cared for, and more in tune with your body. The most sustainable approach starts with what you love, flows with your lifestyle, and evolves alongside you.The Takeaway