Meal planning just makes good sense.

I am not a meal planner. Sometimes my DH will ask me "what do you want for dinner?" and I think, "Seriously, we have not had breakfast - how am I supposed to think about that?"

I used to develop a lot of anxiety around a grocery list and having to have the PERFECT plan about what meals would look like and what would be made (and how it would be done.)

Not any more. I have given up the idea that I need to be a meal planner (as in 3 square a day) in order to be successful. I don't. That is just not my style. I used to have a trainer who would plan a month in advance. All of his meals laid out. One month. In advance. Seriously. I don't have a rigid life like that.

I just don't. It does not make me better or worse. It just is - and it is fine.

What does work for me is having a lot of healthy options. Having meals pre-made on hand or easy, quick to throw together meal options so I can decide what I feel like a lot closer to mealtime.

Case in point: there is ground turkey, peppers and tomato sauce sitting in my fridge, waiting for me to combine it into my own version of stuffed peppers that I am going to make and stick in the freezer and pop out for when I want a stuffed pepper. (Truth alert - I had a stouffer's one last week and thought, pfft, I can make that on my own!)

This "planning" works for me. It takes the tendency towards "perfection" off my plate (no pun intended) and gives me options that work for me. That is the difference that I am seeing in my latest round of success. I am modifying meal planning so that it works for me.

What kinds of things do you change up to work with your style, sparkies? Inquiring minds want to know!