Tips for God-Made Meal Planning, Grocery Shopping & Kitchen Organization

As a busy wife, mama, and entrepreneur I know how difficult it can be to eat God-Made if you don’t know how to shop God-Made. So today, I am giving you my best tips for shopping, meal planning, and organizing God’s way! This is going to be such a game-changer for you, I can’t wait any longer. Let’s dive in!

I made a freebie for you with tips and recipes, so make sure to download it at kimdolanleto.com/grocerytips

God’s Principle

Before we get into all these tips about shopping, meal planning, and how to give your kitchen a makeover to help you with your health and fitness goals, I want to share that God has given us a principle in His word that we must follow when it comes to food.

We know the world is full of diets and tricks and has created a flesh-driven mindset around fitness, but I teach a Spirit-led lifestyle. The founding principles of Eating God-made and living this Fit God’s Way lifestyle are centered on this scripture:

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” Galatians 6:7 NKJV

Consider the example of the farmer here, what are you sowing (eating) and what are you reaping (health)?

If we sow sugar, we reap disease.

If we sow a lack of planning, we reap havoc and health issues.

If we sow laziness, we reap pretty much everything we don’t want.

So like a farmer, I want you to consider food as the seeds you are sowing into the ground of your body and the harvest you reap is a direct product of this. We cannot get away from this principle it is our Biblical foundation.

This is about more than the poor quality foods or quantity of food, this is exacerbated by how we feel about ourselves after we indulge in them. Think about how you feel when you lose self-control and the guilt that follows. Those emotions harm your emotional and physical health. I believe dieting has caused a disease relationship with food, and the disease from the food we eat and the toll it takes on us is a known cause of disease.

Here’s a truth tip! I know someone is thinking I don’t have time for this. I don’t have time to cook or shop, so I want to pose a question, how much time are you on social media? What about Netflix or hopefully Pureflix? (shameless plug, I hope you’re doing my FIT workout if you are)

Could I challenge you to take some of that time from mindless scrolling and binge-watching a series and take care of yourself?

When it becomes a system in your life, it’s easy!

Tips for Grocery Shopping

If you’re just learning how to grocery shop and meal prep or you’re coming back to it, these tips will help you. If at any time you feel overwhelmed, remember God has promised to be with you. Talk to Him, and let Him be your strength and your confidence. It’s uncomfortable to change, but remember there are two types of pain: the temporary pain of change or the permanent pain of staying the same. Don’t get stuck because you are afraid or too overwhelmed to go through this phase of learning. This adjustment period and investment in you is a health and wholeness game changer.

• Keep a grocery list on your phone and add to it as needed.
• Have a plan, plan meals, and snacks, and come with a grocery list.
• Google before you go. Head to Pinterest and start collecting recipes for meals and snacks. Look for the healthier versions of the foods you want to upgrade to save time and energy.
• Don’t go grocery shopping hungry or without a list.
• Refrain from impulse buying, especially at the checkout counter.
• Read labels. If you can’t pronounce it, or it has a lot of ingredients, it probably isn’t healthy.
• Look for hidden sugars.
• Focus your efforts on shopping the perimeter
• Look for Non-GMO, BPA Free, antibiotic, and hormone-free.
• Buy organic when you can to avoid pesticides: potatoes, strawberries, and apples are ranked the highest in pesticides.
• Buy some foods in bulk: spices, dried beans, farro, quinoa, lentils, rice, whole grains, and frozen berries.
• Look at your cart is it filled with God-made colorful fruits and veggies or man-made processed boxes and bags?

Tips for Meal Planning

Meal prepping saves time, and money and helps you eat healthier. Don’t feel obligated to meal prep, these are just helpful tips for those who want to get started. If you think about it, you’ll notice that you typically eat the same things, so making them once for the next few days is a wise use of your time.

• Choose one or two days a week to prep cook.
• Determine how many meals you want to make.
• Write down the meals and the ingredients you need for them
• Grocery shop.
• Start with the recipes you know and try making them with healthier ingredients, and then build on your recipes to prevent food boredom.
• Invest in food containers. I love glass meal prep containers with dividers and mason jars, they make food look beautiful.
• Create your system, for example, bake foods like sweet potatoes and meats at the same time. While you steam veggies and rice, you can make hard-boiled eggs, and chop fruits and other vegetables.
• Place the meals in their containers and pop them in the fridge.
• Most foods last three to four days.
• Prep cooking doesn’t have to be a or nothing seven days a week event.

Try these tips to ease into meal prep:

>> While you’re making one breakfast, make enough for a few days. Here’s an example: Overnight oats, hard-boiled eggs, egg muffins, yogurt parfaits, and smoothies.

>> When you make dinner, cook extra protein and make one large salad. Portion the protein in prep containers for the week's lunches. Salads in Mason jars sure look delicious.

>> Make a big batch of chicken burrito bowls for your lunches, these are always my favorite.

>> Make lunches out of dinners with a twist. Example: If you made turkey meatballs for dinner, throw them in with some salad greens and chickpeas for a quick and tasty salad.

>> Repurposing protein for another meal makes meal prep quick, easy, and healthy.

>> Layer fruit in mason jars for grab-and-go snacks and top with nuts, nut butter, or yogurt.

Makeover Your Kitchen

Prayerfully consider the foods you have in your home and the foods that you bring into it. The grocery store is our first line of defense. Set yourself and your kitchen up for success with this simple thought: you can’t eat it if it isn’t there.

• Clean out your pantry of old, expired, and overly processed foods.
• Organize your kitchen to make cooking and prepping food easy.
• Keep food off of counters, other than fruit and veggies, this will eliminate impulse snacking.
• Fill a pitcher of water and add lemon slices or cucumber slices and put it in your refrigerator to encourage drinking more water.
• Make a pitcher of iced green tea, flavored tea, or black tea with lemon, lime, or orange slices to have something calorie-free and refreshing to drink.
• Put measuring tools in the foods you commonly use like your bags of nuts, oats, and frozen fruits.
• Find an inspiring verse from a home store like Hobby Lobby. Put it in your kitchen to remind and motivate you that you are dedicated to honoring God in your body.

I hope you have found this helpful! In the beginning, it can be overwhelming and confusing but through Him - YOU’VE GOT THS!

Don’t forget to download my freebie here: kimdolanleto.com/grocerytips

It will help you stay focused, on track, and get Fit God’s Way!