Managing the Mental Load of Meal Planning: Tips for Parents and Caregivers

The mental energy required to feed a family well is real. If you’re often the one planning what’s for dinner tonight, what to pack for lunch tomorrow, and whether there’s anything in the fridge that isn’t just condiments or an almost-moldy container of strawberries—you’re taking on a lot of the mental load of meal planning too. But the good news is that there are ways to make it all easier!

Yes, there will still be some days when it’s 6:30 p.m. and you’re opening a food delivery app on your phone in a panic. But if you institute some of these strategies, that can happen less often. It’s all about reducing the decision fatigue, freeing up your time, and making meal planning less of a repetitive chore and more of a fulfilling routine—because after all, it is a key part of how you care for yourself and your family.

Here are some ways to manage the mental load of meal planning, while also helping your family have healthy options available as much as possible.

Designate Theme Days Each Week

You’ve heard of Taco Tuesday or Spaghetti Night. So why not implement that in your own home? Each week, designate one day for a certain type of cuisine or meal. For example, Mondays could be for protein-packed cauli rice bowls, Tuesdays could be (of course) for tacos, Wednesdays for Italian, and so on.

You’ll still technically have to meal plan, but it takes away some of the overwhelming labor when you have a general template for what you’ll be making. And yes, it’s completely fine to plan leftovers or takeout for one of the days!

Do Seasonal Capsule Meal Planning

A few years ago, I was introduced to the idea of seasonal capsule meal planning, which is where you plan a two-week menu per season (spring, summer, winter, or fall) and then repeat that menu through the whole season (three months). You can build in seasonal flavors that your family loves—like fresh tomatoes and summer squash when it’s hot out, or soups rich in greens and bone broth for cold weather—but it cuts down on the planning time, and you can rotate things out if you grow tired of them after a few months.

With this method, you only need to meal plan four times a year, so it saves a ton of time and energy. Plus, shopping seasonally may help bring down the cost of groceries.

Try a Meal Planning App

When you use a meal planning app or software like Plan to Eat or Paprika, everything lives in one place, from favorite meals to the calendar and your grocery list. You’ll spend less time gathering recipes from all over the internet or digging through cookbooks to find that one meatball recipe your 5-year-old adored—it’s all there for you. Most of these apps make it easy to drag and drop meals, save favorites, or replan a menu that worked.

Use AI to Help

I know, I know—not everyone wants to use AI, but hear me out on this one. AI can be helpful for recipe inspiration or outlining a meal plan, especially if you have specific dietary needs or preferences, like eating gluten-free, vegan—or Paleo!

It’s all about how you prompt the software. Be as specific as possible, mentioning types of cuisines you like, protein preferences, any dietary preferences or goals you have, and ingredient likes and dislikes. You also want to be specific in terms of how many meals and snacks you’d like per day.

Simply fire up your preferred AI like ChatGPT or Perplexity.ai and prompt away. Here’s an example: “Make me a Paleo meal plan, prioritizing fiber and protein, using chicken, beef, and salmon. My family enjoys Mexican and Thai flavors. Make the meal plan to include one dinner and one lunch per day, to feed five people, for one full week.”

AI will suggest meals and recipes, laid out in an easy-to-read structure. There may be things you don’t like or don’t want in your menu, but the bulk of the work has been done for you.

It’s also important to note that AI may not always get it right with dietary preferences, especially when it comes to Paleo. But it can still be used for inspiration when you feel stuck in a rut—just make sure to check that the right ingredients are being used.

Fill the Freezer to Feed the Family

When it comes to feeding your family, your freezer is your friend. You’ll be able to pull a delicious meal out of your freezer and simply defrost, saving on cooking time and meal stress.

When you’re making a big batch of soup, stew, or even ground meat, double it and save half to put in the freezer for later. You can also plan specific meals to batch cook and freeze ahead of time.

RELATED: How to Freeze Meat, Fish, and Produce

A good freezer inventory sheet is key, so you know exactly how many portions of beef stew are lurking the depths of that deep freezer—I use a magnetic dry erase sheet that sticks on the front of mine.

If you get really into freezer cooking, it’s fun to do it with friends. I’ve been part of a monthly freezer group where we cooked at least five different healthy meals to put in our freezers. Group accountability keeps you motivated—and many hands make light work!

Divide and Conquer

Live with adults or older kids? Each person in the family can take responsibility for cooking at least one meal per week, including planning for that meal. Keep in mind everyone’s preferences and abilities, but resist the urge to micromanage.

As young adults gain their cooking skills, you may end up eating some pretty basic meals for a time, but it will be well worth it as you see their pride and knowledge develop. Plus, it will take the pressure off you as the sole decision maker.

Prep Some Ingredients Ahead

I’ve always aspired to be a dedicated meal prepper, cooking several healthy meals on the weekend to eat throughout week. Unfortunately, with two small kids and a busy schedule, that doesn’t often happen. What I can prioritize, though, is prepping ingredients so they are easy to use each day.

Spend some time washing and cutting vegetables like cucumbers, carrots, and peppers, as well as fruits like strawberries and melons. These will be ready to go for smoothies and snacks, as well as for roasting or putting in salads.

Make sauces, marinades, and dressings that will be used later in the week to save time when making the entrée the day of. Consider putting them in individual containers so they can be thrown into lunchboxes as dips or packed with a Mason jar salad for work.

RELATED: How to Make Easy Batch Salads

Have Simple Staples to Fall Back On

You don’t have to cook a full meal from scratch every day! Identify some freezer staples that work well for your family and have them on hand on days when it feels too overwhelming but you don’t want to spend money on takeout. For example, bone broth with ground meat and fresh greens can make a delicious and quick soup. Or using leftover produce from the fridge with some spices and animal protein makes a quick stir-fry. Being able to make simple swaps with the fresh and frozen ingredients you have can help save you a trip to the grocery store while also cutting back on food waste.

In addition, it’s always a good idea to have a few fallback meals in your repertoire, like breakfast for dinner (e.g., scrambled eggs with pork belly bacon and fruit on the side) or “season and dump” options, like sheet pan steak with sweet potatoes. On nights when you simply don’t have the capacity for meal planning, you’ll still be able to eat an easy meal without having to sacrifice on nutrient density.