There's a Paleo cookbook called "Well Fed" that talks about meal planning which I loved. And I swear I don't work for the author, but she really had a great concept of how 2 hours of cooking on a Sunday allowed her to stay on track all week long. Basically she'd brown some ground beef, grill some chicken, partially steam/fry some veggies and make some dressings/sauces. Then she could add meat + veggie + sauce for a bunch of meal combinations.

Another idea is to learn to love your crock pot. I hate food that comes out of a crock pot but most people are in love with theirs. If you don't have one, they aren't very expensive to buy.

You'll get a lot of responses, but I'll just chime in with one thing I haven't heard a lot of people say: Make sure you're planning to eat things you actually like to eat.

One pit I've fallen into is buying things that look "good for me" that I don't love, and then I end up throwing them away, or if I bring them with me, I end up talking myself into eating restaurant food or worse, fast food. So just take a minute and think about your favorite meals and foods you're eating now. Can you put them in a tupperware and throw it in a cooler? Can you warm them up onsite, or eat them cooled or at room-temperature while driving or on breaks? On your off days, make extra portions of those things that are both convenient AND you like eating, package them into appropriate containers, pack a cooler each night before work, and stick the whole thing in the fridge. No over-thinking. You can't fail. :)

I usually eat simple.

I buy a bunch of stuff I know I like and that more often than not can go together, then I make whatever I get hungry for.

Chicken, Beef, potatoes, eggs, broccoli, onions, kale, spinach, butter, coconut oil, oranges, bananas, etc.

Eggs, spinach, onions = Omlette for breakfast Chicken, onions, carrots = Delicious lunch Banana and orange = Snack Beef, potatoes, onions, garlic = Stew for dinner

Pretty simple.

I sometimes eat strange combinations of foods because I am not cooking for anyone else, just myself and since I live on a college budget, I'm not looking for anything special.

If you're cooking for more people, the same thing applies. Buy things that go well together and that are easy to prepare. No need to make complex dishes, even though it's fun sometimes.

Pre-Paleo I started using Food On The Table to plan and prep meals. You can set up several stores which you shop at, customize your groceries (ie, what you're interested in buying). It gives up to three planned meals for the week, and most of the recipes are peer-reviewed so you'll know if they taste great or not. The free version limits you to three meals/week.

You also might check out Meals Made Easier.

Check out my Paleo food blog!!! I just wrote a cool post on planning and budgeting! Enjoy and share :)

http://sheshredss.com/2012/04/27/meal-planning-and-budgeting/

I've bought frozen wild-caught tuna at Trader Joe's and defrosted it in the fridge. I can make a good dinner in less than 15 minutes by heating coconut oil in a pan and cooking my seasoned fish 3 minutes on a side. Add a salad and good to go. There's two fillets in a package so the next meal takes even less time to prepare. This is just one easy to prepare dinner, the only thing to plan is to make sure it's defrosted.

I'm a HUGE believer in flexibility and being able to adjust my menu depending on what I'm in the mood for that day-- but it's also important not to let items spoil, too. This is how I do my meal planning using a chalkboard in my kitchen: http://www.livefabuless.com/2011/05/fabuless-tip-how-to-make-meal-planning-flexible-doable-and-fun.html Hope you find it useful!