Meal planning sounds like it’s something that could be overwhelming. Maybe you are interested in learning more about it but just don’t know where to start.
You may be wondering what meal planning is and how you can make it part of your life. This post will give you nine tips on how to get started on your meal planning adventure.
Meal planning is when you sit down and decide beforehand what you will be making for you and your family for a specific meal. Usually, you decide on a certain meal for a specific timeframe. Meal planning has many benefits and is an opportunity for you to take control of the food choices you make for yourselves and others in your household.
The adventure begins when you start the process of meal planning. Essentially, you are in the driver’s seat when it comes to what will end up at your family’s table. When you create your own meals, you choose the ingredients for a recipe. Meal planning is one way you can express your creativity while taking care of yourself and your family.
Set aside time to search for recipes. There are so many resources available to find a recipe we would like to try. There are options like cookbooks, websites that are dedicated places to find recipes, YouTube channels or even Food Network. Maybe it is a recipe you have created before. Pick two or three recipes you would like to feed your family this week. Be sure to consider whether or not there will be leftovers from what you make. This can give you the opportunity to decide if you are going to use leftovers for dinner, have them for lunch the next day or repackage them in a whole new recipe later in the week.
Check your pantry. The pantry is one of my favorite places to store foods with a long shelf life that can be available at the drop of a dime. Things like dried pasta, dried rice, canned vegetables or even chicken or beef stock. These are great items that are wonderful starting points to help you make a healthy recipe without having to put too much work into cooking a meal.
Look for sales at the grocery store. If you are someone who shops at the grocery store, it is a great idea to check out sales flyers routinely. A lot of grocery stores have certain items available on a sale rotation schedule. You can stock up on foods that have a long shelf life and save money at the same time.
Make a grocery list. Once you have figured out what you need for your recipes, sit down and make a grocery list. If you can, also make sure to keep your pantry well stocked so that you can have the basics readily available for your favorite meals.
Calendar each meal. Using a calendar or whiteboard are great ways to plan out meals for a given timeframe. If you are making one, two, or three meals in a day, like during the summertime or winter vacations if you have kids, then that is a great time to write out your food plan. Calendaring meals also helps after you have bought the groceries. You will know in plenty of time what needs to be defrosted so it can be ready to be prepared before it is time to cook.
Set aside time for shopping. Whether you are shopping online, using a delivery service or if you are still going to the actual brick and mortar store to make buy your groceries, it is always an important to carve out time in your schedule for the actual shopping. Even if you are using a grocery delivery service to accomplish your grocery shopping, it is a good tip to be vigilant of your shopper’s activity when they are choosing the groceries if they need to communicate with you about items that are not available or need to be substituted.
Create the recipe. The fun part comes when it is time to create your recipe. Make sure that you have all your ingredients out and that you have the proper utensils necessary to create your meal. Having everything ready to go before you start cooking gives you an opportunity to pay attention to what is going on at the stove. It is also a great safety measure to implement into your cooking routine so you can be ready for anything.
Enjoy the meal. An important part of healthy eating is to sit down and enjoy your meal. Whether you are dining alone, with friends or with your family, it is always a good idea to be able to sit down and take your time to eat your meal. Enjoy what you have created.
Store leftovers at the right temperature. Storing leftovers at the right temperature is important to avoid the food from spoiling or you from getting sick as the result of eating food that was not properly handled. Follow the guidelines set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for best results to make sure you will be able to reuse whatever food was not finished the first time you sat down for the meal.
Once you get in the habit of following these steps, meal planning will become second nature to you. You may want to start small until you can figure out how many meals you need to create during a specific period. Then you can expand the planning to last throughout the month. Once you create a routine that works for you, you can mix up your menus as they fit your schedule. Taking the time to eliminate the guesswork of what you will be feeding your family will give you the freedom to get other things done throughout the day.
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