When I moved out for the first time to go to college, I was extremely lucky with food. I never needed an adult meal plan. Freshman year, I either used my meal points or I ate out with friends or my new boyfriend. Then sophomore year came around and I lived very close to my boyfriend who knew how to cook. (He’s lucky he has a nice new adult apartment that he can cook for himself in). However, sophomore year, I either went to his house for food, or I ate out with him or friends. Junior year, I lived in my sorority house, and we had a chef. Same thing senior year. I never had to worry about what groceries I needed to buy or what meals to make other than mac & cheese or ramen. I’ve never even cooked meat by myself until now. It always scared me.
Now that I’m a “new” adult, I wanted to create an adult meal plan for what I would eat in a week. This will probably change depending on my work schedule or if I go out with friends, but I wanted to stick to somewhat healthy and easy ideas that I can always come back to.
Breakfast Meal Plan
- Berry Smoothie: Freezer packs for smoothies save so much time. I did this at my job in high school and it made the process so much faster, so I figured that doing this in my house would save time in the mornings, too. I will create a lot of frozen smoothie bags in advance, then use one anytime I want to make a fresh smoothie. I like to use about a 1/2 cup of raspberries, 1/2 cup of blueberries, 1 cup of strawberries, 1 banana, and 1 1/2 cups of oat or almond milk.
- Smoothie Bowl: The nutritious elements in this bowl make a smoothie bowl well worth making. Yes, this is very similar to the berry smoothie, but I can add toppings. Again, I can freeze the fresh fruit ahead of time in bags or I can buy frozen fruit and assemble in the morning before I start my day. My favorite one includes 2 bananas, about 1 cup of peaches or nectarines, 1/4 cups of pineapple, 1 cup of almond milk, and I top it with cocoa nibs and a banana.
- Dairy-Free Yogurt: This is the perfect breakfast for when I’m in a rush and I can try different brands to find my favorite. Also, I can add granola to switch it up to add more texture. My favorite are the So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurts, especially the key lime or the peach mango flavor.
Lunch Meal Plan
- Soup: I think soup is a great option for lunch. I am a big soup girl. I can’t think of one that I don’t like. In terms of canned soup, my favorite is tomato. If I’m extra hungry, grilled cheese and tomato soup are my favorite comfort food! This is super easy to make for lunch during work from home days. However, during weekends, I could try to make different soup recipes and save some to heat up easily during the week.
- Wraps: Wraps are delicious. There’s so much variety. My favorite is steak wraps with bacon and blue cheese. Obviously, that’s not the most healthy, but it’s nice to have once in a while. I also like adding arugula and bell peppers, and I can switch up the meat inside or go meatless for a nice meatless monday!
- Toast: Toast is a great lunch option. I feel like most people consider it as breakfast or brunch, but not for lunch. Toast gives you the ability to create so many tasty combos. One of my favorites is avocado toast along with the rest of my generation. I love adding everything bagel seasoning to give it more flavor. Another fun one that I also love is pizza toast with marinara and cheese.
Snack
- Antipasto Bites: A popular Italian appetizer known as antipasto is constructed from a variety of delectable ingredients including cured meats, fresh cheeses, and herbs. They can be a convenient snack at any time. I love to use triscuits, roasted bell peppers, olives, pesto sauce, and mozzarella.
- Kiwi: I love green kiwi and sungold kiwi!
- Muffins: This is sometimes considered a breakfast, but I prefer them as a snack. On the weekends, I can look up recipes to make healthy muffins. However, during the week if I didn’t make my own muffins, I do love Little Bites. They aren’t necessarily good for you, but they aren’t the worst thing.
Dinner Meal Plan
- Chicken with Snap Peas: This dish can combine sweet and spicy flavors. Chinese chicken dishes frequently call for stir frying, so it is a little Chinese inspired, but I can switch up different spices or sauces.
- Pasta with Vegetables and Pesto/Tomato Sauce: Making pasta sauce from scratch may be highly recommended by many, but I like store-bought just fine and it’s much faster. My favorite pasta is spaghetti and my favorite sauce is Rao’s marinara. I love adding vegetables, especially mushrooms. It’s flavorful and perfect for a meatless monday dinner.
- Teriyaki Flank Steak with Veggies: Sweet, heat, and saltiness are present in teriyaki flank steak. I like my flank steaks juicy and tasty. This is one of my favorite fast dinners. To make it easier, I would serve it with frozen vegetables (especially broccoli) to make a stir fry.
Dessert
- Skinny Cow Vanilla Caramel Cones: These taste great and they are low calorie for an ice cream cone.
- Fruit with Whipped Cream: You can have this any time of year, but the summer fruit season is the best time of year, and summer fruit with whipped cream is guaranteed to satisfy. My favorites are strawberries, peaches, and raspberries.
- Apples with Honey: This is simple to make just pouring honey on sliced apples. However, I know some that roast honey with apples and that sounds simple too. Sometimes, I dip apples in other things such as chocolate hummus, which is also delicious!
