The Meal Planning Matrix

I'm always trying to find ways to make meal planning and grocery shopping easier. I have been thinking about making lists of food items in order to make some sort of matrix for meal planning. Here is my first attempt at that!

I will create "pantries" for different categories of foods, meals, supplements, etc., that I commonly eat and would recommend. You can start with these lists for your own pantry and add your favorites if they aren't listed. It's not necessary to shop for every pantry, or even every ingredient in the pantries, but each list is meant to be a reference for when a certain dish/supplement/meal/drink is desired or frequented.

Coffee Pantry

-Dunkin' Coffee (Carmel Me Crazy or French Vanilla)

-Crazy Cups Decaffeinated Coffee (Death by Chocolate, Caramel Truffle Sunday, Cinnamon French Toast, or French Vanilla Créme)

-Instant decaf coffee (Nescafé is pretty lovely)

-Torani Sugar Free Caramel Syrup (4 pack on Amazon is the way to go) or Mateo's Sugar Free Thin Vanilla Syrup (usually Marshall's has the best deal)

-Unsweetened vanilla almond milk (refrigerated is the best deal, but you could also keep a back up unrefridgerated carton)

-Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup (store in frige after opening)

-Reddi-wip Fat Free Whipped Topping (store in fridge)

-Ice (if your freezer doesn't make ice, counter top ice makers are definitely worth the investment--and a bullet blender!)

-Premier Protein Shake, Café Latte

Breakfast Pantry

Carbs

-Better Oats 100 Calories Maple & Brown Sugar Whole Grain Instant Oatmeal with Flax 

-Old Fashioned Oats

-Kodiak Protein-Packed Flapjack & Waffle Mix Dark Chocolate

-Kodiak Protein-Packed Dark Chocolate Frozen Power Waffles

-Cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds, Cocoa Puffs, Special K Red Berries, or Cheerios Oat Crunch)

-Bagels (can be frozen if needed, blueberry is my favorite)

Yogurt + Protein

-Oikos Triple Zero (any flavor, but vanilla is probably my least favorite)

-Oikos Pro (any flavor)

-Fage or Kirkland non-fat greek yogurt

-Kroger CARBmaster Low Fat Yogurt (any flavor, but strawberry and mango are the best, in my opinion)

-Yoplait Protein Yogurt (any flavor, vanilla is pretty good on this one)

-Vegan protein powder (I like Orgain, Dymatize, and Ghost, usually chocolate or vanilla, but it's fun to try different ones)

-Premier Protein Shakes

-Protein or snack bars

Fruits

-Fresh or frozen blueberries

-Raspberries

-Oranges

-Bananas

-Peaches or nectarines (when in season)

-Watermelon (when in season)

-Canned peaches in water

-Canned pineapple in water

-Canned mandarin oranges in water

-Dried apricots

-Dried mango

-Unsweetened applesauce

-Frozen strawberries

-Frozen mangos or frozen mango + berry blend

-Frozen peaches

Fats

-Almond butter (I like no stir, but natural is probably the healthiest and least processed, other nut butters are also great)

-Cookie butter

-Nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or mixed nuts)

-Omega 3 supplement

Morning Supplement Pantry

-Omega 3 Algae Oil (fish and krill oil are also good, but I like the algae oil because it doesn't make me burp and it's a bit more sustainable)

-Collagen (I take this for hair and nails)

-Creatine monohydrate (I like the NutraBio brand)

-Pre-workout  (Alani Nu Hawaiin Shaved Ice is my favorite; definitely be careful if you want to have this and caffeinated coffee--spacing them out ir picking one over the other is advised)

Infused Water Pantry

-Lemon

-Lemon juice

-Orange

-Watermelon

-Cucumber

-Frozen strawberries

-Frozen mango

-Mint

Electrolyte Pantry

-Propel Zero Calorie Sports Drinking Water (strawberry kiwi, peach, watermelon, or fun looking other flavor)

-Prime Hydration Sports Drink (fruit punch, strawberry watermelon, or cherry freeze)

-Powerade Zero Sugar (citrus peach is the best, but it's hard to find at the store, Gatorade Zero is also pretty comparable)

