Planning your meals can make a huge impact when you’re trying to stick to a new diet. It’s tempting to go for quick, convenient food or eat out when hunger strikes and nothing’s ready. With a little forethought, though, you can avoid the rush and stick to healthier choices.
Including your kids in meal planning can make them more excited about what you’re cooking and more open to trying new things. While my family uses a specific program for meal planning, you can easily create your own system by following some simple steps.
No matter how experienced you are with healthy eating, taking just 30 minutes each week to plan meals can greatly benefit your family. Some advantages of meal planning include:
– Saving money, especially during tight times. Once, when we were financially strained due to unexpected surgery costs and job loss, meal planning allowed us to maintain a nutritious diet without breaking the bank.
– Ensuring you’re eating nutrient-rich foods, which requires some forward-thinking. Knowing what meals you’ll have each week helps you buy only healthy ingredients and reduces waste.
– Easing stress by removing the daily “what’s for dinner?” scramble. Having a plan in place can give you more mental space for other important tasks.
– Saving time by cooking in bulk and freezing meals for future use. This is especially handy during busy days with slow cookers or Instant Pots, which allow for easy morning meal prep.
Though meal planning might seem dull, it’s actually a great way to introduce variety into your diet and avoid repetition. A varied diet supports your health better and exposes you to different nutrients.
Starting meal planning is simple if you keep these strategies in mind:
– Create a template for the foods you like to cook each week. For instance, plan a couple of beef and chicken meals, a fish dish, and a couple of meals with pork or eggs.
– Identify family favorites to form a rotation of about 20 go-to recipes, mixing in new ones occasionally. This not only keeps things exciting but also lets you take advantage of seasonal produce, which can save money.
– Use less expensive cuts of meat creatively. Add more vegetables to dishes like stir-fries and casseroles to stretch the meat and consider using crockpots or pressure cookers to tenderize tougher cuts.
– Spice foods differently to transform the flavors. This can make a simple recipe like a stir-fry taste entirely new.
– Discover cuisines from around the world. Even if you can’t travel, experimenting with international flavors can make meals more enjoyable and diversify your family’s palate.
If you want to avoid raising picky eaters, ensure they have a variety of healthy foods from the start. In our house, we don’t cater to food preferences, and my toddler enjoys a range of foods. Our two simple rules help maintain this:
1. Try everything on the plate.
2. No separate meals for kids.
Reusing leftovers creatively for breakfast and lunch, and planning snacks help maximize meal planning efficiency. Make extra portions for quick lunches or use leftovers creatively.
I now use an app to streamline meal planning and list-making, but organizing your shopping list can be just as effective. Collect recipes using seasonal produce and organize them with matching shopping lists based on your grocery store’s layout.
To make cooking and shopping simpler, I jot down recipes on index cards and list ingredients per person. This helps easily adjust quantities for different occasions.
Eating seasonally boosts nutrient intake and saves money. Foods in season are often fresher and healthier. Focus on seasonal vegetables like cabbage and zucchinis to plan diverse meals for each season.
For example, a typical weekly meal plan might look like this:
– Monday: Stuffed Chicken Breast with cauliflower and salad
– Tuesday: Tacos with Romaine Lettuce
– Wednesday: Honey Glazed Pork Chops with veggies
– Thursday: Butter Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
– Friday: Bacon Rolled Salmon Patties
– Saturday: Sausage Stuffed Winter Squash
– Sunday: Leftover Chicken Vegetable Soup
Plan your shopping by doubling or adjusting the list for your family size, and shop for meats and seafood from trusted sources.
Snack ideas include nuts, eggs, avocado, tuna, apples, and cheeses.
Finally, creating homemade salad dressings can save money and boost healthy fat intake.
Don’t let meal planning overwhelm you, especially during busier months. Use it to save time and focus on more enjoyable activities like summer fun or seasonal festivities!
