Journal For Meal Planning - The Power of Meal Planning Journals

https://lestallion.com/collections/journal-notebook-for-meal-planning

Ever found yourself staring blankly into the refrigerator at 6pm, wondering what on earth to make for dinner? You're not alone. What if the solution to consistent healthy eating isn't about willpower or the latest superfood, but something far simpler?

We dive deep into how structured meal planning can genuinely transform your relationship with food. Beyond just organizing what you'll eat, proper planning puts you firmly in control of your nutrition, saves precious time during hectic weekdays, reduces environmental impact through less food waste, and can significantly lower your grocery bills. While many of us understand these benefits conceptually, implementing them consistently remains the true challenge.

The physical act of writing down your meal plans, shopping lists, and recipes in a dedicated journal creates a powerful framework for success. Unlike digital alternatives that scatter information across multiple apps, a well-designed meal planning journal centralizes everything in one thoughtful space. We explore how quality materials and thoughtful layouts—like those found in Lestallion's journals—support long-term habit formation through their durability and ease of use. The 120 GSM paper that prevents ink bleed-through might seem like a small detail, but when building daily habits, these thoughtful touches make all the difference.

Through real-world examples like Emily, a working mother who transformed mealtime chaos by starting with just three planned dinners per week, we see how small, manageable steps lead to sustainable change. The journey from reactive, stress-driven food choices to proactive, intentional nourishment begins with creating structure—not restriction. Ready to reclaim control of your eating habits and make healthy choices the path of least resistance? Your journey might start with something as simple as a pen and paper.

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LeStallion offers premium PU leather journal notebooks for writing, dedicated to all those who are pursuing their dreams and goals, or nurturing their personal development and mental health.

For More Info on LeStallion, check out:
https://lestallion.com/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Deep Dive.
Today we're tackling somethingthat's well.
It's always simmering in thebackground, isn't it?
How to eat well, consistently,and we're not just talking about
the latest diet fad, but reallythe fundamental power of
structured meal planning, how itcan genuinely boost your health
, maybe give you back someprecious time and even help out

(00:21):
the planet by cutting down onfood waste.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Absolutely.
And you know it's funny weoften get so caught up in the
specifics like superfoods, macroratios, all that stuff, yeah,
but sometimes the simplest thingjust having a plan that can be
the biggest game changer, rightWithout that structure, even if
you have the best intentionsit's so easy to fall back on

(00:48):
what's convenient, which isn'talways.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
you know what's best, and that's where the
frustration creeps in.
I think you know if, maybe,what you should be doing, but
life just gets in the way.
The day-to-day is chaotic andit feels well, almost impossible
sometimes.
So that brings us to what wewanted to dig into today how a
dedicated meal planning journalcan provide that structure, that
framework we seem to need.
We've been looking intoLestallion's approach here,
specifically their notebooksdesigned for this very purpose.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yes, and what's really quite smart about
Lestallion's design, I think, ishow they've considered the
practical side of things.
It's not just a blank notebookyou could grab anywhere, right,
it's about creating a bit of asystem.
I mean, think about it.
You're juggling recipes, maybeshopping lists, perhaps trying
to track nutritional goals.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, it's a lot to keep straight.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Exactly so.
Having one dedicated spot forall of that, designed
thoughtfully well, that can makea huge difference in whether
you actually stick with planninglong term.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
It becomes more than just writing stuff down.
It's a tool that actuallyguides you through the process
and Lestallion.
As we know, they really careabout the quality of the
materials.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, the tactile feel.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, durable paper feels good to write on and, okay
, that might seem minor, but ifyou're using something day in,
day out, those little thingsthey add up, they make it a more
pleasant habit, something youwant to do.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Like that 120 GSM paper they use.
It's thicker.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Exactly so.
You're not worried about yourpen bleeding through when you're
quickly jotting down a recipeor an idea.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
And that durability.
It kind of speaks to building along-term habit, doesn't it?
A flimsy notebook that fallsapart after a month Well, that's
not exactly motivating Goodpoint.
But let's just step back for asecond.
Why is meal planning itself so,so powerful, beyond just being
convenient?

