Food is my #1 time suck and I’m honestly dying to get a consistent plan down, but it’s terribly hard to make a plan that allows you to buy the same things every week and use up all the perishables.
K guys, I decided on a one week cycle with only a few perishables. Will update in a while on how it goes.
We don’t have a plan that never changes, but we do make a meal plan on the weekend and buy just the food for that plan, and it’s usually variations on the same few meals (chilli, bolognese, stir fry, frozen pizzas, fajita kits, stew, tuna-pasta-thing, pasta bake). There’s two of us, so we mostly cook for four and either have the same meal two nights running or put half in the freezer and have it the next week so we (by which I mean my partner) only have to cook once or twice during the week.
Mostly we use root vegetables that will last longer than a week in a cold fridge, so we check out how ropey it’s looking before doing the food shop, both to add the turned stuff to compost and to inform what goes on the list.
So, I have a period and menstruate and I eat according to my cycle.
Week 1: Lamb or Chicken Liver and some root veggies Week 2: Fish or Chicken and some green veggies Week 3: Blueberries, Avocado, Tomato, Cheese and fish or smoked fish. A lot of berry type fruit. Week 4: Soup
Breakfast is always either: parfait, eggs, or oatmeal with an optional side of fruit. Dinner is lunch leftovers or beans (from a can), raw veggies in ranch, or pasta with olive oil and black pepper. Desert is a spoonful of almond butter, honey, or cheese.
I buy the ingredients accordingly and then whatever inspires me I’ll make. Example: Week 1: Chicken liver over pasta. Chicken liver patte. Chicken liver with a side of veggies. Lamb shawarma in pita with some veggies. Lamb kimchi hotpot (korean style). Lamb with veggie sides. Week 2. Rotisserie chicken with spinach. Chicken spinach pasta. Chicken salad with onion. Salmon with asparagus and potatoes. x2 Week 3. Avocado tuna sandwich. Tuna/egg burgers. Tuna salad. Guacamole. Pico de gallo taco. (might have some left over chicken still). Week 4: Chicken soup. Mushroom soup. Ramen soup. Porridge.
I might get inspiration from seasonal foods (lamb is winter for example, and some fruits are more summery). I might also get inspiration from holiday fare. But generally that’s the way it goes.
How did I come up with this? I just paid attention to what deficiencies arise on the week of my cycle (ex; post menstruation I’m low on B12/iron so I replenish the week after because if I eat B12 during, it causes cramps). And I eat Berries the week before to up my magnesium intake and reduce inflamation. And the week of I have soup because it’s a healthy easy to digest comfort food.
P.S. Everyone’s gut biome is different though- some people need to have iron on their period. I don’t because my period only lasts 2.5 days and it’s light.
Checkout Mealime at https://www.mealime.com, they provide sets of recipes that share ingredients, so what you’re asking for should be covered.
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I’m not affiliated with them, but was a happy customer for a while.
Ive started eating the same thing for breakfast and lunch every single day and supper is my wildcard that changes every day. I also have standard snacks that I have in hand that doesn’t change (like apples and grapes). To be clear, I am not a dietitian, and I’m not positive this is particularly healthy, though I do try to make my breakfast and lunch as healthy as possible I’ve found be streamlining those two meals has really cuts down on my decision fatigue and so I feel less burnt out only having to plan for the next week of suppers. It also has made me enjoy deviations from my routine much more, like when eating out. I go grocery shopping every Tuesday after work. Shopping weekly, but not on Saturday or another popular day helps avoid the crowd AND Monday is when my grocery store gets it’s weekly shipment, so everything is fresh and lasts all week. I hope this helps!
I’m not a dietitian either, but I am followed by one, and their recommendation for me specifically was to try it and report back with a list of what I ate and whether the Master Plan ™ stuck. The lack of variation isn’t ideal, but in my case, as per their rationale, the potential benefits outweigh the downsides because I tend to default to junk food when my culinary life gets too complicated (she isn’t wrong). Granted though, I don’t plan to eat the same thing daily, so for someone who’s literally on repeat every single day or who already has a very healthy diet, I imagine the recommendation would likely change.
Maybe there’s a good middle road. come up with, say, 3 breakfast plans and 5 lunch plans that you rotate between. For what it’s worth, my breakfast is a bowl of pecan granola with homemade almond milk and some fresh berries (usually blueberries) with a cup of coffee. For lunch I have an OM mushroom protein shake to drink and eat a roasted red pepper hummus sandwich with a spinach salad topped with olive oil and vinegar and a side of carrots/cucumbers/apple or something else from the garden.
Now that I think of it. I guess I do change things up a bit. So could have some staple items and them some items that you change for variety, but it’s not overwhelming like planning a whole meal. Like how I change my granola berries and my lunch side fruit/veggie occasionally
There’s probably also a difference in the variety within each dish and the effect it has. “Eating the same thing” is probably better if you eat granola with dark chocolate, cashews, blueberries, and spinach topped with almond milk and banana for breakfast versus a banana for breakfast. The nutrient profile is still always the same and that’s not great, but at least the former has different nutrient profiles within it.
