One thing I hear all the time from busy ladies is that they struggle with meal planning. As a busy lady myself I find that if I don’t spend a little bit of time pre-planning it’s impossible to stay on track. But when we were creating AHP we struggled with what the perfect meal plan looked like and how to make that a reality. The problem we ran into over and over again is that it’s nearly impossible for a computer to tell you what to eat. It doesn’t know what you’re in the mood for or what’s on sale at the grocery or how much time you have to cook each day! That’s why we designed AHP as the perfect tool to help you meal plan. And while it may take a tiny bit more time than having something tell you exactly what to eat in the long-term, this method is way more sustainable.
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
– Maimonides
So, let’s learn to fish!
To get started you’ll need a place to build your meal plan. I personally use My Fitness Pal but you can use a blank piece of paper, your AHP list or our meal planner template. The goal here is to stay organized so you know exactly what you’re eating each day.
Next, you’ll go into your AHP account and create your meal plan list. This is how I stay super organized, easily find my recipes when it’s time to cook and build my shopping lists when it’s time to shop. I also like to repeat meal plans when I have a super busy week! You’ll begin building your list by clicking cookbook —> create list —> and then give your list a name.
To start adding recipes you can start by clicking recipes and then view daily or weekly suggestions to fit your preferences. (If you’re carb cycling or counting macros make sure to set your macro preferences under User —> Macro Preferences so you get accurate suggestions). I personally like to click the week button and see what’s been suggested for me.
When you find a recipe you want you’ll just click “add to list” and select the name of the list you’re adding it to.
At this point, I plug and play. If I have an ingredient I need to use up or something specific is on sale at the market that week I will use the search bar to find recipes that use those specific ingredients. I also have my list of AHP staples I make regularly that I have saved under my favorites so I will scroll through that list and add recipes from there as well.
If you’re using My Fitness Pal remember you can track ahp recipes by using the AHP code (just don’t forget to leave a space between the AHP and the #.
It takes a little practice at first but trust me, once the week rolls around you’ll find you save so much time not wondering “What’s for Dinner” or staring at your fridge trying to come up with something. It’s life-changing.
Now take some action, log into your account and start makin’ that plan, girl!
Happy planning {and cooking}
xo
Kate