The No-Decision Menu
Three simple recipes to plug into your meal plan.
If you need detailed recipes or colorful food pictures, use Google. This is about removing decisions, not perfect execution.
Breakfast - Overnight Oatmeal
Prep Logic: Make 3–5 jars in under 10 minutes.
Base: oats + milk (1:1 ratio)
Protein: Greek yogurt or protein powder
Add-in options: berries, banana, nut butter
Lunch - Tuna Sandwich w/Apple
Prep Logic: Make for lunch in under 10 minutes, or prep a few servings the night before.
Canned Tuna (or Salmon, or Chicken)
Mayo or Avocado for creaminess
Diced onion and celery
Salt & Pepper
Serve on bread, lettuce, wraps, etc.
Apple is a good snack to fill you up
Dinner - Sheet Pan Chicken & Veggies
Prep Logic: Super easy weeknight meal when you’re tired. It’s perfect to make extra one night, so you have leftover for lunch the next day.
Chicken (whole, breast, or thighs)
Red Potatoes (cut into quarters)
Mixed Vegetables (cut into bit sized pieces)
Coat everything in oil, seasonings of choice
Cook at 350 degrees F for 30-45 minutes (or until chicken is 165 F internal temp)
When food is decided ahead of time, energy shows up where it matters.
The System
Last week I wasn’t consistent the first couple days.
With anything.
My meals were not planned
I missed my Monday & Tuesday gym session
and I slept like crap
I could blame a external stuff
A couple feet of snow and arctic temperatures
Sciatica flaring up like crazy
Minor home projects
But that’s just life.
We all have something going on EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
That’s why “consistent” can be such a loaded word.
always behaving or happening in a similar, especially positive, way:
- There has been a consistent improvement in her attitude.
- Her work is sometimes good, but the problem is she's not consistent.
That definition sounds nice on paper.
Real life doesn’t work like that.
When it comes to meal planning and in life, I think we need to have some grace with ourselves with this word.
Sure, I could’ve thrown in the towel for the rest of the week after I didn’t have my meals planned and missed my workouts.
But screw that.
Instead, Wednesday morning I changed my mindset:
woke my ass up at 6 am to workout
took 10-minutes to plan my remaining week of meals
prepped a couple easy breakfasts for the next day
logged on early to write this newsletter for you all
Tonight I’ll grab my sushi takeout (that I planned) and grab some groceries for the rest of the week.
Planned takeout > Adhoc delivery
Practice makes perfect:
The more reps you do, writing out your meal plan for the upcoming week, the easier and more efficient the process will be.
If I didn’t have all the practice I’ve had over the years planning meals, this week I would not have recovered from the slow start.
Sitting down the first time to write your schedule will feel overwhelming. But you need to rip off the band aid and start small.
Breakfast is one of the easiest meals to begin planning, since it’s usually an easy meal to prep ahead and it kickstarts the rest of your day. So sit down today for a few minutes and do this exercise.
Your 10-Minute Exercise:
Step 1)
Write down three go-to breakfast meals you can make in under five minutes.
No Google. No Pinterest. Just gut reaction.
If it takes under five minutes, it counts.
Mine:
Overnight oatmeal
Granola, berries, milk
Peanut butter banana toast
Step 2)
Cross off two of these, that are the most time-consuming.
Even if you shave off a minute or two.
What’s left is your Go-To Breakfast Meal.
Lock it in.
You should be able to eat this every morning this week without thinking.
Step 3)
Build your grocery list:
Breakdown the ingredients within this breakfast recipe.
To start, write down how much of each ingredient you’ll need to make a single serving.
Then look at your upcoming week.
How do your mornings look?
Any early commutes?
How many people in your household to feed?
Once you know all this, you can figure out how many mornings you need this Go-to Breakfast Meal prepped for.
Multiple the number of meals (servings) you’ll need to make ahead, by the amount of ingredients you need for a single serving.
For example, if I’m making my granola meal a single serving would be:
1 cup of granola
1 cup of milk
1 cup of mixed berries
If I need this meal for my wife and I, for the next two days I’ll need:
4 cups of granola
4 cups of milk
4 cups of mixed berries
Now I have my grocery list and can grab what I need to put my mornings on auto pilot.
These are the days I have my most energy, focus, and clarity.
A pre-planned breakfast is an excellent way to accomplish your goals for the week in business, health, and in life overall.
Do this next week with breakfast only.
Then build up to breakfast and lunch.
Finally, add in dinner.
You’ll be shocked how different life feels in a month.
Reply to this email with your new Go-to Breakfast Meal, I read every message.
Whenever You’re Ready
Here’s how I can help:
1) YouTube Channel — Binge my best videos on reducing decision fatigue by building a repeatable meal plan.
2) The Grocery List Blueprint — Download my (free) guide on making a simple workflow to control your meals, by putting your grocery list on auto pilot.
3) Previous Newsletters — Read all of my previous meal planning system breakdowns.
Your Saturday system reset, same time next week.
Steven | Meal Planning OS
P.S. I’d love your feedback. Use the poll below or reply to this email.
