Weekly meal planning has never worked for me. Many times my family ends up grabbing fast food on the go, or we eat a fast prep packaged meal. Meal planning involves thinking about food. Once I start thinking about food, my mind fixates on how good it will taste. With traditional meal planning, I ended up giving into temptation and overeating.
My solution is God guided menu planning. Proverbs 16:3 is”Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (God’s Word NIV, 2011). God can plan my family’s meals better than I can. I no longer worry about overeating when I plan my weekly meals. Instead, I start by asking God for guidance. I attempt to make one trip a week for to the grocery store and I pray before I go that I can get items my family needs. I don’t worry planning a specific meal for each night, instead I select about 3-5 meals to buy ingredients for.
Before I cook, I find it more effective to start with prayer and then decide which meal to prepare. This also helps me from snacking as I cook. When I need more preparation, I begin all planning with prayer. With His help, I can feed my family without overeating as I work. God guides my meal planning so I can feed my family without obsessing over food.