1/16/26 Groceries: Dials of Effort
A meal plan... kinda. Take what resonates.
Somewhat continuing our theme from last week of “let it be easy”, and also knowing we are still FULLY in the midst of “resolution” media, I want to use this week’s grocery list to share a concept I have found extremely helpful any time I’m trying to incorporate a new habit (or even keep consistency with old ones).
This is also a great read if you tend to be very “all or nothing” around food or beat yourself up that you’re “not doing enough”.
Dials of Effort
Dials of Effort are a visual way to think about everything on your plate, and what feels like a level of effort for each category that you’ll feel proud of at the end of the week.
Above, you can see mine for this week. The top row of “dials” are the things that aren’t always in my control. The bottom, I have a little more ownership over.
I’m traveling with a team this week and over the weekend. It won’t be super stressful, but it will be time-consuming, so my “work” dial is at a 9/10.
From January to July this year, I’m taking a relatively intensive yoga teacher training that takes about 8 hours of my week, and is something I’d really like to be present for and prioritize. That “dial” will consistently sit at a 4-6 over the next few months. (I can’t wait to share more about it with you.)
This is probably similar to your “rehab” dial. It’s not an extremely time-consuming thing, but is important, and needs to be included in your big picture.
I don’t have any social events on the calendar (that I’ll be in town for), and my social battery has been feeling a little drained after the holidays, so that dial is lower, which I currently feel good about. It never gets to be zero… You always have to answer texts and phone calls and put some effort into your friendships and relationships, but, for me, if my social dial is on the lower side, I let myself feel okay saying “no” to things. It’s also good to notice if this dial stays low for too many weeks in a row, and is something I need to prioritize at some point!
I feel well-rested, so I’m okay if I have a few nights with less than 8 hours of sleep this week.
I’m busy at work, so I won’t have time for creative projects, and that is currently okay. I won’t beat myself up if I don’t spend any time on this.
The Health Goals Dial
Now to the one you really care about. We’ve used all the other dials to get a better picture for our capacity, now let’s use this dial to give ourself a reasonable goal.
In a perfect world, this dial would always be at a 10. For me, that means I’m exercising 5-6 days per week, planning and cooking most meals at home, consistently practicing yoga, consistently taking my supplements, hydrating, going on evening walks, doing my stretching and pre-hab, meditating, journaling, and so on and so on. The list could be very, very long. That is a recipe for self-criticism and never feeling like you’re doing enough.
Instead, if I think of levels of effort related to my health, I think I’d define them like this, with each building on the last.
Eat 3 meals per day
3 meals and at least a few walks throughout the week.
Get fruits and veggies in and get at least one workout in this week.
Get protein at every meal and get at least 2 workouts in.
Plan ahead (buy groceries from a list) and get at least 3 workouts in.
Make a meal from scratch (plus everything from #5).
Hit my daily fiber goal, and 4+ workouts.
Make 2 meals from scratch, and 5+ workouts.
I very rarely go beyond 8, so I can’t say I’ve even thought about this one much. You get the idea.
The point is that you should never really be at a 1 or a 10. We are removing the “all or nothing” thought process. Dial #1 is reserved for major life events. If I am in grief, then my baseline level of self-care needs to be that at least I’m eating something. And I never need to be at a 9 or a 10 unless I’m in the depths of training for an Iron Man.
Instead, I get to look at my (relatively) busy week ahead, and decide what is realistic, everything else considered. I try not to go below a 5, but sometimes I need to, and that’s okay. I’m setting myself up for success so that at the end of the week, I can think about what I’ve done and feel it is enough. Versus 10 years ago when I’d cry for only getting two workouts in during finals week instead of 5. Girl, you had bigger fish to fry.
Below are some dials that you may have in your life, but you can make up whatever feels right for you. You’re welcome to split health into two or three categories: nutrition, exercise, mental health, etc.
It’s your world, but I’d love to hear what you come up with.
Tweak the grocery list in the way that feels right for you this week. I have a busy week that includes travel, so I need to make sure I don’t have a ton of leftovers. (That means the freezer is my friend.)
As always, take what resonates.
Breakfast:
Sweet Potatoes, Apples, & Sausage
These are fall flavors, but this is a great option for a travel week, because I can choose how much sausage I want to take out of the freezer, I can freeze leftover sweet potato, and apples last forever.
Lunch:
I’m still on a sandwich kick.
Last week, I made my turkey sandwich into the much more hot and exciting PANINI on days I worked from home. Incredible. The crunch. The melted cheese. A little bit more butter in my life. I’m sticking with it. Plus, I still have carrots and cucumbers, so I gotta eat those before they go bad.
HOWEVER, I found this sauce in my fridge still, and think that’ll be a wonderful way to switch up this item.
Dinner:
1: Chicken Tortilla Soup
I’m traveling, so only one dinner is going on the menu, but that means that you can go out to eat a few nights this week, too!! What a fun excuse for you. Feel free to drop your restaurant questions in the comments.
We’re cooking from a new cookbook that I am VERY excited to dive into. This is Samin Nosrat’s follow up to Salt Fat Acid Heat. You should be following her Substack, A Grain of Salt, too. She is wonderful.
The great thing about soup is that I can also FREEZE the leftovers in my handy-dandy Souper Cubes. This is not an ad. I love these things.
If you don’t have the book, this recipe looks similar.
Snack Spotlight:
I was recently reminded how delicious Chocolate Oranges are…
…which reminded me how delicious chocolate dipped clementines are…
… which made me want to share an easier, lazier version with you that I used to snack on ALL THE TIME.
Clementine slices, a handful of chocolate chips, and a handful of pistachios.
Heaven.
Your Grocery List:
Sweet Potato (2-3 if you want to do this breakfast all week)
You can also find cubed sweet potato in the freezer section for a super easy no-prep option
Sausage
I like Amylu, and am usually looking for a sausage option that has <50% fat from saturated fat and will provide at least 20g of protein per reasonable serving.
Apples
Gala of course.
Bread of choice
Deli meat, cheese, and toppings of choice.
Fruit of choice and lunch sides of choice.
Soup Ingredients
From Good Things:
3 large ancho chiles
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1x 28 oz can whole tomatoes (San Marzano)
1 whole chicken
1 yellow onion
1 head garlic
cilantro
bay leaves (I never add these…)
salt and pepper
Toppings of choice (chips, sour cream, red onion, lime, Oaxacan cheese, baby spinach)
From Natasha’s Kitchen:
2 Tbsp light olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 jalapeno peppers , seeded and diced
32 oz chicken broth
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 lb chicken breasts, (2 medium), or leftover rotisserie chicken*
15 oz can corn, drained and rinsed
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped, plus more to garnish
1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice, from 1 lime, or to taste
Snacks
My pantry currently has leftover cereal, carrots and dip, fruit and pb, and greek yogurt.
Performance
My roommate is in major recovery mode after the Houston Marathon, so I’m adding tart cherry juice to the list this week, too.
Want to learn more about your “performance” category?
Take a look at the Injury Performance Plate Guide for more.
What’s next?
Updates from this week:
Samin Nosrat’s soup was a delicious learning experience to say the least. Soup really does have more flavor when you make the broth from scratch but… I think I’ll buy a rotisserie chicken next time! The leftovers are sitting happily in my freezer.
