Meal Planning Tools for Chronic Illnesses

Struggling with meal planning while managing a chronic illness? Discover practical tips and realistic strategies to simplify your food prep and nourish your body, no matter your energy level.

Let’s be honest: meal planning, grocery shopping, and food prep can be such a chore! Sure, I love food and believe it can be really fun. But some weeks nothing sounds good and everything feels overwhelming. Everyone gets burned out with food prep from time to time! 

For my clients who manage chronic illnesses, meal planning can feel like a never-ending uphill battle. I want to acknowledge up front that I don’t have a magical solution for food prep when you’re chronically ill. It’s hard and frustrating work. And I believe all bodies, regardless of how sick or broken they feel, deserve to be fed. Feeding our bodies can be a radical act of self care. Nourishing ourselves can provide a sense of autonomy which chronic illnesses often try to steal from us.

Simplify Meals & Release Guilt

During individual nutrition sessions, I collaborate with clients who are chronically ill to build a toolbox of options that make food easier. One tool we develop together is a meal list divided into low, medium, and high energy options. This method helps us define what type of food prep is within reach based on symptoms or energy level on any given day. By setting realistic expectations around food accessibility, we can begin to release the guilt and shame which tell us we should be making perfect, elaborate meals.

Low Energy Meals

Together, I work with clients to define what a low energy day looks like. For some, that may be a day stuck in bed or on the couch with limited mobility. Or maybe you’re still at work or school but with reduced capacity. Low energy days typically mean more of our limited energy resources are directed to managing health conditions, leaving less energy for everything else. These days may require a meal that you open and eat like boost nutrition shakes or premade grocery store pasta salad. For others, a microwave meal feels feasible so we include frozen meals, soups, premade entrees, or mac n cheese cups on their list. Another great low energy meal prep option when finances permit is takeout or a meal delivery service.  

Medium Energy Meals

Medium energy days look different depending on diagnosis - maybe it means 5 minutes or less, or maybe a 15 minute meal feels medium effort. As we move up in energy resources devoted to food, I encourage utilizing shortcuts along the way. For example - sit on a chair in the kitchen while heating or stirring; purchase pre-cooked meat or pre chopped veggies; leave cleanup for later/the next day. My motto is outsource, outsource, outsource! If you can buy an easier version or delegate food prep items to another person, do it. A medium energy meal could involve boiling ravioli & adding sauce or throwing a stir fry kit in a pan. Perhaps you can unwrap a frozen lasagna to bake several days of meals and snack on grapes while you wait to sneak in some produce. It could be adding smoothie ingredients to a blender so you can drink your meal (shoutout to smoothies for requiring little effort to eat - no chewing or utensils needed!). Maybe a crockpot meal where you open cans and dump ingredients feels achievable. 

High Energy Meals

High energy meals may never be an option based on symptoms, and that’s ok. You are not better, more nourished, or more successful because you spend more time cooking. Take a moment to define what high energy means to you - is this anything over 10 minutes? 15? 20? What types of meals can you assemble in that amount of time? Would a meal kit delivery service provide shortcuts and open up this ‘high prep’ style of meal while saving energy? Pick out one or two favorite high energy meals to have at the ready so that if you do have the resources you can enjoy a meal you really value.

Closing Thoughts

At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you feed your body enough energy. It doesn’t matter how long you worked to prepare it or how much of the preparation was done by you. It matters that your body has enough energy from food sources that do not antagonize your chronic symptoms. Along the way we might need to release the expectation that you ‘should’ be making higher energy meals - that goal may not be serving you today.

If this sounds overwhelming or you’re feeling stuck, reach out for a discovery call to discuss your meal planning roadblocks! Building your personalized list of ideas can feel daunting, and it’s a skill I’ve had practice adapting to different clients and diagnoses. If you are struggling with your relationship with food and body image, reaching out for support is one of the most empowering things you can do. McArtney nutrition offers specialized support for clients in eating disorder recovery and those living with chronic illnesses. Reach out for a discovery call to chat about finding food peace and body acceptance! 

Disclaimer: the information provided in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.