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How I use my Bullet Journal for Meal Planning

I’ve been meal planning for several years.  It’s one of the biggest factors in my success losing over 70 pounds.  When I have a plan to follow, I always have healthy ingredients in the house which keeps my healthy eating on track.   Since I started using a Bullet Journal, my meal planning has gotten even easier.

How to use your Bullet Journal for Meal Planning! I'm also sharing my other favorite meal planning tool!

I started out by brainstorming a list of some of my family’s favorite meals.  This is going to be an ongoing list that I keep adding to as we try new recipes.

Meal Plan 2

Next, I created a simple Meal Planning template with a space for each day of the week, one for meal prep, and one for a shopping list.  I knew I was going to use post-it notes, so I drew the boxes according to those sizes.  I put this layout at the front of my Bullet Journal so it’s easy to find.  I just replace the post-its every week, so I don’t have to redraw the spread until I move into a new journal!

I like having the shopping list post-it available to add items to when I think of them throughout the week.

This meal planning template in my Bullet Journal makes planning so easy!

  1. Start out by deciding if there are any days you’ll be eating dinner away from home.  We usually have date night on Friday, and eat leftovers one day of the week, so I put those in first.
  2. I try a couple new recipes each week, so I scan Pinterest or the recipes I’ve saved in Copy Me That (read more about this below!)  I put the new recipes on days that I know I’ll have time to cook.
  3. Then I scan our favorites list and quickly fill in the other days.

Meal Prep

I also like to do some simple meal prep ahead of time to make my week easier.  I usually cook some sort of protein to have on hand, cook a big pot of steel-cut oats, bake sweet potatoes, cook quinoa, make a big salad to eat from all week, and cut up veggies for snacks.  Having these few staples ready to go makes a big difference in the amount of time I have to spend cooking.

I look through the recipes I have planned for the week and write down anything I could possibly do ahead of time on the meal prep section of this layout.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Snacks

I  keep a few staples on hand that I know we eat most often for breakfast and snacks.  For breakfast, I usually eat oatmeal or avocado and eggs on toast.  For lunch it’s usually veggies and hummus or cottage cheese, fruit and almond butter, or fruit and cheese.

For lunch, I always eat leftovers if we have them.  If not, I’ll eat a salad with some protein on top or occasionally a wrap of some sort.  All of these things are ingredients we always have, so I don’t really have to add them to my meal plan in my Bullet Journal, but you totally could create a more detailed layout that includes the other meals.

One thing I’ve found helpful is to create a master grocery list with the items you buy every week.  I have that list saved in Copy me That so I always have it when I’m at the store.

Copy Me That

Copy Me That is an amazing FREE site that allows you to save recipes you find online.  It has a similar visual style to Pinterest.  There is a web clipper tool you can put in your menu bar so that anytime you find a recipe you want to save online, you just click the web clipper and it saves it to your recipes in Copy Me That.

Here’s a picture of what your recipe board looks like.

This is a great site to save recipes you find online!

You’re probably wondering, why would I use that when I can just use Pinterest!?

The most helpful part of Copy Me That is the shopping list function!  You can add all the recipes you’re making to your shopping list and it organizes them for you.  You can sort your list by category or by recipe which makes shopping super organized.

There’s even a phone app!  Here’s a screenshot of a shopping list on my phone.  You can mark off the items as you get them at the grocery store.

Love this meal planning and shopping list app!

Meal Planning Tips

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you’re meal planning:

  • Have one central place to save all your recipes.
  • When brainstorming your list of family favorites, make sure to ask your family members.
  • Consider having theme nights to make it even easier.  (Monday – Soup, Tuesday – Taco night, Wednesday – Casserole, Thursday – Chicken, Friday – Pizza, Saturday – Breakfast for Dinner)
  • Never go to the grocery store without a list.  You’ll spend more money and still wonder what you’re going to eat.
  • Check your freezer and pantry to see what foods you already have on hand before you start your plan.
  • Have a leftover night.  Your kids will survive, I promise.
  • Prep a few basic ingredients once a week.
  • Consider rotating through only a few options for breakfast, lunch, and snacks to make planning easier.

Related posts you might like:

Plan with Me:  August Bullet Journal Setup
Weekly Bullet Journal Layout Ideas
Plan with Me:  June Bullet Journal Setup
How I use my Bullet Journal to set 90 Day Goals
Plan with Me:  July Bullet Journal Setup
Bullet Journal Tips

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Kimberly Job is a Certified Life Coach, author, and mother of TEN! She's passionate about journaling, self love, personal growth and helping you put yourself at the top of your to do list.

A belief is simply a thought you’ve practiced ov A belief is simply a thought you’ve practiced over and over.

So to believe something new, you have to practice a new thought over and over.

This is the thought I’m practicing in February.

My default thought is “Today is going to be hard.” I’d much rather believe today is going to be fun.

I know I have a lot of coaches who follow me, so chime in with your favorite way to practice a new thought in the comments below.

#lifecoach #thoughtwork #chooseyourbeliefs
My #morningroutine box. I love my morning routine My #morningroutine box.

I love my morning routine so much that I could easily spend 3 hours every morning, if I had the time.

But I don’t—you know job, kids, adulting and such.

So I put all my options in this box, set my timer for one hour, and choose a few things to do.

