Wild Ginger Wellness

One of the biggest struggles my clients face is that of meal planning. It’s something that they want to do because it saves time, money, and prevents decision fatigue. Looking on social media under #mealplanning, you might be overwhelming. There are so many photos of perfectly portioned containers and organizer refrigerators. It’s enough to make you want to give up the idea and order a pizza. Does this familiar? This is where meal planning apps come in.

What is Meal Planning?

The internet has given us a skewed idea of what meal planning is. It doesn’t have to be Pinterest perfect. It doesn’t have to mean that 100% of your meals are ready in advance. Having a perfectly organized fridge with color coordinated containers isn’t necessary. What it DOES mean, is that you have the options and the ingredients ready to go when you need them. This allows you to have healthy meals planned in advance instead of being tempted by impulse decisions or experiencing meal fatigue.

Why Does Meal Fatigue Happen?

Do you find yourself resorting to the same go-to recipes over and over? Having a repertoire of go-to recipes can be helpful in a pinch, but there are also some downsides. Usually these recipes are fast and easy, which is great – unless they rely on processed foods as ingredients. They tend to be less-than-ideal when trying to improve our eating habits. Meal planning apps, however, might be the solution you are looking for.

Relying on a handful of easy recipes burns us out and leaves us unmotivated in the kitchen. These recipes tend to be family favorites like spaghetti, tacos, and pizza. While they may be tasty, sometimes we end up regretting them afterwards. Meal fatigue is that dread you experience when you don’t know what to make other than the go-to recipes.

Meal planning plate

Why You Might Want to Try Meal Planning Apps

  • You are tired of eating the same several recipes in rotation
  • You’d like to try new cuisines and ingredients
  • You’re looking to improve your cooking skills
  • You want to add more fruits and vegetables into your diet
  • You never want to worry about what to make for dinner again
  • You want a concise way to plan meals and grocery lists
  • You need the ability to quickly and easily find recipes for specific dietary needs

Meal Planning Apps At A Glance

I’ve used a lot of meal planning apps over the years. Over time, however, I learned what works and what doesn’t and have picked my top three that I think are worth considering. Aspects I took into account are affordability, ingredient availability, recipe options, ease of planning, accommodating dietary restrictions, and the UI of the app. Some of these even made my list of apps I can’t live without.

The best Apps For Meal Planning

Eat this much meal planning app
Best Budget Option

Eat This Much

Daily menus for specific nutrient needs allow anyone to build a balanced plan

Mealing meal planning app
Best Overall

Mealime

This is a one-stop-shop for meal planning apps. You have full control over the options with the aim to add variety without the food waste

Read my full review of Mealime

emeals meal planning app
Best for the most trusting

Emeals

Pre-made meal plans from a variety of styles eliminate the need to choose anything yourself. Also works with grocery pickup and delivery

Common Questions / Frequently Asked Questions about meal planning

  1. Determining your desired eating style
  2. Evaluating your on-hand ingredients
  3. Choosing how many meals you need to prepare for the week
  4. Deciding which meals to cook (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, etc)
  5. Picking recipes that fit your preferences
  6. Making a grocery list
  7. Buying groceries

With intermittent fasting, planning what to eat is incredibly important to ensure that you’re maximizing nutrition without your eating window. Meal planning helps with this by ensuring that you’re getting enough calories and macronutrients during that time. Trying to ‘wing it’ gets dangerous when you’re forced to make impulsive food choices. Many times when that happens, we end up reaching for something quick and easy. Unfortunately those foods can tend to be lacking in what we want. Meal planning eliminates that problem and apps make it even easier.

Absolutely not! Meal planning isn’t about having everything cooked and portioned ahead of time. That’s meal prepping, and a topic covered in another article. Meal planning is about knowing what you’re going to make and having the ingredients on hand to do so. It eliminates decision fatigue and allows you to plan healthy meals ahead of time instead of making choices in the moment.

The last thing you need to know about meal planning

Meal planning is a fantastic way to ward off any impulsive food decisions that may leave you feeling less than nourished. It doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming and utilizing apps makes it all the easier. Eat this much, Mealime, and Emeals are three great options to get started.

Have you tried any of these? Do you have another that you think should hold a spot in the top 3? Still have questions? Leave a comment below and let me know!