One of the most common resolutions is that people want to eat healthier, heck, it’s a resolution of mine every year. There’s always room for improvement. When it comes to meal planning, eating healthy is one of the most reoccurring themes I hear on why to start. Yet, it’s often that same reason, people quit. They get overwhelmed with where to find healthy recipes.
Between the blogs, magazines, cookbooks and everything in between, information is out there, but there’s just so much of it to sift through.
Way back in the day, I used to hate leftovers, and I hated eating the same thing twice. It killed me to do so, and I rarely did, opting to go out to eat instead. Yet, every year, there’s been the hope to lose weight, eat healthier, and get in better shape. So, at least once a year, I’d break out my cookbooks, dig into my recipe binders (from all the recipes I tore out of magazines), and start combing the internet, trying to come up with a game plan to eat healthier.
And every year I failed. It was information overload. Picture it, dozens of cookbooks, several binders, and a million tabs open on my computer. I’d find recipes, write my shopping list, and create a meal plan. My grocery list was so long that the sheer length discouraged me right from the gate.
It took years and years to fine tune my meal planning and that included where I sourced recipes from, because I do not create my own recipes. My creativity does not extend into the kitchen, and I’m fully okay with that understanding.
Since so many people want to eat healthier and are not sure where to start, I thought I’d give a list of where I go to find recipes and ideas.
Best Websites
SkinnyTaste
Skinnytaste is one of my weekly go to websites. Actually, since discovering her website, I’ve purchased all three of her cookbooks. Although she uses an Instant Pot, air fryer, and slow cooker in many of her recipes, she does show alternatives in case you don’t have any of those appliances.
She has taken recipes that are often higher in fat and calories and created lighter alternatives that do NOT take away flavor. With that being said, I do find that I often have to double the herbs and seasonings, but almost every recipe tastes like it’s full fat counterpart.
Gina creates weekly meal plans with her recipes for those who don’t want to meal plan at all. You can print out her plans and know what you are making for the entire week.
I pull a lot of my batch cooking recipes from this website in my weekly meal prep. This taco meat is a staple, I use it at least once a month: Slow Cooker Beef Tacos
Pinch of Yum
Pinch of Yum is another great recipe food blogger. She has some healthy and easy recipes and she embraces freezer cooking, so there are several recipes that are geared to freezer cooking. If you’re interested in freezer cooking, this blog is definitely worth checking out. This is a great recipe that I use as part of freezer prep, but I double it and have it throughout the week – over pasta, sweet potatoes, or alone! Beef Ragu is very tasty.
I do feel that some of the recipes do not use a lot of staples I have on hand, so my shopping list does tend to be a bit longer when I pick recipes from her blog, but all the ones I’ve had turn out flavorful, so definitely no complaints.
Like Skinnytaste, there are appliance specific recipes but directions are also available if you do not have those specific appliances which is very helpful.
Eat Yourself Skinny
Eat Yourself Skinny is a food blog that has been around for quite a while. To be fair, not every recipe is healthy, but most of them fall under the healthier umbrella.
Another reason this blog is awesome is that she mentions which recipes she likes to use as part of her meal prep. I find this to be very helpful when trying to determine your own meal plan for the week. This is one of my favorites: Honey Siracha Meatballs
Cooking Light
Back in the day, when I had a slight magazine addiction, I used to subscribe toCooking Light, and when I finally got rid of most of these subscriptions, I kept Cooking Light for a few more years. Some of my favorite recipes have come from this magazine.
Beyond recipes, Cooking Light also have some interesting articles about eating healthy and different food rumors that tend to float around.
Getting Started
These four resources barely scrape the surface of what’s available to help you meal plan. Although it could be argued that there are dozens of other 
websites and blogs that offer healthy recipes and interesting articles, these are intended to be a starting point. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed and lose sight of the whole point of meal prep, which is to simplify your week.
I agree that there are an amazing number of resources, and I use a few others here and there, but I found if I browsed too much, meal planning started taking way too long. So, I’ve limited myself to a few websites only and allow myself to browse for a set time (usually a ten minute timer).
I hope that some of these sites help you on your meal prep journey!
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