how to meal plan: a step-by-step guide

Having a meal plan for the week ahead is a great way to start the week. Most times you can conquer prep in a couple hours, and meal planning helps keep you on track during the week. Plus, it reduces decision-making when you’re busiest, saves money, and encourages creativity. But how do you prep for more than 1 day at a time? Or better yet–how do you decide what to make in the first place? 

Below you’ll find our guide about how to make a meal plan. We’ll talk through picking a theme and planning, to prepping ingredients for the week (or buying low-labor options). This meal plan example works very well for a 2- to 3-day meal plan. If you’d like to work through a 5-day plan, add a second grain, protein, and another sauce for variety.

What is the best way to meal plan? Here’s your 3-day meal plan guide:

1. First, pick a theme (or two!): Though a theme isn’t completely necessary, often it helps inspire meals. We love regional cuisines as themes. For example, your weekly theme (or culinary inspiration) could be Middle Eastern, Italian, Asian, Mexican, or Greek food. If you’re interested in easting seasonally, here are 14 Spring Recipe Ideas: Cooking with Seasonal Ingredients at Home.

2. Next, consider breakfast: Breakfasts tend to be the most straightforward meals of the day, so the simplest to decide (and who doesn’t like a quick feeling of accomplishment). Some favorite quick breakfast ideas are smoothies, overnight oats, chia seed pudding, make-ahead egg bites. Any of these can be made ahead and stored 3-plus days.

3. Pick a grain: You’ve got your theme and breakfast out of the way, now pick a building-block grain of the week. Some ideas: Brown rice, farro, couscous, quinoa, or barley. As you’ll see below, making them yourself or buying them pre-cooked are both fine.

4. Pick another carb that requires no cooking: Having a theme can come especially in handy for this one. For example, if your inspiration is Mexican cuisine, go with a tortilla. If Greek, try a pita, and so on!

5. Choose your protein: Is there any protein you’ve been craving lately, like shrimp, chicken, or eggs? For plant-based options, how about lentils, tofu or beans? We’ll cook our protein once, then you have the option of saucing and serving it up differently in meals.

6. Pick a cooked vegetable(s): This can be just one vegetable like sautéed spinach, or a combo of vegetables that are easy to cut and roast off all at once, like carrots and cauliflower. Your choice.

7. Choose a raw vegetable(s): We’ll use the raw veggies to mix things up, or to layer to build meals. Some great options are smashed cucumbers, crunchy cabbage and carrot slaw, or salad greens.

8. Pick a dressing: This doesn’t have to be complex, and can go with your theme! Some ideas are lemon and olive oil, Italian vinaigrette, or a sesame ginger and soy dressing.

9. Pick a sauce: If you picked Mexican cuisine, how about a lime crema or pico de gallo? Middle Eastern or Greek? Try a tahini-yogurt sauce or hummus. Italian? Pesto could shine here.

10. Don’t forget snacks: We all get hungry between meals, so let’s grab two snack combos to have on hand to keep our blood sugar steady and us satisfied. Remember, the best snacks are a mix of slow (carbs) and fast energy (proteins and fat). Carbs are digested quicker so offer our bodies quick fuel, and protein and fat take longer to digest so keep us satiated. Quick snack combo ideas: Dark chocolate + raw almonds, apple + cheese slice, hummus, carrots + olives, and yogurt + fruit.

Next, plan your 3-day menu:

• Outline your breakfasts. You can pick the same dish for the week, or mix it up. After this, you’ll have 3 meals done (good job!) We like to make something like chia seed pudding the night before so it’s ready to go when we wake up, or something easy like muesli parfait.

• Outline your lunches & dinners.

• Now you’ve got 6 meals left. Here’s our quick formula:

• Lunch: 2 salads + 1 sandwich or wrap, or crackers & sides

• Dinner: 3 hot meals

Ready to go? Plan the menu:

1. Pick a theme: Mexican inspired

2. Consider breakfast: Blood orange and pistachio chia pudding

3. Pick a grain: Farro

4. Pick a protein: Shrimp, seared with garlic powder and dried oregano

5. Pick another carb that requires no cooking: Tortillas

6. Pick a cooked vegetable(s): Roasted beets & corn (options: purchase frozen fire-roasted corn and vacuum-packed or frozen beets)

7. Choose a raw vegetable(s): Cabbage and carrot slaw (thin-sliced cabbage and shredded carrots)

8. Pick a dressing: Lime and olive oil vinaigrette with a touch of garlic

9. Go with a sauce: Lime crema

10.  Don’t forget snacks: Greek yogurt with berries, and 2 squares dark chocolate and almonds

Sample menu

Snacks

Hummus, carrots and olives, and 2 squares dark chocolate and almonds

Day 1

• Breakfast: Blood orange and pistachio chia pudding

• Lunch: Salad greens, avocado, lime and olive oil vinaigrette, roasted corn, shrimp 

• Dinner: Farro, cabbage and carrot slaw with lime crema, shrimp

Day 2

• Breakfast: Blood orange and pistachio chia pudding 

• Lunch: Farro bowl with corn, roasted beets, pico de gallo, lime crema, shrimp

• Dinner: “Fried farro:” Farro, cabbage and carrots sautéed in sesame oil, ginger, and soy sauce, topped with shrimp 

  • Note: Fried rice is also a great way to use up vegetables at the end of the week!

