I’m not a nutritionist, but I do know that eating healthy makes me feel good. Dealing with chronic illness has made me think more about what I’m putting into my body and how it affects my energy and health. Unfortunately, too often, finding the time to organize and cook meals can be a hassle and doesn’t fit into my schedule. Meal planning has helped me focus on when and what I’m eating in hopes that it will continue to boost my health.
What is Meal Planning & Why is it Important?
Meal planning is a great way to take control of your eating habits and ensure that you are getting the nutrition you need. It involves deciding what meals to cook for the week ahead and making sure that you have all the ingredients on hand. Meal planning can help you save time, money, and stay healthy by ensuring that your meals are balanced and nutritious. With a little bit of creativity and organization, meal planning can make healthy eating easier than ever before.
How to Prepare for a Successful Meal Plan
Meal planning is an important part of managing your food budget and making sure you are eating healthy. Preparing a successful meal plan can help you save time and money while ensuring that you have nutritious meals throughout the week.
Building a successful and efficient meal plan includes creating a grocery shopping list, budgeting for food, and finding recipes that fit within your budget. With these tips in mind, you can easily create a meal plan that works for your lifestyle and dietary needs.
Creating an Effective Meal Plan for the Week
Creating a weekly meal plan can be overwhelming, but with the right steps and tips, it can be done quickly and easily. Let’s look at how to create an effective meal plan for the week using meal planning ideas, meal planning apps, and other helpful resources.
Find a Planning Tool to Keep Organized
Paprika has to be my favorite app for meal planning and preparation. Store all your recipes, search a long list of popular sites for new recipes to add, keep track of your pantry items, plan meals, and add all the needed ingredients to you shopping list instantly.
I get to the store and know exactly what I need, how much, and what aisle I can find that item in. It’s easy to import recipes with photos and notes so you can keep track of what everyone likes, and share you recipes with your family or friends if you find a gem.
Mealime is another popular app that offers healthy recipes, grocery lists, and more. Have eating restrictions? The app lets you filter by popular meal types to fit your limitations and prioritizes meals that are quick and easy without long lists of ingredients.
Need to plan lunches for the little ones? LaLa Lunchbox turns meal planning into a game and gets the kids involved in making healthy food choices.
Cozi is a complete family organizer that tracks everyone’s activities, appointments, to-dos, shopping, and meal planning. Add your recipes to your calendar so you know what is coming up in the kitchen. Transfer your recipes into your shopping list and share it with the family if you can’t make it to the store yourself.
Plan Meals that Fit Into Your Schedule
First, consider how much time you have to cook on a daily basis. If you don’t have a lot of time, then it’s best to keep basic ingredients around and plan meals that don’t require too much prep work or cooking time. You can also pack easy lunches for school or work a few days ahead of time so that you don’t have to worry about making something that morning or during the day.
Second, consider how much time it takes to prepare meals from scratch. Instead of making pasta sauce from scratch, try a store bought jar to save some time. If a recipe doesn’t require a lot of work, then it may be worth the time investment if you really like the flavor of the dish or you have a craving for it – and sometimes you need that feel good vibe.
Third, plan for meals based on long your recipes keep as leftovers. Some dishes can last in your fridge or freezer for days. If you make a little extra one day, throw it in the freezer so you don’t have to think about cooking a meal from square one on a busy work night.
Think Ahead and Shop Efficiently
Grocery shopping is a pain and it is getting even more expensive. Plan for meals that are efficient in time and ingredients to save a little time and money at the market.
If you plan your meals a week at a time, you’ll make fewer trips to the store and know exactly what you need when you get there. Save yourself one day for a splurge or last-minute decision if you see something in-season or on sale when you’re at the store and make sure you’re restocking your pantry staples if you need to throw something together last minute.
Make Food Early or in Bulk to Save Time
I’ve done this for years and it helps me save a ton of time. I will buy a full rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and divvy it up into a variety of meals for the week. Salads, pasta, tacos.. whatever I was craving and it saved me from having to figure out how to cook or smoke one myself.
Consider making double batches of meat, vegetables, or sauces and keep them in the freezer for another night when you can’t dedicate the time. Buy your fruits, spinach, or whatever you like in your morning smoothie in bulk. When you get home from the store, separate the ingredients into small bags and stack them in the freezer. In the morning, grab a bag, add a bag to your yogurt or water in a blender and it’s a quick and easy breakfast.
A little bit of planning ahead can save you a lot of time throughout the week.
Start Your Weekly Meal Plan to Enjoy a Healthier Lifestyle
Meal planning is an invaluable tool for busy families and individuals who want to make sure that their meals are healthy, nutritious, and tasty. It can save time and money, and it can also help to reduce food waste. With a little planning, you can make sure that your meals are nutritious, delicious, and cost-effective. So next time you’re feeling overwhelmed in the kitchen, try out meal planning. You just might be surprised how much easier it can make your life!
