It may surprise you but I eat pretty much the same thing for breakfast and lunch.
Every day.
This is a huge part of simplifying my cooking.
It really makes my life so much easier.
And while I do vary our dinners, I have a collection of go-tos that I can pull together without effort.
In the 7-Day Meal Planning Kickstarter training we invested in some Meal Planning ‘Insurance’ for you and identified 1-2 pantry dinners as your backups.
Today we’re going to take the simplification process a little further by mapping out your go-to meals for each part of the day.
Of course you don’t have to eat them every day (unless you want to!).
But knowing you have these ideas in your back pocket is one less barrier to cooking and eating well.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN TODAY:
- Why variety is a myth
- My go-to meals
- Examples for go-to meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks + treats
Why Variety is a Myth
I used to think of myself as someone who needed a lot of variety in my meals.
Because I thought as a food lover that I ‘should’ be trying new things.
The other motivator was the idea that eating a wide variety of foods was better from a nutritional perspective.
But I was wrong.
Over the years, I’ve realized it’s OK to eat the same types of meals every day.
In fact I love it.
Because it takes the extra thought and stress out of deciding what to eat.
I’ve also realized that I can get the nutritional variety by mixing up the types of ingredients I use from week to week and season to season.
But the basic meal types stay the same.
Simple. Good.
My Go-to Meals
I thought I’d include this as an example of what’s possible. Not to say that you should be eating anything like me!
Breakfast
Black coffee or tea. (I fast until lunch time every day). We’ll be looking at fasting in one of the bonus lessons at the end of the 30-day program.
Lunch
I love my Abundance Bowls.
Essentially they include raw or cooked veg, protein (poached eggs / canned sardines / canned mackerel) and a sauce (most commonly mayo or pesto).
Afternoon Snack
If I have a snack it’s always yoghurt and linseeds with peanut butter. It’s boring but I love it!
Dinner
Something from this weeks Meal Plan or one of my pantry ‘insurance’ meals:
Treats
I generally don’t have dessert unless I’m doing a tasting menu at an amazing restaurant. But on the odd occasion I feel like something sweet I either have some dark chocolate or dark chocolate with a smear of peanut butter.
Breakfast Ideas
If you’re a breakfast eater, you probably already have your go-to faves. But if you’re in the market for new ideas there’s a great list of healthy breakfast ideas over here.
Lunch Ideas
- Leftover dinners (the best!)
- Abundance Bowls
- More lunch ideas
Dinner Ideas
- See this weeks meal plan!
- See your Pantry Insurance Meals from the 7-day Kickstarter.
- A Frittata
- The Fast Roast
- A Stir Fry
- Curry Night!
- A Hummus Meal
- Protein & Salad
- Burgers
- Or there are 50 simple dinner ideas over here.
Snack Ideas
If you can, not snacking is the most simple option. But if you need ideas there are loads over here.
Treats
Grab a copy of The Sunday Baking Sessions eCookbook.
SUMMARY:
Here’s what we’ve covered:
- Why variety is over-rated
- Examples of go-to meals
- Ideas for Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks and Treats.
ACTIVITY
STEP 1. Review your go-to pantry recipes from the 7-Day Meal Planning Kickstarter. If you haven’t done that activity, go ahead and do it now!
STEP 2. Breakfasts. Write down 1-2 go-to breakfasts. See the link above for ideas.
STEP 3. Repeat for lunches, dinners, snacks and treats (if you like)
STEP 4. Share your go-to meal ideas in the comments below.
I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Keep it simple (and fun) in the kitchen!
With love,
Jules x
I have a few breakfasts and lunches that I rotate through. For breakfast it is Grain Free Oatmeal, made with hemp hearts, chia sees etc., Chia pudding made the night before, or cottage cheese with nuts and seeds. And always berries with those. For lunch it is either vegetable soup or salad with some kind of protein.
nice one Karen – I need to buy some cottage cheese soon
I tend to also have some go-to meals.
For breakfast (which I’m now not eating regularly) I always start with black coffee. Then a bit later I usually have:
–some porridge made with water served with frozen dark cherries (which I quickly cook)
–plus some natural yoghurt with a couple of spoonfuls of mixed seeds.
For lunch I always take a packed salad to work. It is a variety of vegetables or salad, with 1 tin drained butter beans or chickpeas etc, plus olive oil & lemon, or sometimes instead of that some hummus mixed with lemon & salt. Sometimes I add a few olives.
Great Maria!
Now we just need to find some go-to dinners for you 🙂
The magic sausage supper is my best go-to recipe. For lunch it’s cheese quesadillas using Oaxaca cheese and whole wheat tortillas. Best breakfast is a smoothie, overnight oats, or fruit and yogurt bowls with Greek yogurt and berries.
Needing variety for nutritional reasons may be a myth, but I need variety so I don’t get tired of things. In 2016, on a long cruise, the dining room served so many dishes with canned tomatoes that I got thoroughly sick of them, and still am. We also used to eat cold cuts for lunch all the time and even though it’s been 6-7 years, I still can’t go near them. I have similar problems with chicken, unless it’s buried in something tasty. For me, at the very least, moderation in repetition is key. I at least need changes in flavors on a regular basis.
oh yay for a magic sausage supper Susan!