What’s Your Meal Planning Personality?

Fascinated by personality tests and understanding yourself a little more? Take our Meal Planning Personality quiz to learn what works best for you!

Have you ever wondered why one meal planning system works really well for someone else but it’s a total fail for you?

Do you feel like there’s no way that you will ever get the knack of actually making the meals you plan?

Why does your friend rave about that meal planning service while it doesn’t appeal to you in the least?

Could be that it just doesn’t fit who you are? After all, no two people are created exactly alike. Even twins find that they have both physical and intellectual differences. Different strokes for different folks makes sense, doesn’t it?

However, you may find that the better you know yourself, the better your decisions are.

And knowing yourself? Well, sometimes that comes down to understanding your personality and the way your temperament is bent.

Yep, I said personality. I surprise myself sometimes.

When I was in high school, many of them classmates took Mr. Worley’s Strategy class. It was designed to give you skills and strategies for operating in the larger world. A crash course in adulting, if you will. 

For whatever reason, I think it was a scheduling conflict with French, I never took it. That meant I learned about personalities and temperaments in the very worst way: out of context.

Imagine my horror when all my friends came to me at nutrition break, claiming they knew exactly who I was: the phlegmatic one of our crowd. They were soooo excited, but I didn’t really see it. I was even more miffed when I found the nearest dictionary. 

Hello! Who wants to be identified as “a meek and submissive introvert who lives to please others”?!

Proof right there that the teenage years can be dreadful when the world rarely sees our true selves.

Honestly, I don’t think my husband would ever use those words to describe me! And I met him only two years out of high school!

So, all this to say that I’m the first to admit that I’ve been averse to this whole personality fascination that’s swept the nation the last few years. It’s taken me awhile to even give the concept a thought, especially since I found it was so insulting as an adolescent.

Don’t box me in, people!

That said, I’m coming around to see the fun and maybe even wisdom in knowing your personality trends and how to make things work best for you, once you know who you are.

With that in mind — and with help from my personality expert friends Jessika and Phoebe — I’ve put together a little meal planning personality quiz.

Let’s figure out your meal planning personality!

This quiz is by no means scientific or exhaustive, but it may reflect what kind of meal planner you are, at least for today. You may have completely different answers next week, and that’s okay! Go with it. 

Play to your strengths, whatever they are – today!

Meal Planning Personality Quiz

Keep track of your answers, noting which letter you choose more often.

When you head to the kitchen, you see 

a. the potential to get creative.
b. a bunch of ingredients.
c. a lot of work to do.
d. a feast.

At the grocery store, you typically add to your cart
a. whatever strikes your fancy.
b. the usual items that make up your weekly meals.
c. nothing but what’s on the list.
d. treats to share with family and friends.

Sitting down to plan your meals, you typically
a. plan foods that inspire you.
b. choose meals that fit a set pattern: Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, etc.
c. consult your digital calendar to see what’s on schedule for this week.
d. make sure that you’ve included extras for friends and family.

Your favorite meal is
a. one you’ve never made before.
b. a tried and true favorite.
c. the one for which you already have the ingredients.
d. one you know everyone will like.

How do you rate?

Leave a comment and let us know how your quiz came out!

Mostly A’s – You are the Artisan

You love having folks over for dinner, especially if the meal has a special theme. You get excited when there’s an unannounced sale at the grocery store or a special find in the clearance section; what can you make with that?! A pantry challenge is a fun project for you because you love to play with your food.

Mostly B’s – You are the Guardian

You are the keeper of Taco Tuesday, and Meatless Monday, and Pizza Friday, etc. You like to host holiday dinners and prepare all the traditional foods. You do your meal planning on a regular basis on the same day each week. Your children have a packed lunch every day, whether they want one or not.

Mostly C’s – You are the Rational

You definitely don’t want a purchased meal plan; you’ll do it yourself, with this cool digital calendar system that you’ve developed along with a carefully curated digital recipe box. You are organized; there are always ingredients in your pantry or freezer to provide back-ups in case something comes up to derail the original plan. You have well-honed systems that work and keep your life well fed. Rock it, baby!

Mostly D’s – You are the Idealist

You love to bring meals to people who are struggling and regularly stocks your parents’ and adult children’s freezers with treats. You enjoy a balanced meal plan — with garnishes! You work to improve your kitchen habits on a regular basis. You can present the simplest meal as if it were a feast.

So what do you do with this information?

While not scientifically conclusive, this small peek into how meal planning and an understanding of personalities can work together, you can better determine what methods and strategies will work for you when you’re meal planning.

Maybe it’s not that you’re doing anything wrong.

Maybe it’s just that it’s the wrong method for you.

I want to help.

Clearly, I’ve seen changes to my own temperament as well as to my meal planning over the years. I’ve cooked for one to 8 people on a regular basis. I’ve been a SAHM and a WAHM and a DINK. I’ve been stressed out. I’ve been on my game like Michael Jordan. Quite frankly, I’ve seen it all.

Where are you at today?

Maybe you’ve lost your meal planning mojo and want to find it. Maybe life seasons have changed and you need to readjust to where you find yourself today. Maybe you’re new to all this and just. want. to. get. dinner. on. the. table!

I get you.

My new workshop, Meal Plan Makeover, a live 2-hour video stream, is designed to help you find what works for you and make it happen — no matter your budget, season of life, and dare I say it, personality.

How Meal Plan Makeover can help you:

If you’re the Artisan, you’ll learn strategies for helping your whims fit your budget. Creativity can’t be squelched — unless there’s no grocery money. We’ll make sure that you can do this thing on a budget.

If you’re the Guardian, you’ll learn how to recycle those meal plans so you can save effort and time, especially when you’ve got traditions to keep up.

If you’re the Rational, you’ll learn quick tips for streamlining your systems even more and especially how the freezer might become your new ally in the effort to get dinner on time all the time.

If you’re the Idealist, you’ll learn new techniques to save time in the kitchen so you can spend more time with the people you love.

No matter your personality, you can makeover your meal plans.

Transform your meal plans to save you time and money!

The workshop is designed for the home cook who wants to finally make sense of meal planning and take control of dinner times.

During this 2-hour live event, you’ll 

• Learn strategies that work for your family in this season of life.
• Develop meal planning hacks to save you time and money.
• Acquire new tricks for quick meal prep.
• Find methods to work your plans without letting them work you.
• Get your nagging questions answered by someone who’s gone before you.

I’ll teach you the ways of the force: shopping your cupboards, choosing recipes that avoid food waste, and using up leftovers so that no one’s the wiser. I’ll share my step-by-step process that will help you makeover your meal planning so that you achieve these objectives of both feasting and frugality.

You’ll have two different dates to choose from, and replays will be available if you can’t make the live times.

Ready to get started?

The workshop is available a la carte.

Register here: https://fishmama.com/meal-plan-makeover/