Meal planning can seem overwhelming & time consuming, especially when you sit down to a blank sheet of paper with zero direction. I could spend HOURS searching for recipes on Pinterest or looking through cookbooks!

I have a solution for you that will make meal planning quick, easy, & family approved!

Here is what you need to do…start building a MASTER MEAL LIST to work from each week based on tried & true recipes & family favorites. This may take some time to build, but once you have it, meal planning will be done lickity split!

If you’re not a pen & paper kinda gal like myself, Pinterest can be a great way to organize your favorite recipes & ideas. It’s like a virtual bulletin board! OR you can simply keep a running list of favorites in the notes on your phone!

Let’s take it one step further & REALLY become a MASTER meal planner…

Write a list of manipulatable meals. What the heck is a manipulatable meal?

All this means is that you think of meals that can easily be swapped for low carb or high carb days by simply swapping out an ingredient or two.

Here are some manipulatable meals that we eat often. Be sure to jot these down on your master list!

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS:
On low carb days, I use beef for my meatballs & zoodles, spaghetti squash, carrot spirals, or cauliflower gnocchi in place of the spaghetti. On high carb days, I may sub out the beef for turkey & use brown rice pasta.

STIR FRY:
On low carb days, I will use higher fat meats like salmon or beef. I will have cauliflower rice with loads of veggies, & even throw in some fried eggs. On high carb days, I will choose a lean protein like chicken breast or shrimp, and load up on the brown rice.

SALADS:
On low carb days, I will load up my salads with fit fats like eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds, healthy oils, bacon, steak, etc. On high carb days, I will pull back on the fit fats & add fresh or dried fruits, sweet potatoes, or quinoa.

TACO NIGHT:
On low carb days, I will have a huge taco salad or we will make taco zucchini boats. On high carb days, we will have all the carbs…beans, rice, corn, tortillas, etc.

BURGERS:
On low carb days, I will wrap my burger in lettuce, add a fried egg, avocado, bacon…all the healthy fats. On high carb days, I may choose to do a turkey burger if I need to reduce my fat intake. I have tried a few gluten free burger buns that aren’t too shabby.

BRINNER (AKA, Breakfast for dinner):
On low carb days, we have omelettes, bacon, sausage, mexican egg scrambles, sausage & egg casserole, etc. On high carb days, we may have egg white omelettes or add in some gluten free pancakes or waffles, sweet potato hash, or fresh fruit.

OATMEAL, SMOOTHIES, & YOGURT BOWLS:
All of these snacks can also be easily manipulated to add or remove one macro or another. You can add nuts, seeds, nut butters, frozen avocado, etc to increase your fat on low carb days or add additional fruit, granola, etc. to increase your carbs. You can also increase your protein by easily adding in a scoop of collagen peptides or a clean protein powder.

I hope you found these tips SUPER helpful! Meal planning should make your life EASIER, not more difficult!