How to Meal Plan For Your Personality

With as much as I talk about meal planning, do you know why I don’t offer pre-made meal plans?

Because every mom is different.

And, therefore, every mom has different meal plan needs.

I’d rather help moms find long-term solutions than offer a short-term bandaid. It’s a “teach a man to fish” kind of thing. And I’m convinced that given the right techniques and systems, every mom can learn to meal plan in a way that works for her and her family.

(I will say that generic meal plans do have a time and a place, and I still may consider producing them in the future.)

In today’s blog post, I’m going to describe 10 common mom personalities and present solutions to their biggest meal planning obstacles.

Read through the descriptions and find the one(s) that describe you. Then, use the suggestions to make your meal planning work for you!

(Note: Throughout the post, I refer to the meal planner as “mom” and “she” because my readers are mostly moms. But these solutions apply to anyone who needs or wants to plan meals.)

**Links in this post may be affiliate links. This means that if you click that link and purchase the product, I may receive a small compensation. I am, however, committed to honestly assessing the products mentioned. Please read my disclosure policy for more details. **

10 MEAL PLANNING PERSONALITIES

The Ambitious Mom

The “ambitious” mom meal plans, but she has a tendency to overestimate her time and energy and underestimate how much her meals are going to take out of her. She makes big plans at the beginning of the week, but struggles to follow through with them. She starts the week strong, but by mid-week is serving cereal and calling it good.

The Solution:

The ambitious mom needs a little dose of reality. When you sit down to meal plan, you need to ask yourself, “Will I actually want to make this by 5:00 on a Thursday evening?”

Be honest with yourself. (You may need to stop comparing your meals to what you see on social media, Pinterest, or her favorite cooking show.) You don’t have to give up fancy meals completely — but stick to one day (maybe two) a week when you know you can realistically prepare them.

(Psst… are you following The Merry Momma on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest? I share LOTS of mom-friendly meals there!)
The Spontaneous Mom

The “spontaneous” mom HATES the idea of meal planning because she finds the whole concept way too restrictive. She wants to be able to go with the flow and change her mind. She doesn’t want to be chained to a plan she set days (or even hours) ago.

The Solution:

The spontaneous mom doesn’t have to avoid meal planning altogether; she simply needs to approach it a little differently.

Rather than a meal plan, assigning meals to specific days, you could make a meal possibility list. In other words, make a list of potential meals from which you can choose throughout the week.

That way, you’ll at least have an idea of what you could make and can make sure you have ingredients on hand, but you won’t feel chained to a particular plan.
The Tired Mom

This mom is just plain too pooped to cook. Whether from long hours on the job, illness, or several small kiddos, she simply doesn’t have the energy to tackle anything requiring more than a handful of ingredients and a few uncomplicated steps.

The Solution:

I have three words for the tired mom — simple, simple, simple. In this season of life, there’s no reason to get fancy. You can absolutely fix healthy, delicious meals that are simple and easy, too. Don’t believe me? Here are 5 easy, simple meals you can cook!

You can find more simple meal ideas AND more solutions to the “I’m too tired to cook” struggle in The Every Mom’s Meal Solution Handbook!
The Creative Mom

The “creative” mom loves creating and experimenting in the kitchen. She likes to try new things, and easily gets bored with the same old things week after week. Her biggest problem is finding new and interesting recipes to try.

The Solution:

When you sit down to meal plan is perhaps not the best time to be searching all over the Internet for new recipes. Instead, set aside a few minutes a couple of times a week to peruse Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or your favorite recipe sites.

When you find something you want to try, save it to one central location where you can easily find it later. (I recommend Evernote, and this is the system I use for easy organization and retrieval.)

You can find more places to find new recipes in The Every Mom’s Meal Solution Handbook.
The Culinary-Challenged Mom

Let’s call this one like it is — this mom… isn’t much of a cook. She’s good at a lot of things, but cooking just ain’t one of them. Fixing meals for her family is a dreaded chore to her because not only does she not enjoy it, but her family isn’t shy about letting her know it’s not one of her greatest gifts.

The Solution:

To start, stick with what you know and keep it simple. Make a list of meals you can cook and your family enjoys and meal plan from those.