Day 3

• Breakfast: Blood orange and pistachio chia pudding

• Lunch: Salad greens, avocado, roasted beets, lime and olive oil vinaigrette, shrimp

• Dinner: Shrimp burrito with farro (beans optional), pico de gallo and lime crema in tortilla, optional: add queso fresco

Shopping list

Produce

• Beets (fresh or pre-cooked)

• Salad greens

• Cabbage

• Carrots

• Avocado

• Blood oranges or other citrus

• Lime

• Ginger 

• Pico de gallo (pre-made)

Pantry

• Farro

• Tortillas (option to add more fiber with whole wheat tortillas)

• Canned beans—black, pinto, etc.

• Sesame oil

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Almond milk

• Collagen peptides

• Hummus

• Olives

• Pistachios

• Chia seeds

• Almonds

• Honey

• Dark chocolate

Protein / Dairy

• Shrimp

• Queso fresco (optional)

• Greek yogurt or skyr (for chia seed pudding and lime crema)

Meal prep time!

1. Cook the farro

2. Sear the shrimp

3. Cook beets (or use frozen, or pre-cooked and vacuum sealed found in produce section)

4. Prep the slaw

5. Make the dressing (can also be done at mealtime)

6. Make the sauce (can also be done at mealtime)

7. Prep breakfast if needed

Don’t have the time to cook this week? Running low on time?

Here’s a low-cook meal prep option if you don’t have the bandwidth to do more. We’ll double down on the raw veggies so less heating is required.

1. Pick up pre-cooked frozen brown rice

2. Buy lavash wraps

3. Buy a rotisserie chicken

4. Roast vegetables (or purchase)

5. Make a crunchy slaw with cabbage, red bell pepper, and cucumber

6. Pick up some pre-washed greens

7. Make a sesame ginger soy dressing (or purchase)

8. Make a lemon yogurt sauce

9. Yogurt + muesli + fruit

Low-cook menu

Day 1

• Breakfast: Yogurt + muesli + fruit

• Lunch:  Market salad with greens, crunchy slaw, rotisserie chicken, and a simple lemon vinaigrette: 

• Dinner: Brown rice, smashed cucumbers with sesame ginger soy dressing, and rotisserie chicken

Day 2

• Breakfast: Yogurt + muesli + fruit

• Lunch:  Brown rice, rotisserie chicken, crunchy Asian-inspired slaw with sesame ginger soy dressing

• Dinner: Brown rice, roasted vegetables, rotisserie chicken, and lemon yogurt sauce

Day 3

• Breakfast: Yogurt + muesli + fruit

• Lunch: Rotisserie chicken wrap with lemon yogurt sauce and roasted vegetables

• Dinner: Brown rice, smashed cucumbers with sesame ginger soy dressing, and rotisserie chicken 

The bottom line

Meal planning can save time, reduce stress, and encourage creativity while keeping you on track with your nutrition goals. Start by picking a theme for inspiration, then your grain, protein, and vegetable building blocks. Add on a sauce and dressing. Opt for easy breakfasts like overnight oats. For lunch, mix up salads and wraps. We tend to like our dinners hot, but salads and wraps for dinners work well, too. Lastly, if short on time, don’t shy away from pre-cooked ingredients or low-labor options! '

FAQ

• Can a meal plan help me reach my health goals?

  Yes! Even though it sounds like a contradiction, the busier you are the more helpful meal planning is. It saves time to prep ahead, prioritizes healthy eating, minimizes decision fatigue, inspires creativity, and is budget-friendly. Read more here.

• Where can I find more vegetarian, plant-based protein ideas?

  There are many ways to shift meals toward being more plant-based. Check out some of our ideas here!

• Do you have more easy breakfast ideas for me?

  So many. Check out all the options here. We especially love the ones you can make ahead of time and store in the fridge. Then the next morning’s breakfast can be as simple as pulling a jar of chia seed pudding or overnight oats out to have with your coffee or tea.

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Written by Kirstin Jackson

Kirstin Jackson earned a B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics in 2024 from San Francisco State University, and a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from UC Berkeley in 2006. She is currently working on her M.A. in Family & Consumer Sciences and completing her Dietetic Internship at SF State. As a future dietitian, Kirstin is passionate about helping people realize their best relationships with food, and achieving their nutrition health goals. She has special interests in diabetes, kitchen nutrition, and weight-neutral care. When not interning, Kirstin teaches cheesemaking and cheese pairing classes. In her spare time she cooks, reads, hikes, lifts weights, and watches the Great British Baking Show.

This post was reviewed by Kelly Powers, MA, RDN. Kelly is a Registered Dietitian and Culinary Nutritionist who takes a holistic approach to nutrition and health. She’s a recipe developer with a food blog highlighting whole foods, simple recipes, and her life in San Diego and San Francisco. Kelly is the creator of Weeknight Dinners, a weekly meal plan program that helps people get back in the kitchen and feed themselves well. She’s also a writer on Substack, where she shares practical nutrition education and resources. Kelly specializes in meal planning, the Mediterranean diet, and sustainable behavior change, helping her clients reach their health goals while improving their relationship with food. She’s also a nutrition consultant for health and tech startups, food companies, and brands she believes in.