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Well, fundamentally, I think it's about being
proactive about your health.
It puts you in the driver'sseat when you plan.
You're consciously choosingingredients, thinking about
balance.
You're just naturally morelikely to eat a more varied,
nutritious diet.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Makes sense.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Plus, the time saving during the week is huge.
No more that 6 pm fridge starewondering what on earth to make.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Oh, I know that feeling well.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
And then there's the food waste aspect, which is
massive.
If you buy with a plan, you'reway less likely to find sad,
wilted vegetables forgotten inthe back of the crisper drawer.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
That lack of a plan.
That's really the core issuefor so many people, isn't it?
It's like the default pathleads straight to those quick,
often less healthy, maybe moreexpensive choices.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Exactly.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
And this is where a meal planning journal,
especially one with structurebuilt in like Lestallion's,
really proves its worth.
It gives you that dedicatedspace Organize your favorite
recipes, find new ones, buildthose shopping lists right from
your plan.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Yeah, and Lestallion's journals.
They often have specific spotsfor weekly plans, don't they?
Which then flows right intomaking that focused shopping
list.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Precisely.
Which is so much better thanwandering the supermarket aisles
hoping inspiration's right?

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Oh, totally, I remember my sister Sarah.
She used to do that.
Oh, totally, I remember mysister Sarah.
She used to do that.
Just grab things that lookedgood, she'd get home and it was
like three kinds of fancy cheesebut no onions for the recipe
she vaguely had in mind.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Been there.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
A dedicated shopping list section, like the ones in
the Lestallion journals.
It just cuts down on thatimpulse buying and those
frustrating moments when yourealize you forgot something
crucial.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
Exactly Now, thinking about the hurdles.
What trips people up when theytry to meal plan and maybe track
things?
There are some common themesthat keep popping up.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Oh, definitely, I think the biggest one, for
almost everyone is just feelinglike there's no time yeah the
time crunch the idea of sittingdown for, say, an hour every
week to plan meals, write lists,figure out cooking schedules.
It feels like just anotherchore on an already packed list.
That perceived burden is oftenwhat pushes people to say, ah,

(04:33):
forget it, I'll just grabsomething.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
That's a really key point.
It's not just the actual clocktime, it's the mental energy too
.
Decision fatigue is real,especially end of the day.
Another big one is goinggrocery shopping without a solid
list.
We've all done it.
I'm sure you pop in for milkand bread.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
And walk out with $100 worth of snacks and things
you didn't need.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
Exactly, and maybe you still forgot the milk and
you definitely forgot the onekey ingredient for dinner.

Speaker 1 (04:59):
Right, and that's just.
It's literally a recipe forfood waste.
You buy stuff you don't needfor the meals you did plan, or
you forget you already havesomething and good food just
ends up in the bin.
It's awful on so many levelsthe money, the environment.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, it is frustrating.
Then there's the slightlytrickier challenge of emotional
eating or just mindless snacking.
Eating or just mindlesssnacking when stress hits or
boredom, it's just so easy toreach for comfort food without
really thinking about it,without registering what or how
much we're eating.
If you're not tracking it,somehow those extra calories,

(05:36):
the less nutritious stuff, itcan really sneak up on you.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
It's that mindless grazing, isn't it?
You're not actually hungry, butyou grab a handful of this, a
bite of that.
By the end of the day, you'veeaten way more than you thought
and you barely notice.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
Precisely.
And finally, I think a lot ofpeople just hit a wall with
inspiration.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, the boredom factor.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
Meal planning can feel repetitive after a while.
You end up cycling through thesame five or six dishes and
finding new exciting recipesfeels like yet another task.
It's easier just to go back tothe usual quick fixes.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
Okay.
So those are some prettysignificant roadblocks Time,
lack of lists, emotional eatingboredom.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
They are.
But this is exactly where awell-designed meal planning
journal can be such a powerfulally.
It acts like a central hub, youknow, a physical place to bring
together your meal ideas, yourshopping needs, even just
reflections on your habits, thattangible aspect.
Actually writing it down canreally boost organization and
accountability.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
OK, so let's break that down.
How does a journal meet?
Specifically like a Lestallionone.
Tackle these problems head on.
Start with time efficiency.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
Right.
So having those weekly mealplanning templates already
printed in the journal, that canseriously streamline things.
Instead of facing a blank pageor calendar each day thinking
what's for dinner, you set asidemaybe 30 minutes once a week.
Map it out in the template DoneLess daily decision fatigue.

