Macro eating plan for dinner
This is my simple macro eating plan for dinner! Learn how I mix and match macro friendly foods for an easy dinner every night of the week WITHOUT complex meal planning!
i’m eating my gift
It all started when I bought my husband a book for Christmas which led to him telling me he wanted to count macros. To be honest, I was upset and utterly HORRIFIED at the idea of completely upturning a dinner “system” that I worked so hard to create and become comfortable with. Never mind to find things that my family actually wanted to eat. There was YEARS of work involved. But I was the one who bought him this book. I was quite literally eating my words.
dinner – my part time job
For years I spent grueling amounts of time in the kitchen agonizing over recipes with multiple ingredients and steps. I cooked a lot of casseroles because I was completely fixated on the “one pot” phenomenon. Unfortunately, I had a subconscious fear of having to wash tons of dishes and how that would make dinner cleanup even worse than it already was. These one pot meals I was so dependent on were quite literally a macronutrient tracking nightmare.
As I groaned, I ALSO discovered SO MUCH we were eating was not conducive to this new lifestyle. Disgusted and discouraged at the idea of wasting food and money, my frugal self snuck in and used up all the not macro friendly foods we had in our pantry and freezer just to use them up.
hard work pays off?
After all this, I never expected the huge change it would have in our family. One thing that really caught me off guard was the fact that, despite all my fears, it was making dinner SO EFFORTLESS.
Despite all my fears and disappointment, and putting new work into this new lifestyle, I was so relieved. I discovered the key to eating macro friendly foods every night of the week with minimal planning and a lot of flexibility. Getting dinner on the table has never been easier, and now brings me so much joy and more time with my family. Let me explain how I do this.
Mix and Match Macro Eating Plan for dinner
1. Isolate macro friendly proteins
Isolate macro friendly proteins your family enjoys for dinner. This involved some trial and error to determine what we liked, was easy to prepare, and was priced right. For our family this includes: white fish, salmon, tuna steaks, pork tenderloin, center cut boneless pork chops, 92% ground beef, top round roast or steak, steak, chicken breast, whole chicken, chicken leg quarters, boneless skinless chicken thighs, turkey breast, and 93% ground turkey.
2. Combine with macro friendly carbohydrates
Combine with macro friendly carbohydrates your family enjoys. This also entailed some trial and error. We enjoy roasted diced potatoes, mashed potatoes (prepared macro friendly), tricolor quinoa, sprouted brown rice, homemade sourdough bread, rice pilaf in a box and white rice on a rotating basis.
3. Add a vegetable
Combine with any vegetable options you enjoy! Salad, roasted butternut squash, frozen green beans, frozen pea pods, roasted zucchini, roasted carrots, roasted brussels sprouts, lima beans, frozen corn, and roasted broccoli are some options we routinely eat.
4. Check the flyer
When I get the grocery flyer for my favorite grocery store, I check what proteins are on sale that week. I buy two or three portions of these on-sale proteins that our family routinely eats. One for this week, and two for the freezer. With the exception of the fish which I only buy fresh and eat that day or the day after.
I also take advantage of any vegetable or carbohydrate sales as well, making sure to pick up those items. It’s helpful for planning and to save money to stock up if they are shelf (or freezer) stable.
5. Pantry check
I take a look at what things we already have lying around that need to get used up- fresh or in the pantry. I see if I get inspired to combine any things.
6. Take some notes
Jot down some general ideas based on the needs of our weekly schedule. Such as a faster meal on a day I don’t have much time to prepare, or a crockpot meal when I have time in the morning but not in the evening.
sorta slacking
Remember, to be technically correct with your macros you need to track EVERY sauce and oil added to these foods. If you have strict weight loss goals, have never tracked every single thing before, or if you are the kind of person who wants to do it right you will need to do this. If not, you CAN use low calorie ways to marinate or prepare these foods and then eat strict with your other two meals and snacks. I find dinner to be the hardest meal to separate all the foods for weighing. This approach makes it easier for me. I am able to strictly track for breakfast, lunch, and snack quite easily. The flexibility with this approach works for me for consistent weight loss. That is, as long as I make sure I don’t eat many “cheat” meals, skip tracking meals all together, or get too lax in general.
don’t make everything so complicated
If it sounds like it this could be a potentially boring way to eat, I assure you between dinner, lunch, and breakfast there is a multitude of ways to get creative. Each type of meat can be spiced up differently or prepared differently. With all the different combinations of meat, carbohydrate, and vegetable alone you could eat a different meal every night for MONTHS. Don’t forget about the additional options of different preparations and spices for each type of food! Don’t delay! My hope is you enjoy my macro eating plan for dinner THIS WEEK!
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If you want to know more about how to track macronutrients to meet your health goals read here!
If you’d like an example of a quick dinner meal we enjoy check this out!
