How I Create My Meal Plans & Grocery Lists!
Let me just start off by saying that there literally are SO many ways that you can create a meal plan and grocery list, this is just how I personally do mine!
CREATING YOUR MEAL PLAN:
1. Find out your Target Calories.
I personally follow Portion Fix as that has been by far the easiest method for me to stick to.
If you are following a specific Beachbody Nutrition Plan please refer to the Guide Book for your program as your formula may vary.
To figure out your Target Calories follow the formula below:
your current weight (lbs) x 11 = your "baseline"
your "baseline" + 400 = your "calories needed"
your "calories needed" - 750 = your Target Calories
2. Find out which Calorie Bracket you fall into.
I personally fall into the 1,200 - 1,499 Calorie Bracket which tells me exactly how many portions I am allowed to have each day per food group.
3. Figure out your Food List.
To create your food list you go through the foods approved on your particular program and decipher which foods you like and which ones you don't. This helps narrow down the list to make it easier to create your meal plan. Since I follow Portion Fix I will share which foods are approved when following this system.
GREEN represents Vegetables:
Kale, cooked or raw
- Collard Greens, cooked or raw
- Spinach, cooked or raw
- Brussels sprouts, chopped or 5 medium
- Asparagus, 10 large spears
- Beets, 2 medium
- Tomatoes, chopped, cherry or 2 medium
- Squash (summer), sliced
- Winter Squash (all varieties), cubed
- String beans
- Peppers, sweet, sliced
- Carrots, sliced or 10 medium baby
- Cauliflower, chopped
- Artichokes, 1/2 large
- Eggplant, 1/2 medium
- Okra
- Jicama, sliced
- Snow Peas
- Cabbage, chopped
- Cucumbers
- Celery
- Lettuce (NOT iceberg)
- Mushrooms
- Radishes
- Onions (chopped)
- Sprouts
PURPLE represents Fruit:
Raspberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Strawberries
Watermelon, diced
Cantaloupe, diced
Orange, divided into sections, or 1 medium
Tangerine, 2 small
Apple, sliced or 1 small
Apricots, 4 small
Grapefruit, divided into sections, or 1/2 large
Cherries
Grapes
Kiwifruit, 2 medium
Mango, sliced
Peach, sliced or 1 large
Nectarine, sliced or 1 large
Pear, sliced or 1 large
Pineapple, diced
Banana, 1/2 large
Papaya, diced
Figs, 2 small
Honeydew melon, diced
RED represents Protein:
Sardines (fresh or canned in water) 7 medium
Boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast, cooked, diced
Lean ground chicken or turkey, cooked
Fish, freshwater (catfish, tilapia, trout), cooked, flaked
Fish, cold water, wild caught (cod, salmon, halibut, tuna) cooked, flaked Game: buffalo (bison, ostrich, venison) cooked, diced
Game: lean ground, cooked, diced
Eggs, 2 large
Greek yogurt, plain 1%
Yogurt, plain 2%
Shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster) cooked
Clams, canned drained
Red meat, extra-lean, cooked, diced
Lean ground red meat, cooked
Shakeology, 1 scoop
Tempeh
Tofu, firm
PB2 powdered peanut butter
Black beans
Pork Tenderloin, diced cooked
Tuna, canned light in water, drained
Turkey slices, low sodium, fat free, 6 slices
Ham slices, low sodium, fat free, 6 slices
Ricotta Cheese, light
Cottage cheese, 2%
Protein powder (whey, hemp, rice, pea) 1 1/2 scoops
Veggie burger, 1 medium patty
Turkey bacon, reduced fat, 4 slices
YELLOW represents Carbs:
Sweet Potato
Yams
Quinoa, cooked
Beans, cooked drained
Lentils, cooked drained
Edamame, shelled Peas
Refried Beans, nonfat
Brown Rice, cooked
Wild Rice, cooked
Potato, mashed or 1/2 medium Corn on the cob, 1 ear
Amaranth, cooked
Millet, cooked
Buckwheat, cooked
Barley, cooked
Bulgur, cooked
Farro
Amaranth
Bulgur wheat
Sprouted brown rice
Sprouted brown rice flour
Brown basmati rice
Panko bread crumbs, whole wheat
Red quinoa
Oatmeal, steel cut, cooked
Oatmeal, rolled, cooked
Pasta, whole-grain, cooked
Sesame seeds, toasted
Couscous, whole wheat, cooked
Crackers, whole grain, 8 small crackers
Cereal, whole-grain, low sugar
Bread, whole-grain, 1 slice
Pita bread, whole wheat, 1 small
Teff flour, whole-grain
Waffles, whole-grain, 1 waffle
Pancakes, whole-grain 1 small
English Muffin, whole-grain, 1/2 muffin
Bagel, whole-grain, 1/2 small
Tortilla, whole wheat, 1 small
Tortilla, corn, 2 small
BLUE represents Healthy Fats/Cheese:
Avocado, mashed or 1/4 medium
12 almonds, whole, raw
8 cashews, whole, raw
14 peanuts, whole, raw
20 pistachios, whole, raw
10 pecan halves, raw
8 walnut halves, raw
Hummus
Coconut milk, canned
Feta cheese, crumbled
Goat cheese, crumbled
Mozzarella (low moisture) shredded Cheddar, shredded
Provolone, shredded
Monterey Jack, shredded
Parmesan, shredded
ORANGE represents Seeds/Nuts/Dressings:
TEASPOON represents... well you guessed it, a Teaspoon:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Flaxseed Oil
Coconut Oil
Coconut Oil Spray
Grape seed Oil
Walnut Oil
Pumpkin seed oil
Nut butters (peanut, almond, cashew, etc)
Seed butters (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame [tahini])
So that's everything that I can have as far as food goes using the Portion Fix system. What I do from here is create my own list using this long list above as reference. On my list I go through each category and write down the foods that I actually like and am willing to eat from each food group. I am super picky so my list is pretty short.
