When I first looked at a rotation diet menu I felt completely overwhelmed.  Although I had cooked for years, I had never planned menus in advance or even thought about planning days in advance.  I could not imagine having to think up breakfast, lunch and dinner for 7 days – 21 meals!  No way!

What I didn’t realize was how freeing it could be to have a plan, particularly when dealing with a chronic disease that could be affected by food – either positively or negatively.  No more waking up and having to figure out what’s for breakfast or working all day and then trying to figure out dinner.  Creating balanced meals with complete nutrition is not a simple task to do on the fly.  Figuring things out while sitting with a sheet of paper and pen is actually much easier than making a plan while staring into a refrigerator.

We use a rotation diet is based on a 7 day rotation because I have just found that it’s easier to work with a week and have a daily routine than it is to work with 4 days (remember that to reduce food sensitivities and avoid developing new ones, the body cannot have the same food within 4 days).  We have found that my family enjoys the old school “meatloaf on Thursdays” routine and knowing what day of the week we have their favorites.  Planning for the week also allows me to consider which nights of the week everyone is home versus when we have lessons, sports, classes or other activities.  When we know drum lessons and baseball are scheduled back to back, we can pack up a meal and avoid the hunger panic that leads to fast food and other poor food choices.  Having worked with the rotation diet for almost 4 years now, the weekly diet is definitely the one that works for us.

Start with a sample menu like this one Rotation Diet Menu and make sure you plan simple meals for hectic days and leave more elaborate preparations for the days when you have time or another pair of hands to help out.  Another bonus for planning the meals is that you can print the menu and use it for a grocery list.  Just highlight the items that you need and cross them off as you go.  Depending on the day of the week that you grocery shop, you can plan produce that keeps longer for later in the week and avoid food waste.  When you are eating organic, this becomes all the more important.

The first week of the rotation diet is the toughest, but things get much easier as you go.  By week 3, you will be wondering how you ever functioned without a plan!