Weekly menu: how to plan your meals for the week

Currently, many people try to follow a balanced diet – not only for aesthetic reasons, but also due to a greater concern with their health and quality of life.

But it is also a fact that some people comment that they cannot follow a healthy diet because they “don’t have the time” or “creativity” to prepare their own food. Thus, they end up eating out or doing, at home, whatever seems more practical to them.

In these cases, it is evident that, with more organization and, consequently, with a little more time, such people would be able to follow a healthier diet, eating out and/or opting for ready meals only on special occasions.

But, how to organize in this sense? Maybe this is your question at the moment. And the answer is much simpler than you might think: just plan your meals in advance, putting together your weekly menu!

How to create a weekly menu?

Most people take advantage of their Sunday break to put together their weekly menu and buy them at the supermarket. And this is a good tip!

It is very important that this menu planning is done according to the guidelines given by your nutritionist. But if you haven’t consulted with a nutritionist yet, think about this possibility! The professional will be able to help you a lot, including in this weekly menu planning.

“The nutritionist has a broad view of nutrients and does not let any of the food groups needed in a healthy diet be missing or repeated”, recalls Paula Crook.

Also according to the professional, the lunch and dinner menu should present:

1. Salads: “When preparing the menu, care must be taken to ensure that the salad is composed of foods that are not included in the other preparations”, adds the nutritionist. They should vary between:

• Leaves: lettuce, endive, chicory, arugula, watercress, radicchio, etc.;
• Raw vegetables: carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, etc.;
• Cooked vegetables: beets, potatoes, carrots, etc.;
• Others: Cheese, fruit, etc.

2. Main course: It should be composed of some protein: meat, chicken, fish or egg. “It is necessary to present different meat preparations on the same day and modify the types of cuts during the week”, emphasizes Paula.

3. Main dish: It should be composed of some carbohydrate: rice, beans, lentils, barley, quinoa, chickpeas, manioc, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.

4. Garnishes: A steamed or sautéed or roasted vegetable or vegetable.

The specialist also highlights that, to assemble a menu, there must be a balance in the intake of food and, consequently, nutrients. “In other words, we shouldn’t repeat foods too much. In addition, we must maintain a harmony between the colors, flavors and texture of the foods that make up the menu,” she says.

Lunch and dinner suggestions for your weekly menu

Below you can see a suggestion of a weekly menu (with lunch and dinner) where healthy, varied and tasty foods are used.

Lunch

• Option 1: Dry meat with onions; lettuce, tomato and black olive salad; brown rice with broccoli and beans; braised cabbage.
• Option 2: Grilled steak; arugula and tomato salad; brown rice, beans and broccoli sautéed with garlic.
• Option 3: Grilled fish with mustard sauce; salad of green leaves, raw beets and tomatoes; 7 grain rice, chickpeas and sautéed chayote.
• Option 4: Grilled chicken fillet; salad of green leaves and cherry tomatoes; wholemeal pasta with red sauce and broccoli.
• Option 5: Omelet with onion and tomato; salad of green leaves, tomato and hearts of palm; brown rice with broccoli, beans and sautéed cabbage.
• Option 6: Chicken roll with carrot and sesame; crisp lettuce, watercress, radish, cucumber, tomato and walnut salad; brown rice; beans and steamed zucchini.
• Option 7: Baked cod with herbs in the oven; iceberg lettuce, watercress, mango chips and chia seeds salad; quinoa; steamed asparagus.
• Option 8: Grilled steak with mushroom sauce; crisp lettuce, endive, beetroot, cucumber, bean sprouts and cherry tomato salad; potato chips with leek; grilled eggplant.
• Option 9: Chicken thigh with herbs; iceberg lettuce, arugula, carrot, tomato and mint leaves salad; Rice With Lentil; steam pod.
• Option 10: Baked sole; purple lettuce, watercress, heart of palm and cherry tomato salad; brown rice with spinach; Roasted pumpkin.