4. Start figuring out your Recipes.
Once your figure our which foods you are able to and plan to eat, you can then start browsing recipe ideas to fit your food desires. In your guide book you will see recipe ideas in there for you to try. Again, since I follow the Portion Fix system I use my Fixate Cookbook to find recipes or I look online for Fix Approved Recipes. I generally only do my meal plans for one week at a time so I will either eat the same thing for each meal all week or I will alternate between two to three recipe options per meal. Don't forget to incorporate 2-3 snacks throughout the day on top of your 3 primary meals. You want to eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day versus eating 3 larger meals for the day. This helps keep your blood sugar level and helps your body process the foods easier. To see some of my recipes, click here.
5. Put your recipes into your Meal Plan.
Once you have completed the above steps you should be ready to put all that information to work. I use Microsoft Excel to create my meal plans online but you can also create a free TeamBeachbody account so that you can have a visual meal plan to look at as well. Here is an example of one of my Meal Plans that I created on Excel. As you can see I didn't use any of the Orange containers as there isn't really anything in that category that I like. If you are vegan, lactose intolerant, etc. you can adjust the plan to fit your needs as well.
CREATING YOUR GROCERY LIST:
After you have completed your Meal Plan, it's time to create your shopping list. It's important to look over your Meal Plan before hand so that you know exactly how much you are going to be eating of eat food item so you are prepared for the week, don't run out of anything, and don't let anything spoil. It's also a nice way to know ahead of time how much everything is going to cost. Having this budget in your mind will help prevent you from adding things to the cart that shouldn't be there as they are not on the list.
1. Break your Grocery List down into categories.
Just like the food groups were separated, I find it easiest to break down my Grocery List's into the same categories. First, I look through my meal plan to find out what vegetables I am going to be eating throughout the week. I break eat food item down into exactly how much I will be eating for the week. I will use my Meal Plan shown above for an example:
VEGETABLES
Spinach: 1 cup + 1 cup + 1 cup + 1 cup + 1 cup + cup + 1 cup + 1 cup = 8 cups
Peas: 1 cup + 1 cup + 1 cup = 3 cups
Broccoli: 1 cup + 1 cup + 1 cup + 1 cup + 1 cup = 5 cups
Mushrooms: 1 cup + 1 cup + 1 cup = 3 cups
Cauliflower: 1 cup
(So, for vegetables for the week you'll need 8 cups of spinach, 3 cups of peas, 5 cups of broccoli, 3 cups of mushrooms, and 1 cup of cauliflower.)
Then, I move onto another food group such as carbs, for example:
CARBS
Whole grain cereal: 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup = 1 cup
Whole grain tortillas: 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup = 1 cup or 8 ounces
Whole grain noodles: 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup = 1.5 cups
Whole grain macaroni noodles: 1/2 cup
Potatoes: 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup = 2.5 cups
Brown rice: 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup = 1 cup
(So, for carbs for the week you'll need 1 cup of whole grain cereal, 8 ounces of whole grain tortillas, 1.5 cups of whole grain noodles, 1/2 cup of whole grain macaroni noodles, 2.5 cups of potatoes, and 1 cup of brown rice.)
I go through each food category the same way so that way I know the exact quantities that I need.
2. Figure out what you already have.
Before leaving the house to go get your groceries, talk a walk around your kitchen and check to see what you already have. Mark of the things on your list that you already have enough of for the week or cut back on the quantity of certain items if you already have some at home.
Want to try the Portion Fix system out for yourself?
MY PERSONAL TIP:
I almost always get all my groceries at Wegman's so I use my Wegman's app or my online Wegman's account to make my grocery lists. My Wegman's Shoppers Club card keeps track of past purchased items so it's easier to find items that I purchase a lot. I just type each item on the list one by one in the search bar, find the exact item I want, and add it to my mobile list on the app. The lists will save automatically and you can even print or email them to other people.
It's super helpful for me to create my Grocery List's this way because the app organizes your shopping trip based on where each item is in the store. The app even tells you which isle each item is in so if you have trouble finding it on your own, it can tell you exactly where to go.
By doing your grocery lists this way, the app totals up the cost for you so you know exactly how much it is going to cost ahead of time!
They also have recipes on the app and website plus, I get a new recipe magazine from them every month for being a member and it even breaks down the cost of each meal per serving!
If you do not have a Wegman's nearby or you just prefer to shop at a different store, check to see if there is something similar for you to use at your favorite grocery store!
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