Eating healthy meals through out the week can be tough. Especially with work, events, school, kids, activities, sports, the list Goes On And On!!! The best solution that I have found is Meal Planning. There are many great benefits to planning out your meals.
1. Serve your family a whole food diet. No scrambling at the last minute to choose processed foods or swing through a drive thru
2. Save money by planning based on sales at the grocery store
3. Everything on hand to make all the meals easy
4. Let kids get involved with choosing from your list of meals. Plan together as a family and create the meals together. This also teaches kids how to plan healthy meals for their future and what healthy foods to choose when shopping.
5. Less food waste
6. Less stressful cooking, eat on time and as a family.
Before heading to the store there are some Must’s that you do! Check your food inventory. Take a quick over view of what you have in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Select your meals. Check out your recipe box, pinterest boards, blogs, and good old fashion hand written recipe book for your meals that you want to have. Make sections for yourself for Crock Pot Meals, Quick Meals for those busy nights, Left Over Night for the evenings that you are on the go, ect. Prep your shopping list. Make a spread sheet of your week and each meal. This way you have every item listed and there will be nothing left out when shopping.
After shopping and unloading all of your yummy healthy ingredients, I love to prep all of my veggies and fruits. I take each one and rinse, clean, and store in a glass container. This way everything is ready to use and takes away that extra step when preparing meals or need a quick healthy snack on the go!
Hope these tips help you and your family with eating healthy and staying on track with your health goals!
