Meal planning?
“Really, Eva. I don’t need ONE more thing to do!”
Yes, I can hear you say that! But hear me out. I promise you by the time you finish reading this post, you’ll feel differently about this magical activity.
Yes, that’s what meal planning can be: magical!
Top 5 Reasons to Plan Your Meals
1. Menu Planning Saves You Time
What may seem to take time to do actually ends up saving you time.
Imagine knowing exactly what to make for dinner every.single.evening without spending 20 minutes looking in the refrigerator, another 20-25 minutes to make a store run, and then, finally getting to make dinner.
Feels awesome, doesn’t it?
Planning your meals means that you won’t only know what to cook, you’ll also have everything you need handy and so all you need to do is whip things up and voila, 30 minutes and dinner is done! Bliss.
Not only that, once you’ve gotten a healthy stash of weekly menu plans, you can always recycle them. So, if you’re like me, save your menu plans on a clipboard and then just rotate them.
2. Planning Your Meals Saves You Money
Knowing what you will be cooking every week means you are a smarter, savvier shopper and don’t just pick things at random. You are intentional and as a result, only get what you need.
In fact, you can plan your meals looking at the week’s deals too and save a lot more too! Menu planning also saves money by helping you to plan your meals around the availability of seasonal produce.
3. Meal Plans Mean You Eat Better
Knowing what to make every evening and if you’re like me, go all out and plan all 3 meals, means that you eat better too. You don’t need to order in takeaway or eat ready-to-eat, unless of course, that’s what you want.
You eat meals that you’ve planned, keeping in mind your family’s nutritional needs, and THAT is huge!!
4. Menu Planning Adds Variety to Your Meals
Menu planning spices up your meals! Really. You can have special days when you cook a different cuisine or just a new dish every week. It will help you add to your regular repertoire and really, who doesn’t love the excitement of trying something new.
5. A Planned Meal is a Peaceful One
If mealtimes at your home look like anything like mine {before I started menu planning}, I trust they leave you more stressed than blessed.
Menu planning takes away that stress so you can focus on connections, conversations and community. Whether it is inviting a neighbour over for a bite or chatting with your kids about their day, you can do it all with ease because you don’t have to think “what to cook!!”
So, are you planning your meals? What’s holding you back?
I’m going to have to check out those sites!I love to plan meals, and have done so for about 10 years. This last month, however, I’ve been BAD. I just told a feirnd a day or two ago that I need to get back to it!A couple of things I’ve been doing recently is buying a large amount of meat at one time, (chicken or ground beef) and cooking it all at once. I let it cool and then freeze it in individual baggies. At dinner time, all I have to do is heat it up with some veggies, and/or rice and its done. This works great for spaghetti,chili or tacos, etc. Probably doesn’t help you, since you don’t eat a lot of meat, though! ;)Our dietician had a few recommendations, since we are basically down to meat, veggies and fruits: She suggested making LARGE portions at dinner to reheat for lunch the next day. This weekend I did that, and our chicken and veggies with rice one night turned into 3 meals…by the end I used it in soft tacos with blue corn tortilla chips and salsa on the side. Another recommendation she had was to make up large veggie trays in advance and stick them in the fridge, so that they are ready when you need them for meals, or snacks.LOVE my CP for breakfasts, need to figure out some GF recipes for that!