-Pre-workout (I don't typically take it for electrolytes, but it does contain electrolytes)

Protein Powder/Shake Pantry

-Vegan protein powder chocolate or vanilla (Orgain, Dymatize, and Ghost, Raw, or Vega)

-Vegan protein powder fruit flavor (Orgain, Dymatize, and Ghost, Raw, or Vega)

-Premier Protein Shakes (café latte is a definite win, but I think it's fun to try all the flavors--I heard there's a fantastic pumpkin spice one that comes out in the fall)

Protein Bar/Snack Pantry

-Barebells (any flavor, but I like chocolate dough and cookies and cream best)

-TRUBAR Vegan Protein Bar (Oh Oh Cookie Dough is amazing, but the other flavors are worth trying)

-RX Bars (chocolate sea salt is the way to go, in my opinion, but there are other flavors out there)

-Quest Protein Cookies

-Thomas' Cinnamon Protein English Muffins

-Legendary Protein Cinnamon Rolls (I will be honest, sometimes I don't digest these very well, but sometimes it's so delicious, it's worth it)

Snack Bar Pantry

-Nature's Bakery Brownies

-Nature's Bakery Fig Bars

-Soft baked fruit and grain cereal bars (brands are pretty comparable, and flavor wise, I really like the blueberry ones)

-Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Almond Granola Bars (usually the store brand is pretty comparable)

-Nature Valley Crunchy Oats 'n Honey Granola Bars

-Kind Nut Bars (any flavor)

-That's It Fruit Bars (any flavor, Good and Gather also makes good fruit leather)

Lunch/Dinner Pantry

Grains for Grain Bowls

-Lundberg Organic California Sushi Rice - Short Grain Rice

-Lundberg Organic Brown Rice, Short Grain 

(highly recommend getting a mini, or big!, rice cooker, if you don't have one)

-Near East Parmesan Cous Cous

-Seeds of Change Organic Quinoa, Brown & Red Rice with Flaxseed Mix Microwavable Pouches

Carbs for Wraps/Tacos/Enchiladas/[Breakfast] Burritos

-Mission whole wheat tortillas or Ole Wellness tortillas

-Mission Zero Net Carbs Original or small corn tortillas

Carbs for Pasta/Noodle Bowls

-Kroger whole grain pasta (other brands are comparable, can stick to your favorite shape or try out multiple)

-Angel hair pasta

-Red lentil pasta

-Annie's mac n cheese (bunnies please! the white cheddar shells are also really good)

-Rice noodles

-Lotus Fooda millet and brown rice ramen noodles

-Ka-Me udon stiry fry noodles

Breads + Carbs for Sandwiches/Toast/Sides

-Bavarian Bakery rolls

-Ezekiel Bread

-Daves Killer Bread

-Orowheat bread

-Whole grain, rye, or sourdough bread

-Bagel thins

-Whole wheat bagels

-Pita pockets

-Naan

-Wheat thins

-Sun chips

-Baked Lays

-Pretzels

-Peanut butter or sunbutter filled pretzels

-Smartfood popcorn

-Low fat popped popcorn

-Lime tortilla chips or Late July

-Pop chips

-Pirate's Booty

-Goldfish

Fruits

-Peaches

-Nectarines

-Grapes

-Plums

-Strawberries

-Apples

-Oranges

-Blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries

-Kiwi

Vegetables

-Green Giant Simply Steam Lightly Sauced Antioxidant Blend Vegetables

-Green Giant Simply Steam Tuscan Seasoned Broccoli

-Green Giant Simply Steam Garden Vegetable Medley

-Birds Eye Frozen Quick Roasters Butternut Squash

-Birds Eye Frozen Fusions Asian Style with Sesame Soy 

-Simple Truth Organic Broccoli Florets

-Frozen mukimame/shelled edamame

-Frozen riced vegetables  (cauliflower is the most common, but there are other blends out there)

-Frozen peas

-Frozen hashbrowns

-Frozen purple potatos

-Frozen Italian style green beans

-Canned french green beans

-Canned artichokes

-Canned mushrooms

-Canned tomato

-Classico sundried tomato alfredo sauce (or other tomato sauces)

