The busier you are, the more important it becomes to focus on meal planning; otherwise, it can be easy to fall prey to less healthy choices.
Your best plan for success? A plan! Meal planning keeps you and your family well fed all week, with your health the top priority.
Here are just a few benefits of meal planning:
- It promotes health. A focus on good nutrition throughout the week helps you stay in control, especially on hectic days, when you need it most.
- It saves time. Meal planning takes just a few minutes each week, and it reduces last-minute trips to the store and last-minute decisions when you’re already hungry.
- It saves money. Running back and forth to the store consumes more than time. Following your plan allows you to take advantage of specials and keeps you from getting things you don’t need—things that may spoil if you don’t get to use them in time.
- It reduces stress. Having to come up with a healthy solution on the spot is stressful. Planning ditches the anxiety.
- It adds variety.Planning allows you to try recipes you’ve always wanted to try, which lets you make use of ingredients you don’t have on hand regularly.
Don’t know where to begin? Start your meal planning with these three simple steps:
Step 1: Visualize the week ahead. What’s going on this week? Do you have special events or activities that center around food? Will you be on the run at mealtime? Jot down some notes.
Step 2: Plan your meals. On days when you have more time, choose meals that take a little longer to prepare, but double up, so you can either freeze some or eat leftovers on the busy nights—or, even better, both!
Step 3: Make a grocery list, and go shopping. As you plan, keep a list of what you’ll need to make each meal. While you’re shopping, stock up on healthy staples, such as fresh vegetables.
With these tips, you’ll be ready to take on meal planning for the rest of the winter season, and as you transition into the Spring!
Have questions? Ask me, about other ways to plan your daily meals!