Master meal planning

You already know that meal planning is a big piece of the health/wellness/weight-loss puzzle—and that, without it, the picture of your success won't be quite complete. That said, with all of the day-to-day chaos that work, exercise, family and home life entails, the idea of choosing, shopping for, preparing, cooking and cleaning up all…the…meals—well, it might be enough to make you want to throw your hands in the air, scattering all of those puzzle pieces and rekindling your relationship with the pizza delivery guy.

Not so fast! We promise, you can board the meal planning bandwagon without losing your mind. We're here to guide you gently into the (not-so) mysterious realm of meal planning and to keep you sane from the first ingredient to the last.

1. Start simple.

Particularly if you're new to the kitchen prep scene, you don't have to jump into the meal planning pool head-first. Starting off with complex, time-consuming dishes is a recipe for becoming overwhelmed and throwing in the dish towel.

Instead, registered dietitian Toby Amidor suggests choosing a few easy, straightforward meals with fewer than eight staple ingredients that you always have on hand. These might be favorite dishes from childhood or meals you've prepared in the past. As you grow more comfortable and confident with the process, you can start adding more variety and culinary challenges.

2. Stock core ingredients, then keep a running list.

Many recipes call for the same core ingredients. Salt, pepper, olive oil, honey, fresh garlic, fresh lemon, whole grains, low-sodium beans, rolled oats, nuts and nut butter are all healthy staples that you can mix and match in many recipes. Your list may be different depending on your preferences and dietary needs.

Once you've stocked your kitchen with your core ingredients, start keeping a running list of any that need replenished. This can be a dry erase board in your kitchen, a notes app on your phone or just an old-school notepad—whatever is easiest for you. Making this a habit will ensure that you're always fully stocked and ready to cook, and that you won't get caught high and dry when you're elbow-deep in a recipe.

3. Equip your kitchen.

No, this doesn’t mean you have to shell out big bucks on stacks of Tupperware or rows of ribbon-wrapped Mason jars—but having a few affordable kitchen essentials on hand will make meal planning exponentially easier. In addition to grabbing those staple ingredients, consider investing in a blender, slow cooker or Instant Pot, food processor, food scale or toaster oven to make your daily meal prep a breeze. In the kitchen, you can save time and frustration by having some of these tools nearby to do the chopping, mixing and cooking for you.

4. Prep in batches.

Preparing one meal a day for five days in a row can seem daunting. A more doable option is to set aside a few hours on one day to prepare enough food to divvy up into five meals. And that doesn't mean you have to prep five separate meals. Instead, you can batch-prep a few different food types—such as a couple of proteins, a whole grain and a few veggies—and then mix and match them throughout the week to create a variety of healthy meals. If you're someone who dreads spending hours in the kitchen, using a tool like the Instant Pot can change the way you approach cooking. Here at SparkPeople, we love this tool because it takes everything that's great about the slow cooker (pop in your ingredients and leave) while significantly cutting down the cooking time. We're busy people, so being able to load the Instant Pot, set it to cook, head out for a run and have dinner ready by the time the shower is over is a gamechanger.

When batch cooking, remember that the freezer is your friend. If you're preparing a dish that you know your family loves, go ahead and double or triple the recipe, then freeze the extras so you'll have a ready-to-go meal on hand when you need it. You'll only have to cook one meal, but will end up with two or three without any extra effort.

5. Eat the same foods in different ways.

If you make a big pot of chili on Sunday, for instance, that doesn't mean you're married to eating it the same way for every meal. Amidor recommends getting creative and repurposing foods in a multitude of ways throughout the week. You might eat a bowl of chili with whole-grain bread one night, for example, and then use it to make a quesadilla with cheese the next night. Get the creative juices flowing and you'll never be bored!

6. Schedule your meal prep sessions.

There's no set rule that Sundays have to be devoted to meal prep. Schedule your cooking sessions on a day and time that works best for you, then stick to it—whether that's Tuesdays after work, first thing Saturday morning or even late Friday evening. The most important thing is to make the most of your time in the kitchen and reap the health benefits on the other, busier days.

Meal planning doesn’t have to be perfect, and it's perfectly fine if your results aren't Pinterest- or Instagram-worthy. As long as you keep healthy ingredients on hand, start with simple recipes, schedule your prepping sessions and make the most of batching and freezing strategies, you'll start to enjoy the rewards in the form of looking and feeling your best.