-Enchilada sauce

-Canned green chiles

-Zucchini

-Yellow squash

-Spaghetti squash

-Sweet potatoes or yams

-Purple, golden, red, or russet potatoes

-Pumpkin (fresh or canned)

-Coleslaw

-Bean sprouts

-Shredded carrots

-Bell peppers

-Mushrooms

-Salsa

Proteins

-99% lean ground turkey (higher fat percentage is also totally fine, especially if you need to eat a lot of calories)

-Laura's Lean Ground Beef (again, higher fat beef is okay too)

-Thin sliced steak

-Tyson Grilled & Ready Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast - Frozen (buying uncooked chicken to prepare is also great, I'm just lazy so I like to pre-cooked)

-Perdue Short Cuts Grilled Chicken

-Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken

-FarmRich Flame Broiled Frozen Turkey Meat Balls

-Frozen pre-cooked shrimp

-Frozen or smoked wild caught salmon

-Wild caught tuna steaks

-Shashimi

-Canned chicken in water

-Canned tuna in water or tuna piches (Safe Catch is the brand I recommend for canned, and Starkist has fun flavors for packets)

-Chickpeas/garbanzo beans canned or dried

-Black beans

-Refried beans (look for low fat)

-Mukimame/shelled edamame frozen or dried

-Tasty Bite Madras Lentils

-Frozen peas

-Cottage cheese

-Liquid or powdered egg whites

Fats

-Sesame Vinaigrette

-Nuts or seeds

-Goat cheese (feta or bleu is also okay)

-Mozzarella, pepper jack, or colbe jack shredded cheese

-Eggs

-Hummus

-Avocado or guacamole

Ice Cream/Popsicle Pantry

-Breyers Natural Vanilla Snack Cups Ice Cream

-Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches

-Halo Top Ice Cream (I like the strawberry, caramel, cookie dough, and cookies and cream ones, but the peanut butter cup one also looks good)

-Private Selection Sea Salt Caramel Truffle Ice Cream Pint (this stuff is very dangerous because it is very delicious, lol stock your pantry with caution)

-Yasso or Simple Truth Yo Greek Sea Salt Caramel Greek Frozen Yogurt Bars

-Yasso Creamy Mango Frozen Greek Yogurt Bars

-Outshine Mango Fruit Bars

-Goodpop Dairy Free Orange N' Cream Pops

-Jonny Pops Frozen Oat Milk Pops

Spice Pantry

-McCormick Himalayan Pink Salt with Black Pepper and Garlic All Purpose Seasoning

-Spiceology - Greek Freak Mediterranean Spice Blend

-Tony Chachere's: Creole Original Seasoning

-Black pepper

-White pepper

-Cayenne pepper

-Iodized salt

-Garlic powder

-Cumin

-Tumeric

-Oregano

-Everything bagel seasoning

-Paprika

-Shaker parmesan cheese (refrigerate after opening)

-Cinnamon

-Nutmeg

Sauce/Condiment Pantry (refrigerate after opening)

-Mustard

-Tamari, soy, and/or teriyaki sauce

-Sesame dressing

-Salsa

-Classico Sundried Tomato Alfredo Sauce (or whatever pasta sauce you enjoy)

-Enchilada sauce

-Cooking spray

-Olive oil

-Butter

-Vanilla

Baking Pantry

-Bananas

-Eggs

-Unsweerened applesauce

-Canned pumpkin

-Cinnamon

-Vanilla

-Nutmeg

-Oats

-All purposed flour

-Whole wheat flour

-Gluten free/alternative flours

-Almond butter

-Non-fat greek yogurt

-Butter

-Granulated sugar

-Brown sugar

-Powdered sugar

-Baking soda

-Baking powder

-Honey

-Chocolate chips (or other flavors of baking chips)

-Protein powder

-Ghiradelli brownie mix

Evening Supplement Pantry

-Premier Protein Good Night Powder, Cozy Cocoa

-Good Day Chocolate Calm Supplement

-Momentus Inositol