Speaker 1 (06:57):
That makes sense and that feeds directly into the
grocery shopping issue.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
right, Absolutely, with a dedicated section for
your shopping list.
Right there in your listaliumjournal, you just jot down
ingredients as you choose yourmeals for the week.
It's intentional.

Speaker 1 (07:09):
Less impulse buying.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
Much less, yeah, and fewer forgotten items, meaning
fewer extra trips to the store.
I actually have a colleague,mark, who started using a
planning journal, and he wasgenuinely shocked at how much
his grocery bill dropped.

Speaker 1 (07:24):
Really.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, just by sticking to the list he made
from his meal plan he realizedhe used to just toss things in
the cart that looked interestingbut weren't actually for
anything specific.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
That's a brilliant, concrete example.
Okay, so what about theemotional eating side?
How does writing things downhelp there?

Speaker 2 (07:40):
Well, the simple act of logging what you eat, even
those between meal snacks,starts to build awareness.
Listallion's lined pages giveyou plenty of space for notes.
Like that you might startnoticing huh, every Tuesday
afternoon, when work getsstressful, I reach for chocolate
.
That awareness is the absolutefirst step to making a different

(08:01):
choice next time.

Speaker 1 (08:02):
It's making the unconscious conscious Okay got
it.
And the inspiration block.
How does a journal help breakthat cycle of boring meals?

Speaker 2 (08:12):
Well, think of those lined pages in a listalian
journal, not just for trackingbut as your personal recipe
scrapbook.
You can jot down ideas you seeonline in magazines.
Hear from friends Somelistallion designs even have
those subtle dashed lines right,so you could use it almost like
a bullet journal, maybeorganize ideas visually.
Quick meals here, slow cookerrecipes there.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
Oh, I like that flexibility.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
Plus, just flipping back through your past meal
plans in the journal is a greatsource of ideas.
Oh yeah, we haven't had thatlentil soup in ages.
The kids love that.

Speaker 1 (08:44):
Ah, and that's where features like numbered pages and
a table of contents, whichLaStallion includes, become
super useful.

Speaker 2 (08:50):
Exactly.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
Instead of endlessly flipping trying to find that one
recipe from three months ago,you just note the page number in
your contents page when youfirst plan it.
Easy peasy to find later.
It's like your own indexedcookbook.
My grandma had boxes of recipecards everywhere.
This is like the organizedmodern version.

Speaker 2 (09:07):
It really is.
It shifts meal planning frombeing this frantic, reactive
thing to something moreorganized, even reflective.
Now let me tell you about afriend, Emily, Working mom two
young kids.
Dinner time was just pure chaosfor her.

(09:27):
I think a lot of people canrelate to that.
Oh, absolutely Constantlyscrambling, feeling guilty about
relying on takeout or processedstuff just to get food on the
table quickly.
She knew she wanted to feed herfamily better, healthier meals,
but the whole idea just feltoverwhelming.
She tried apps but found shewas always switching between her
phone, her tablet lists on thefridge.
It was disjointed.

Speaker 1 (09:46):
Right Too many places .

Speaker 2 (09:47):
Then she got a Lestallion meal planning journal
.
She told me what drew her ininitially was just the
simplicity pen and paper,everything in one single place.

Speaker 1 (09:55):
Okay, and did it help what happened?

Speaker 2 (09:58):
She started really small, just planning three
dinners for the week ahead.
She'd sit down Sunday nightmaybe flip through a cookbook
with the kids, write down thechoices in the journal, then
make her grocery list rightthere.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
Manageable steps.