This morning that looked like:
✔️12WT Audio Coaching
✔️5 Little Lines Journal
✔️Identity Journal
✔️Scriptures
✔️Probiotic & Energy+
✔️Marco Polo Coaching Groups

What do you include in your morning routine?
Truth. You’ve got this. #happymonday Truth. You’ve got this. #happymonday
I made a goal to read 100 books this year. This is I made a goal to read 100 books this year. This is #3 and I’m loving it so far.

I had a totally new insight about what it means to be my “higher” best self.

I’ve always thought of my higher self as my spirit self, my eternal self, the part of me that existed before I was born.

This book suggest that your higher best self is that part of you combined with all the wisdom you’ve gained from the trials you’ve experienced here on earth.

It’s not someone you aspire to be someday. It’s who you are right now.

What are you reading right now?
I heard a quote this morning from @joelosteen. "Wh I heard a quote this morning from @joelosteen. "Whatever follows I am... is going to come looking for you."⁣
⁣
𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐚𝐦.⁣
⁣
Do you say things like, I am....⁣
so tired⁣
so busy⁣
stressed⁣
overwhelmed⁣
fat...⁣
⁣
Or do you say things like:⁣
-I am beautiful⁣
-I am confident⁣
-I am strong⁣
-I am healthy⁣
-I am talented⁣
-I am creative⁣
⁣
This caught my attention because I switched up my goal setting this year, after reading Atomic Habits by @james_clear, and wrote identity goals instead of goals that achieve some specific outcome.⁣
⁣
Here are my 5 “I am” goals for 2020:⁣
⁣
1. I am a person who plans weekly and follows my calendar.⁣
⁣
2. I am a wise steward of our financial resources and take time to think before spending.⁣
⁣
3. I am an intentional, consistent business owner.⁣
⁣
4. I am a passionate, fun wife.⁣
⁣
5. I am growing healthier and stronger every day.⁣
⁣
I have specific habits for each of these goals that I'm tracking in my #bulletjournal⁣
⁣
Are you setting goals this year? I'd love to hear what strategy you're using. 
Share your #2020goals with me in the comments.
My favorite book from 2019 is Atomic Habits by @ja My favorite book from 2019 is Atomic Habits by @james_clear. One concept in the book is building identity based habits.⁣
⁣
A quote from the book, “True behavior change is identity change. When your behavior and your identity are fully aligned, you are no longer pursuing change. You are simply acting like the type of person you already believe yourself to be."⁣
⁣
So I'm approaching my goals a bit differently this year. Instead of creating outcome based goals, I'm creating identity goals. I'll share them with you tomorrow.⁣
⁣
I'm excited to use the Clear Habit Journal to track the new habits I'm working on, and bonus that it doubles as a Bullet Journal. ⁣
⁣
I'm looking forward to using a #bulletjournal again. No matter how many other planners I try, I still love having a blank page to include anything I want. ⁣
A new year always makes me even more reflective th A new year always makes me even more reflective than normal. And reflection is my jam—thus the name of my blog (in case you were wondering). ⁣
⁣
Let’s rewind. There was a time in my life when I was homeless and had no food to eat for almost two months. After staying out in the winter cold, a friend of mine arranged for me to stay with her older sister who just happened to live in a drug house. Random people would come and go. Some spent the night. Every drug you could imagine was available. Many unspeakable things happened there. ⁣
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I used to be ashamed that this was part of my story. But not anymore. I look at it as evidence of how far I’ve come.  I'm the person I am today, not in spite of these hard circumstances, but in part because of them.⁣
⁣
Life looks a lot different now. I own a business. I work for an amazing company. I’m a Certified Life Coach. I have the best husband, and beautiful children. ⁣
⁣
I used to hate myself. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. And day by day, I'm finally learning to love myself.⁣
⁣
Don’t get me wrong. Life is still not easy. There are hard things in my life too. But I know I have the power to CREATE the life I want. ⁣
⁣
You do too. ⁣
⁣
Notice the 𝘠𝘌𝘛 at the end of this quote. It’s never too late to create the life you want. ⁣
⁣ 
I promise. It’s possible—𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬.
There’s a subtle mindset shift that happens when There’s a subtle mindset shift that happens when you stop putting things off and start taking small steps toward your goals.

No matter how far away change feels, it’s available to you now, and begins with your very next CHOICE.

Don’t choose to stay the same.

Identify one small step you can take today.

Make the choice to do things differently—one day at a time. One CHOICE at a time.

That’s how change happens.

Start with something small. Throw away the Christmas cookies. Cancel Netflix. Pay $10 extra to your credit card.  Call your mom. Try a new recipe.

What is one of your goals for 2020, and what is the first small step you’re going to take?

I’ll post mine in the comments. #2020goals
This is my 10th year choosing a #wordoftheyear

My word shapes my year, my months, weeks, days . . . and moments.

It affects my goals, focus, and decisions.

Some years I pick a more active word because I’m in a season of growing. Other years, I’ve needed more rest and rejuvenation and chose something softer.

2019 was a tough year for me. I decided in 2020 I want to take life less seriously, and experience more joy, play, and fun, so I chose lighthearted for my word.

Here are the words I’ve picked in previous years:

2012 - Shine
2013 - Courage
2014 - Nourish
2015 - Believe
2016 - Ease
2017 - Leap
2018 - Purpose
2019 - Connection

Have you picked a word yet?  I’d love to hear what you chose! Share your word with me in the comments below.

#DYD2019 #onelittleword2019 #lifecoach #lifecoaching #lifeonpurpose
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