Your Guide to Healthy Meal Planning: Tips and Benefits
You've likely heard the words "meal planning" over and over. But what exactly is meal planning, and why is it so beneficial? Simply put, meal planning entails choosing your meals (and snacks for some of us) ahead of time, purchasing only the necessary ingredients for those meals and snacks, and preparing those planned meals on days chosen. As a mother and a dietitian, this systematic approach has not only helped me nourish my family well while following a grocery budget, it has also helped revive my joy of cooking and not dread the time I have to make dinner. Let's dive into the many advantages of meal planning and I will provide a brief step-by-step guide on how to incorporate meal planning into your weekly routine.
Why Meal Planning is Important
1. Boosts Your Health: Meal planning is a fantastic tool to use to seek optimal health. By planning your meals and snacks ahead of time, you ensure that your diet is rich in diverse, nutritious foods, and less filled with processed foods. This intentional approach allows you to focus on foods that support your health goals, whether that’s increasing protein intake, increasing vegetable intake, incorporating more fiber, trying new foods, or balancing vitamins and minerals.
2. Eases Your Mind: As a busy stay at home mother and small business owner, deciding what to eat several times a day is mentally exhausting. Meal planning removes this daily decision-making stress, freeing up mental space and reducing the temptation to opt for less nutritious, quick-fix meals and snacks. By planning my weekly meals ahead of time, I only need to ask myself, "what should I make?" one time a week rather than every day. This helps me enjoy cooking more because I haven't had to search the kitchen for what I can make. I have all the ingredients I need on hand, and I don't have to brainstorm a meal with whatever I can find when I'm tired from the day's demands.
3. Saves Money: Financial benefits are one of the most tangible perks of meal planning! When you plan your meals, you buy only what you need, reducing both impulse purchases and food waste. Sometimes packages of different foods are more than what we need for one recipe, so meal planning helps you plan meals where you use similar ingredients for different meals. Take it the next step and try out grocery pick up. Then you know exactly what it will cost before you buy and you can adjust your meals based on your budget goals.
4. Helps You try New Things: When you plan your meals according to your week, you can take advantage of your less busy days to try a new recipe. This helps prevent burn out since you are trying new and exciting recipes. It also helps you expand your cooking skills!
5. Encourages Home Cooking: Meal planning generally involves cooking at home, which can be healthier and less expensive than eating out. Homemade meals can be tailored to include more beneficial nutrients than restaurant meals or prepackaged foods.
6 Helps with Portion Control: Planning your meals helps control portion sizes, which is key in maintaining our health. Knowing exactly what and how much you are going to eat prevents overeating, which is common when you make spur-of-the-moment food choices or eat out.
How to Plan Your Meals
Step 1: Assess Your Schedule: Look at your week ahead. Identify the days when you’ll have time to cook in the evening and the days when you’ll need something quick like a slow cooker meal. Planning according to your schedule prevents the pitfall of ambitious meals on busy days, which can lead to dining out.
Step 2: Choose Your Meals: With your health goals in mind, select recipes that fit into the fabric of your week. To make lunches easy, plan meals that you can have left overs for lunch the next day. Or have sandwich / easy lunch options on hand and have meal leftovers the next night to decrease cooking in your week. Some recipes make large batches so a leftover day might even be necessary to clear out the fridge (depending on the size of your family of course). Rotate style of meals to help add variety to your week.
Step 3: Make a Shopping List: Once your meals are picked, list out all the ingredients needed. Check your pantry and fridge to cross off items you already have, then organize your list by the structure that makes the most sense to you such as grocery store sections (produce, dairy, meats, etc.) or the route of the store you typically take. This will make your shopping trip quicker, more efficient, and less daunting.
Step 4: Prep in Advance: Meal prep can range from fully preparing dishes to simply chopping veggies or marinating proteins. Find the level of prep that works for you. Even small steps can save a lot of time during the week. This step is an optional step and some weeks you may not need it.
Step 5: Stick to the Plan: Put your meal plan on the fridge, in a planner, on your phone calendar, or use a meal planning app to keep track of what you’re eating each day. This visibility helps keep you accountable and ensures you stick to your health and budget goals.
Meal planning might seem daunting at first, but once integrated into your lifestyle, it becomes a fairly simple and rewarding habit. It not only brings a plethora of health and financial benefits but also introduces a new layer of ease and enjoyment to eating. Start small, be consistent, and watch as meal planning makes a profound impact on your life.
Incorporating meal planning into your weekly routine can be transformative. Give it a try, and revel in the positive changes it brings to both your health and your finances.
