Without holiday meal planning, you’ll end up having to ask yourself… “what’s for dinner?”. It’s THE worst question. It gets even worse during the holidays when you have a million events to go to and no time to eat and no budget to eat out. And don’t even get me started on the suggestion of meal prepping…. You can’t make me. I won’t do it. If you feel the same way, this holiday meal planning guide is for you. It eliminates the dreaded question, allows you to plan for busy nights and helps you easily stay in your budget all without making 50 meals in one day and try to meal prep with time we don’t have!
- Meal Planning vs. Meal Prepping During the Holidays (And Why Prepping Doesn’t Work for My Family)
- Why Meal Planning Has Been Life-Changing for My Family
- My Holiday Meal Planning System (Step-By-Step)
- What To Do When You Don’t Want What You Planned
- Healthy Home Systems: Your Holiday Kitchen Rhythm
- FAQ
Meal Planning vs. Meal Prepping During the Holidays (And Why Prepping Doesn’t Work for My Family)
Let’s set the record straight between meal planning and meal prepping , so can you see how realistic and life changing the small habit of holiday meal planning for busy families can be.
Meal planning (the best) is a simple list of what you’re eating for the week or how ever far you want to plan out. It helps you know what to buy, what to cook and plan for busy nights, easy lunches and larger crowds at dinner. Meal prepping (the worst) is when you set a day aside to cook a million meals to eat for the rest of the week and you hope it doesn’t take 8 hours and you still want to eat it when it comes time…
You can’t like meal prepping and I wont hold it against you but for my family it seems outlandish to find the time to do that when I can sit down for 30 minutes to create a flexible realistic meal plan and then move on with my life knowing my family will eat healthy and making dinner with be easy!
Especially around the holidays not many people have time or energy to cook a million meals in a day but they do have a few minutes to plan meals that fit their needs and help them meet their goals.
I truly think meal planning is the one of most sustainable life changing habits a family can make. Food and meal time basically drives our lives, so why not make it simple and easy meet your needs and goals.
Why Meal Planning Has Been Life-Changing for My Family
Growing up my family never had a meal plan which made dinner time…. chaotic. As soon as I got married I started meal planning which helped us work as a team and work with our schedules rather then against them. Then I found out about my allergies… If hadn’t meal planned then, I would have starved. I was able to take time finding good safe recipes and getting an idea of staples I needed in my home based on the recipes I loved.
Especially around the holidays planning gluten free holidays meals is essential to staying involved and staying safe all season long. It reduces stress for me and helps me feed my toddler with ease while meeting demands of events and large crowds.
There are very minimal incidents of last minute grocery store runs or overspending because all my ingredients and stress free holiday dinners were planned the week before. A mom win for sure.
My Holiday Meal Planning System (Step-By-Step)
Step 1: One Master List
A master list for gluten meal planning is key! It’s not CRITICAL so don’t let it stop you if you don’t have one or don’t have time to make one right now, but boy is it nice to have…
It’s simple, you just write down and make a list of every meal your family eats. That’s all. It’s simple but when you need to plan for the week you have 20+ meals to choose from that you know your family already loves. It’s takes out searching and guessing and that empty brain syndrome!
I personally keep it on my phone in my notes app. Yep it’s that easy. I have it everywhere I go and i can easily share it with my husband if he needs to meal plan!
It took me 5 minutes to think of a bunch of meals we eat and then as I remembered them week by week it found something new I simply added it.
I never remove from this list because even it is isn’t work for my family now it might in a couple months!
Now the hardest part is done.
Tip: If you want to/ need to skip this step check out this free meal plan I made for you AND you can just add these 10 meals to your master list! EASY!
Step 2: Plan 7 Meals for the Week
For our family holiday meal planning involves a lot more quick meals than our summer meal planning! We just have a lot going on at night!
This is how we structure our holiday meal plan:
- a soup, because they are incredibly easy
- a mexican dish, because the ones in my rotation are able to be made in under 30 minutes
- a favorite
- something we only like to eat around the holidays or cold months
- a vegan meal
- 2 meals I already have all the ingredients for to cut costs and use what we have
- a couple snacks (homemade or to buy)
- lunch plans if I need them
It doesn’t look like this all the time, but generally that’s my strategy, some fast meals, some cheap meals, some favorite meals and some seasonal meals!
The point is slap any 7 meals you can think of on that list and you’re good to go. You don’t need a themed dinner night, you need a fast easy system that simplifies your life.
If I’m feeling fancy and I don’t want leftovers for lunch (which btw is my key to successful healthy lunches) I plan those and slap my snacks on there I’ll need like protein bars. (PS Nugo protein bars are the absolute best plant based gluten free protein bars on the market)
I sometimes write this list down in a notebook and other times I do it on my phone. If I do it in my notebook, after I’m done with the next couple steps I rip the page out and magnet it to my fridge. Simple.
