Building a weekly meal routine in SF that's healthy, realistic, and doesn't bore me to death
I've tried every approach to healthy eating and always fall off after two weeks because i get bored or it's too complicated. trying to build something sustainable this time.
here's my current weekly system that's actually working:
sunday: farmers market in ferry building or alemany. i buy whatever looks good instead of following a meal plan i'll ignore. usually get lots of vegetables, some fruit, maybe fish if it looks fresh.
monday & wednesday: batch cook two simple things. lately it's been sheet pan stuff or one pot meals. protein + vegetables + some kind of starch. takes maybe 45 minutes total.
tuesday & thursday: order from shef or pick up from local spots doing healthier food. makes it so i'm not cooking every single night but still eating well.
friday: leftover buffet situation or grabbing something out because i'm human and need variety.
saturday: either cooking something fun or going out to eat without worrying about it being healthy.
the things that made this work:
- not trying to cook every meal from scratch
- having backups that are still healthy (homemade meals from others, quality takeout, good stuff from whole foods prepared section)
- not following strict meal plans that make me want to rebel and eat an entire pizza
- actually enjoying what i'm eating instead of forcing myself to eat things because they're "healthy"
some other stuff that helps: keeping trader joe's frozen vegetables and good quality frozen fish for emergency meals, always having eggs and good bread around, mason jars of overnight oats for mornings i'm rushing.
I'm in san francisco so there's tons of options, but I think this system would work anywhere. the key is mixing cooking, smart convenience options, and not being psychotic about perfection.
what systems have worked for other people? particularly curious to hear from other women since we tend to be better at this balance than the meal prep bros who eat the same thing every day.
Posted Oct 30, 2025, 3:56 PM UTC