For some people, structured meal planning just doesn’t work. Maybe it doesn’t fit with their work routines, they’re away a lot or work late during the week or they struggle to commit to a set meal each day.

Once you start meal planning and get into the habit there are then ways to make it work better for you. You might choose to only plan certain meals or plan meals for the week but not the weekend, maybe you’ve been using my template to get you started and now you’ve decided to tweak the number of columns or maybe you’ve decided to use a different method entirely. That’s fine – what’s important is that you’re doing it and sticking with it.

Whether you’ve been meal planning and struggling or are now a meal planning pro, flexible meal planning might be worth a go.

Flexible meal planning involves thinking about the total number of meals you’ll be eating throughout the week rather than the usual structured meal by meal approach.

You might plan seven breakfast options, seven lunch options and seven dinner options and then decide on the day which you’ll make, having shopped for all the meals you’re planning to make.

Or, you might have a few meal ideas in mind and note down how many meals you need to make so that you buy enough fresh ingredients to cover you, then decide on the day what to make with the ingredients you have. A well and thoughtfully stocked store cupboard will be invaluable with this approach.

You still need to remember the basics of meal planning such as checking the calendar to note any days where you don’t need a meal or have extra mouths to feed, and you still need to consider what you’ve already got that will need using up but this added flexibility may well be the approach you need to be able to stick with your meal planning.

Why not give it a go and let me know how you get on!