A Simple Method for Better Meal Planning
Meal planning fails when it tries to be too clever. The week-long plans you see online with twenty-one different recipes are gorgeous but they are also a punishing amount of decision-making and ingredient overlap. The plans that survive contact with a real Wednesday do less, on purpose.
Pick three meals for the week and shop them. Leave a fourth slot for leftovers and a fifth for takeout. The remaining nights are negotiable. This sounds modest, but it is a level of structure most kitchens do not have. Three solid plates is enough to anchor the week without making cooking feel like a second job.
Write the plan somewhere you will actually see it. Tape it inside a cabinet, slip it under a magnet, set it as your phone wallpaper. The plan is not for show. It is the answer you reach for when the day has worn you out and the fridge is staring back at you in silence.