Related: 10 Healthy Family Dinners on a Budget (Plus Allergen-Friendly Swaps!)
Step 3: One Weekly Grocery Trip
Now wherever you made that gluten free meal plan, go down the page a little ways and make a grocery list! List all the things you’ll need for each meal one at a time. This is the key to avoiding those last minute grocery store runs, yuck.
After I have listed what we need for our meals I then move on to if I need anything for lunches, snacks or desserts I planned.
Then I add the odds and ends like milk, fruit, random chip dip, hot sauce, whatever.
Now you have the strategy to only buy what you need, what is healthy and what is in your budget.
Prompt:
Talk about shopping once weekly, freezing meat to save money, rotating produce, staying within budget.
Step 4: Plan Lunches + Snacks Too
I have mentioned this already but truth is I don’t really plan lunches, I plan enough dinner so that we can eat leftovers. It simplifies my life, makes it fast, and I know we are eating right.
Some lunches I might plan would be deluxe quesadillas, anything my toddler is into and having sandwich supplies on hand.
That might sound lame but it gets the job done, I try to make them balanced meals and bellies are full. This is a “fashion show” as my dad would say, but really it’s more like this isn’t a feast for kings, it’s lunch at home where we got bigger problems then a michelin star restraint style lunch.
I also plan if I am going to make my toddler any breakfasts or specific snacks for the week. I don’t usually because I’m not an instagram mom, I’m a real mom, but sometimes I overachieve and do it.
Related: 25+ Unique School Lunch Ideas That Kids Will Actually Eat
What To Do When You Don’t Want What You Planned
Real talk, sometimes I rather walk 100 miles with a rock in my shoe than make dinner or eat what is on my meal plan…
This doesn’t negate the awesome plan I made, it just means I’m a human.
So I plan for that too.
I plan for it with pantry staples and making it apart of my grocery list DNA to also make sure those emergency dinner ingredients are always on hand. Now these meals “aren’t sexy” but they’re still yummy and nutritious. These are my 3 emergency meals and things I ALWAYS keep in hand to make.
- Pancakes or french toast and eggs
- chicken noodle soup (link)
- grilled chicken avacado sandwiches (link)
These gluten free meals stop us from getting take out, getting burnt out or pulling our hair out, haha.
To help you out a step further here are the ingredients I always have on hand to make these meals:
gf bread
eggs
lunch meat
avocado
mayo
mustard
gf pancake mix
gf noodles
frozen carrots and peas
cinnamon
dairy free milk
And sometimes my holiday meal plan includes those meals on purpose, because they’re delicious.
Your emergency meals are probably going to be different. They can be anything that relies on things you always have or need and things that can easily be stored for a long time in the pantry or freezer.
Make Meal Planning the Easiest Part of Your Week
If dinner has felt stressful or chaotic lately, this will help so much.
Grab my FREE Strong 7-Day Meal Plan Starter Kit — a simple, allergy-smart system that helps you plan your week in minutes, not hours.
Inside the free kit, you’ll get:
- ✔ A full 7-day done-for-you meal plan
- ✔ Quick “What You Need” lists for every dinner
- ✔ A categorized grocery list for the whole week
- ✔ A blank grocery list you can reuse
- ✔ A weekly planner layout for breakfasts, lunches + dinners
- ✔ A Meal Master List to simplify every future week
- ✔ A stress-free rhythm you can use over and over
Healthy Home Systems: Your Holiday Kitchen Rhythm
Healthy holiday meals easily can easily fit into your holiday home rhythms. Dinner is a system, it’s planned and set and ready to go. You get to spend more time with your family and less time thinking about what’s for dinner… Your stress will significantly reduced and that mom overwhelmed becomes mom overjoy. A meal plan is just another simple way to build a stronger home.
FAQ
- Is meal planning better than meal prepping?
Either can be great, it’s just about what works for your family. Meal planning takes about 30 minutes and while meal prepping might take a whole day. Both make meeting your goals and keeping your family calm easier, they’re just different
- How do I meal plan with allergies?
Meal planning is the best with allergies. Whether you’re new to allergies or not, it the perfect time to plan ahead so you’re always eating safe and delicious meals that fit your needs!
- What if my kids don’t want what I planned?
It’s going to happen. It’s okay! You can always whip out of the the emergency meals I mentioned instead of the planned dinner or you can help them choose some parts they WILL eat while providing them a small side they WANT to eat.
- How do I stay on budget during holiday meal planning?
Meal planning is the perfect way to say in your budget during the holidays and year round! You get to plan meals with inexpensive ingredients and plan around what you already have!
- Can I meal plan without meal prepping?
YES! Meal planning can be as simple as writing a list of meals for the week, no cooking ahead needed! I personally think its the easiest way to eat the way I want, what I want, within my budget and without headache!
