Episode 6. The Meal Plan System
Last week we talked about what defines a system and what systems thinking really is. Systems thinking is looking at the individual parts of a system in order to understand how it works within its larger context. Being a systems thinker is the ability to recognize patterns in systems as they scale either up or down. This week, I’m going to share with you one of my systems and how I apply systems thinking in my life and my coaching.
Today, I’m going to talk to you about my meal planning system. But in order for you to truly understand how it works and how I integrate it with all of the other systems in my life, I have to explain my macro “lifestyle” system.
The lifestyle system is made up of three paired elements: Values & Beliefs, Systems & Habits, and Resources & Relationships.
Value & Beliefs - Your values are what’s important to you and the order of intensity of that feeling. Values are not inherently positive or negative, but we can have positive or negative feelings about them. However, the hierarchy doesn’t measure positive or negative – it only measures and orders by the absolute value of intensity. Beliefs are how you separate true from false and possible from impossible. You cannot reliably govern your life counter to your values and beliefs. If you try, you will find your effort inconsistent and/or largely unimpactful. You have to be attentive to the relationship between your values and beliefs – your beliefs can actually contradict your values, which will also cause you to act counter to one or the other.
Systems & Habits - A system, as we talked about last week, is an organized, interconnected network of parts that work together as a whole. I mentioned that a system is working effectively and efficiently when all parts serve the whole. A habit is a practice or behavior that has become automatic to some degree over time. A system is the plan and a habit is the practice. “Good” habits reinforce your systems. Good systems reinforce your values and aligned beliefs. Good systems can also help you reset your misaligned beliefs.
Resources & Relationships - Humans are community animals. We need external resources to survive. Our ability to consistently gain access to the physical resources we need to survive individually is dependent on the nonphysical resources we cultivate through relationships. Resources and relationships are really different ways to say the same thing. Healthy, aligned relationships create healthy, aligned habits that reinforce healthy, aligned systems, which powers healthy, aligned values that create healthy, aligned beliefs, which then goes back around in the lifestyle system.
In my value hierarchy, the top two values are freedom and harmony/alignment. I have lots of food beliefs, but for the purpose of this discussion, a few of my beliefs are that I should never do more harm than good when it comes to my food, I have control of the food I eat, I’m aware of how food affects me generally, and I’m always willing to learn more. I created the Meal Plan System ebook to demonstrate my way of approaching food. I’d like to share a bit about my meal plan system today.
In the Meal Plan System ebook, I start by explaining my philosophy around food, which I will read to you now:
I discuss how I clean, organize, and stock my pantry, fridge, and freezer, based on my preferences, the tools I use most, and my favorite meal plan methods: Days of the Week, Ingredient Cards, Recipe Cards, Clean Pantry and Farmer’s Market. I break down when, where, and how I make my grocery list and go shopping, then what I do with leftovers (both leftover food and “leftover” meal times – or the times I’m taking a break from meal planning and cooking). I even talk about how the systems can work using AI.
I’ll give my own meal plan for this coming week as an example. To start, I’m in a new place where the experience of food and shopping is very different than I’m used to. Also, my kids are on a school vacation, so grocery shopping, daily schedule, and the number and quantity of meals I’m responsible for has increased. At the moment, I only have the brain space for a few days at a time, so I’m planning for the next three days. In the next three days, I have breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. I’m in a mind space where I want to be responsive to what I’m in the mood for in the moment without the stress of waiting until the last minute without a plan. So I’m doing a combination of Farmer’s Market/Clean Pantry for dinner and Clean Pantry for lunch.
With the Farmer’s Market method, I choose some items when I’m out shopping are speaking to me. The Clean Pantry method is a challenge to make something balanced and delicious from things that are already in my pantry.
Breakfasts are usually easy, so I’ll do day one pancakes, day two fruit and toast, and day three oatmeal. Lunch is usually a quick protein with a carbohydrate, so day one tuna salad sandwiches on baguettes with chips and fruit, day two pasta and salmon with a salad, day three leftover pancakes with scrambled eggs and applesauce. For snack, we graze on fruit and cheese and dry meats, sometimes nuts and dried fruit. For dinner, I have sausages, ground beef, and whole chicken. I also have a butternut squash that will take two meals to eat, some grains, and potatoes and mushrooms. So day one dinner will be roasted butternut squash with sausage and wheat berry. Day three will be spaghetti bolognese (since we’ll have pasta for lunch the day before) or meatballs if I’m in the mood to do some extra work. On day two, I’ll probably roast the chicken and potatoes and make a mushroom cream sauce. I mention in my ebook that the Farmer’s Market plan is a little different than the others in that I do the shopping first and then make the meal plan. Either way, at this point, I would list out the ingredients for my meals by area in the grocery store (fresh foods, meats, dairy, dry goods, misc), cross out anything I already have, and use the remaining items as my grocery list. I’ll either write this on paper and take a picture (so I have it with me on all my devices) or I add it to my Shopping reminders list.
This ebook is for people who enjoy eating, and want to make healthy meals that are not too time-intensive, nutritionally balanced, and delicious. It is not a recipe or cookbook. It’s also not a workbook, although a Meal Plan System workbook is coming soon! If you’d like to know more about the Meal Plan System or you know a friend you who might like it, you can find it on Etsy at LifeDesignByDanni.