Then, when you’re ready, choose one area of cooking you’d like to improve in or skill you’d like to master, and work on it for 30 days.

(Some ideas might include cooking meat, roasting vegetables, grilling, using the Instant Pot, or freezer cooking.)

Once you feel comfortable with your new skill, choose another one and repeat!
The Forgetful Mom

The “forgetful” mom tends to be a bit scatterbrained. There’s so much running through her head, she has a hard time keeping it all straight. She regularly forgets to plan, and when she does plan, she has a knack for forgetting about an evening activity or starting too late or failing to thaw the meat, etc.

The Solution:

This answer to this mom’s problems is to get everything out of her head as much as possible.

Schedule a time each week to plan, and then make it a habit to consult your plan often throughout the week. Write down your plan in a very visual way, making note of any prerequisite steps and when you need to do them.

For example: I plan for the coming week on Sunday evenings, including our meals. I also write reminders *in my planner* for any prep that needs to happen, such as pulling something out of the freezer, making bread/buns, putting food in the crockpot, marinating meat, etc. I have found that, for me, there is no such thing as writing too much. The more I can get things out of my head, the better!

Related: How to Organize Your Entire Life: The Ultimate Answer to a Cluttered Mind

Related: My Favorite Planner EVER!
The Overwhelmed Mom

The “overwhelmed” mom is just that — overwhelmed. She doesn’t like making decisions, in general, and meal planning makes her break out in hives. She gets overwhelmed even thinking about meal planning and where to start.

The Solution:

This mom needs to stop worrying about making a perfect plan and just start with one simple step.

If this is you, make a list of family favorites — meals your family loves and you are comfortable making. Print out recipes (if necessary) and put them in a binder dedicated to this purpose with your list in the front. Use this binder to make your meal plan each week.
The Busy Mom

As moms, our plates are pretty full. We all have a lot going on at any given time, whether that’s from kids or jobs or life, in general. But the “busy” mom has an especially full schedule and very little time in which to fix meals for her family. She wants to feed her family healthy meals, but doesn’t see how it’s possible with their schedule and season of life.

The Solution:

Don’t let the erroneous assumption that cooking has to take a lot of time keep you from finding a system that works for you. Because I promise, there are plenty of ways that even busy women can feed their family well.

My two biggest suggestions are:

1) Keep your meals simple (I have several ideas in this post and more in The Every Mom’s Meal Solution Handbook), and

2) Increase your efficiency with batch cooking. Cook or prep large batches of meat, rice, veggies, etc. on the weekends, and then use them several different ways throughout the week. You can also double your dinners a couple of times a week and repurpose your leftovers on the other days.

You can find more ways to fix meals as a busy mom here!
The Health-Conscious Mom

The “health-conscious” mom is very selective of her family’s food choices. She may have family members with special dietary restrictions, or she may simply have strong convictions about what goes into her family members’ bodies. Either way, she finds it difficult to come up with meals that meet her needs and still taste good.

The Solution:

For any diet that’s out there, I guarantee there’s a blog with recipes for it. A quick Google or Pinterest search will probably produce a plethora of them from which to choose.

Our family follows a mostly real food diet — I’d say we’re a good 75%.

Here are a few of my favorite real food resources:
100 Days of Real Food (I love the blog, and I have all three cookbooks!)
Don’t Waste the Crumbs
Live Simply
Keeper of the Home
The Budget Mom

The “budget” mom needs frugal meals. Whether it’s because she’s working with a small budget, she has a lot of mouths to feed, or she simply wants to be a good steward of her family’s finances, she’s looking to save money on her meals. Yet, she still wants to be able to feed her family well.

The Solution:

I have good news for this mom — there are lots of ways to trim a grocery budget and prepare yummy frugal meals! This post has several ideas for you, and there’s an entire chapter of them in The Every Mom’s Meal Solution Handbook!

I hope that you feel a little more equipped now to meal plan in a way that works for you.

Remember — there’s no one right way to meal plan! Your plans (and your meals) don’t have to look like anyone else’s. Every mom is different, so your meal planning should be, too!

For more meal planning tips and other ways to solve your mealtime woes, grab a copy of The Every Mom’s Meal Solution Handbook!