Dinner

• Option 1: Tuna; salad of green leaves, tomato and grated carrot; 7 grain rice and boiled beetroot.
• Option 2: Fish fillet with carrots and potatoes; lettuce salad with tomato; white rice and sautéed cabbage.
• Option 3: Filet mignon; lettuce, arugula and tomato salad; brown rice; zucchini with corn and carrots in the oven.
• Option 4: Ground beef with zucchini; watercress salad with cherry tomatoes; 7 grain rice; sautéed carrot.
• Option 5: Baked meatballs; arugula salad with mango and cherry tomatoes; sweet potato puree; braised peas.
• Option 6: Filet mignon mincemeat; purple lettuce, frisée lettuce, watercress, fig and cherry tomato salad; sweet potato puree; Sauteed chayote with parsley.
• Option 7: Grilled chicken; crisp lettuce, arugula, carrot and beet salad; manioc puree; steamed broccoli.
• Option 8: Hake fillet with rosemary in the oven; iceberg lettuce, watercress, tomato, hearts of palm and sesame salad; brown rice with broccoli; carrot puree.
• Option 9: Omelet with vegetables; curly lettuce, watercress, red cabbage and grated carrot salad; rice 7 cereals.
• Option 10: Vegetable soup with chicken and sweet potatoes, salad with crisp lettuce, endive, cucumber, radish, chickpeas and mint.

What can’t be missing from the menu and what should be avoided

Nutritionist Paula cites foods that should and should not be consumed in the diet of those who seek to follow a healthy diet. The guidelines are very important when putting together your weekly menu!

• What can’t be missed: salads based on leaves, assorted vegetables and, if possible, replace white rice with brown rice, 7 grains or quinoa.
• What you should avoid: fatty foods such as fried foods, sausages (sausage, sausage, bologna and salami), sour cream, preparations that contain a lot of oil or butter, fatty meats (ribs, termite, chuck steak, steak, flank steak), chicken, very yellow and creamy cheeses, sweets with cream and whipped cream and carbohydrates with a high glycemic index and low in fiber (sugar, foods prepared with refined flour such as pies, pasta, bread).

How to preserve food to consume all week?

What precautions are necessary, throughout the week, with the conservation of food (especially in the case of vegetables and fruits)? This is a very common question.

Paula Crook points out that fruits and vegetables should be kept under refrigeration, as the cold delays the deterioration process, ensuring quality for a longer time. “The ideal storage temperature is around 10ºC, as these foods are sensitive to very low temperatures, which ‘burn’ the leaves of vegetables and cause stains on the fruit. So they should be placed at the bottom of the fridge,” she explains.

Also according to the nutritionist, fruits and vegetables should be individually packaged, without washing, in ventilated plastic containers. “Vegetables such as lettuce and arugula should have the loose leaves, sanitized, dried and stored in ventilated plastic containers or transparent bags filled with air”, she adds.

Benefits of weekly menu planning

Paula Crook, nutritionist at PB Consultoria em Nutrição, highlights that menu planning is important to vary the preparations and to guide supermarket purchases.

But does not stop there! Below you can see these (mentioned above) and other advantages of putting together your weekly menu:

• Variation of food: as already highlighted by nutritionist Paula, planning the menu is important to vary the preparations. After all, no one can go ahead with a diet in which they eat practically the same foods every day!
• Economy: with the weekly menu in hand it is possible to go to the supermarket and buy only what is necessary, thus avoiding unnecessary expenses.
• Time: with the weekly menu in hand, no time is wasted, during the week, going to the supermarket, etc. buy an ingredient or another that was missing to prepare a certain dish. Just use the ingredients that are already at home to make the foods already determined on the menu.
• Nutrition: having a weekly menu makes it easier to escape possible “temptations” (such as sweets, fast food, snacks). “The lack of planning leads people to consume products that are easy to prepare and have little nutritional quality, such as noodles, nuggets, frozen lasagna, pizza, etc. If there is a menu, it is easier to follow the diet”, comments nutritionist Paula.
• No waste: going to the supermarket with the weekly menu in hand, you buy only what you need, thus also avoiding the waste of perishable foods.
• Focus: It seems silly, but the act of weekly sitting down and organizing what your food will be like throughout the week – which will include everything you like (of course, but that is also healthy) – will make you more motivated to move on. with your diet.

Did you like the tips? Now you know that planning your weekly menu can be very useful in your daily life and will contribute a lot to the good results of your diet! Always remember to count on the follow-up of a nutritionist to help you in this process!

The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only. They do not replace the advice and follow-up of doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, physical education professionals and other specialists.