Speaker 2 (10:10):
Exactly, and she said even just that little bit of
planning made a huge difference.
She felt calmer during the week, less stressed about the what's
for dinner question.
They started eating morehome-cooked meals almost
immediately.
She even used the extra spaceto note which meals were big
hits with the kids so she couldeasily repeat them.

Speaker 1 (10:29):
That's brilliant.
It sounds like the journal gaveher that starting point, that
little bit of structure sheneeded to build confidence.

Speaker 2 (10:35):
Totally and as she got used to it she gradually
started planning more meals,even lunches sometimes.
She got the kids more involvedin picking recipes.
It became less of a chore, moreof a little family routine and
having that physical recordseeing their meals over weeks
and months, it helped her seethey really were making progress
towards eating better.

Speaker 1 (10:55):
That's a really powerful story.
So for someone listening nowmaybe feeling that same
overwhelm Emily did.
What are some practical firststeps with a meal planning
journal, maybe specificallythinking about something like a
listallion?

Speaker 2 (11:07):
I'd say the absolute key is start small.
Don't try to overhauleverything overnight and make it
visible.
Keep the journal somewhereYou'll see it all the time
Kitchen counter, maybe your deskin your main bag Makes it easy
to jot down an idea when itstrikes or just quickly check
your plan.

Speaker 1 (11:25):
Right Keep it accessible.

Speaker 2 (11:26):
And don't feel you have to plan every single meal
and snack perfectly right away.
Maybe just focus on dinners forthe week or even just three
dinners, like Emily did.
Find what feels manageable.

Speaker 1 (11:37):
And the nice thing about a physical journal,
especially one with flexiblepages like lined or dashed ones,
is you can really make it yourown, can't you?

Speaker 2 (11:44):
Oh, definitely.

Speaker 1 (11:45):
You could create sections that work for you Maybe
quick weeknight wins, pantrystaple meals, weekend projects,
even list your favorite healthytakeout spots for backup.

Speaker 2 (11:54):
Exactly you organize it however it makes sense for
your brain and your life, day byday, meal by meal, recipe
collections and, again, havingthose listallion features like
numbered pages and the contentspage helps you build that
personalized system that's easyto navigate later.

Speaker 1 (12:10):
It really does sound like having this dedicated,
well-thought-out journal can bea surprisingly simple but
effective tool.
It gives your good intentions aplace to live, basically.

Speaker 2 (12:20):
Precisely.
It helps you shift from makingreactive food choices when
you're hungry or stressed tobeing more proactive and
thoughtful about how you nourishyourself.

Speaker 1 (12:30):
Okay, so pulling this all together.
We've seen how structured mealplanning Okay, so pulling this
all together.
We've seen how structured mealplanning, especially when you
have a great tool like aLestallion Journal designed for
it, offers really solid benefits.
It's not just about the healthaspect, though that's huge.
It's also about reclaiming time, cutting down waste and just
feeling a bit more I don't knowin control of that daily grind.

Speaker 2 (12:50):
Right, and the design elements we talked about the
quality paper, the helpfullayouts, the room for
personalization.
They seem tailor-made toovercome those common hurdles
people face.

Speaker 1 (12:59):
Yeah, they address the time issue, the list issue,
the inspiration issue.

Speaker 2 (13:03):
Exactly, and it's so important to remember.
Structure doesn't mean rigidrestriction.
It's about creating asupportive framework, one that
empowers you to make choicesthat line up with your goals,
making healthy eating feel lesslike a constant battle and more
like just how you live.

Speaker 1 (13:21):
So maybe here's a final thought for everyone
listening.
How might bringing just alittle bit of structure into
your meal planning, maybestarting with just a simple
notebook dedicated to your mealideas and lists?
How might that actually changeyour day to day and help you
reach your health goals?
Think about what part of yourcurrent routine could use just a
touch more intentionalorganization.
You might be surprised at howsimple and how powerful that

(13:43):
first step can be.
Thanks for taking this deepdive with us today.