It happens every weekend. You look to the new week and think, “What the heck am I going to eat next week.” The thought brings on so much anxiety. Simple, whole-food meal planning for Hashimoto’s isn’t always that simple.

It can actually be daunting and overwhelming!

I’ve been where you are and I want to share with you the pitfalls of not having a plan for what you are going to eat, the benefits of meal planning and then teach about my favorite tool that truly makes whole-food meal planning for Hashimoto’s simple.

The Pitfalls of not Having a Meal Plan When you Have Hashimoto’s

When you stop eating processed, packaged foods in an attempt to heal your Hashimoto’s and you start cooking food more from scratch, the menu choosing, meal planning, grocery shopping, prepping can be a time-sucking nemesis that creates more stress which hinders your healing.

There are several pitfalls that come along with a lack of a meal plan. They are:

• Poor food choices Since you don’t have anything in your fridge or pantry to eat so you find the quickest processed food product there.
• Lack of nutrition Your go-to food becomes something quick, packaged and easy.
• Lots of food waste You know you do it – you go to the store with the best intentions to cook that huge bunch of kale you bought but when it comes down to it, you don’t want plain kale on your plate and you don’t know what to put it with. So, it rots and you throw it out, wasting your money.
• Increased food costs due to shopping sporadically and making impulse buys.
• Increased symptoms due to making poor choices or even eating out more often.
• Recipe Rut Cooking the same things over and over again because it’s all you know and didn’t make time to plan can create food boredom.

The Benefits of Simple, Whole-Food Meal Planning for Hashimoto’s

Conversely, when you are intentional about meal planning by trying new recipes, creating a plan and a shopping list and sticking to your menu, not only will your physical body experience an improvement in the way it feels, but emotionally you will feel accomplished and successful.

There are several benefits that come along with simple, whole-food meal planning to remit your Hashimoto’s. They are:

• Saving money When you don’t impulse buy or shop every other day at the store with no list, you will inevitably spend less. Having a plan and a list you stick to will allow your food budget money to go further.
• Less food waste Proper planning and list building allows you to only buy what you need for the week (or even two weeks) and also allocates every food to a recipe you will actually be making. Therefore, you don’t waste the food you bought because you use it instead of letting it rot.
• Reduced anxiety (and guilt) about what you will be serving for meals Since you have a plan you don’t even have to think about what you’re going to make (except for thawing meat and doing some prep).
• Trying new foods When you menu plan you are more apt to put in a few new recipes here and there. Over time, it builds your recipe collection and food repertoire so you don’t get into that food rut.
• Your Hashimoto’s symptoms get better When you are intentional about the food you purchase, cook and eat, you heal your Hashimoto’s quicker. {If you need help knowing what foods to put in a healing pantry click here.}
• Meal become simpler As you form a habit (it actually takes 66 days to form a habit, not 21 as previously thought) cooking for healing your Hashimoto’s won’t be overwhelming. You will find you get into a groove and meals are not stressful any longer.
• You will take better care of yourself Plain and simple – when you prioritize meal planning with whole-food, you are putting self-care on the top of the list! {Of course your family benefits too!}

How to Create a Simple, Whole-Food Meal Plan for Hashimoto’s

At this point, you’re probably thinking that meal planning sounds like a great idea but at the same time, you are not sure where to start.

I’ve been there too! At first, I just tried compiling recipes I liked into a binder and that worked well for a while. However, when life got busier {I homeschool two boys, run three businesses, own two homes (one is a rental that we manage) and I am currently in school to become a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner by Nov 2019} it became harder and more time consuming to create a quick meal plan. Plus, when possible, I like to plan my meals at least a couple weeks at a time which could literally take hours.

In searching for an online meal planning system, none of the ones I initially found worked. Either they weren’t user-friendly or they didn’t have the options of recipes that included foods I could tolerate with Hashimoto’s. I needed grain free, legume free, refined sugar-free, processed food free and more. In other words, I wasn’t going to be adding any canned Campbells soups to my recipes or any other processed foods for that matter!

I Finally Found the Perfect Meal Planning Tool for Hashimoto’s: Real Plans

I’m going to get down to the real nitty gritty here about Real Plans because I love it so much for simple, whole-food meal planning for Hashimoto’s! I know it is going to help you enjoy meal planning again with the added benefit of remitting your Hashi’s symptoms.

What is Real Plans?

• The only meal planning software that specializes in Paleo, AIP, GAPS, Keto, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Whole30, and more!
• It’s a subscription-based and online and costs as low as $6 per month.
• You can create customized weekly, monthly (or more) meal plans by choosing from their 1,600 recipes. Or, you can add your own {or import from the internet} Additionally, you can add on to your subscription certain well-known whole-food bloggers recipes {like Nom-Nom Paleo, Wellness Mama, Autoimmune Wellness, PaleoMG, Fed and Fit, Meatified, The Paleo Mom and more!} These are recipes NOT appearing in their cookbooks or blogs too!)
• Got a family of 4, 5, or 10? No problem – it’s really easy to adjust the serving size of the recipes!
• Once you drag and drop your recipes onto the specific days, Real Plans will create a comprehensive grocery list and will even utilize stores you may frequent like Trader Joes, Albertsons, Whole Foods, and more.
• One of the things I also LOVE about Real Plans is that is has a helpful timeline tool that tells me when I need to get meat out to thaw or when I need to prep something. It helps this scattered brain A LOT!
• You can also track your nutritional info and macros with their handy tracker.
• Personally, I love that I can access it on my phone too (works for Android and iOS). That means I can get to my grocery list from my phone when I am in the grocery store and I can even access my menu plan in case I forgot something or need to reference a recipe.
• You can exclude certain ingredients from recipe AND grocery list!
• Customer service is excellent too! They have 24/7 Customer support!
• You have the ability to customize your shopping list too! For instance, if you already know you have an ingredient in your pantry, you just click the ingredient to take it off the list.
• If you are all techy, something really cool is that Real Plans integrates with InstaCart where you will get groceries delivered to your door! For the busy mom, this is a serious winner!

Simple Whole Food Meal Planning for Hashimoto’s Video

This short video will show you the interface of Real Plans and how it works. Take a moment to click and watch it.

If You’re Not so Sure about Meal Planning

You may still be wondering if Real Plans would be a good fit for you. Though there is not an option to have a free trial of the app (since it is so inexpensive anyway – I mean what’s $6 or $14 to try it out?) you can download these free Paleo Meals Plans for an entire month to get a similar idea about how it works. Plus, you get some great recipes to add to your stash for free!

You can also try Real Plans free 10-day Meal Planning Challenge to see how this type of meal planning works for you.

7 Great Articles to Help You With Meal Planning

1. What is Meal Planning?
2. Meal Planning for Beginners: 7 Steps to Get Started
3. Top 10 Reasons to use a Meal Planning Software
4. How to Meal Plan: Ten Tips from Foodie Bloggers
5. 7 Smart Tips to Save on Groceries
6. How Meal Planning Makes Kids Healthier
7. Real Food Meal Planning Checklist: For Serious Foodies Only

Are You Ready to Create a Simple, Whole Food Meal Plan for Hashimotos?

Now that you know the pitfalls that come with not meal planning, the super-powerful benefits that happen when you meal plan and how to meal plan using the best online meal planning tool out there, are you going to get started?