Meal Planning

Possibly the most important part of eating healthy is having a plan. Having a plan cuts down on trips to the grocery store, allows you to buy stuff when it's cheap, and prevents the, "Oh no, what's for dinner tonight?" syndrome. There are many valid ways to plan meals, but I will share two that work for me. The first one I will call the one month calendar method. The first step here is to just keep track of the meals you eat for several weeks. After you have a collection of meals you have used, print a blank calendar and insert those meals into a slot. Try to balance the choices throughout the week. If you love to try new recipes, leave a day each week blank for a new recipe. If you eat out regularly, also leave those days blank. Once you have a complete month of meals, you can make your shopping list. I like to shop for a whole month at a cheap grocery store, where I get everything for the first week, and all of the non-perishables for the whole month. For the rest of the month, you just have to check that week's meals and get the fresh stuff at a more convenient grocery store. I go to the local store every week except the week I go to the cheap store for my month's supply.

Meal planning version 2 is a bit simpler. Basically you just cut out the calendar step. You plan one week at a time. It is helpful to plan your meals with your updated family calendar handy. If you have a busy afternoon, maybe you need a crock-pot meal for that day. Or a meal that you can assemble earlier in the day and just put into the oven just before dinner time. It is also smart to have your store's weekly circular handy so you can plan meals that take advantage of the store's specials. I just take a piece of scratch paper and fold it in half. on one side, I put the selected meals for the week. On the other side, I make my shopping list (roughly organized in the order of the store isles where I shop). I gather the recipes first then go through them one at a time. For each item in the recipe, I don't do anything if I know I have it. If I know I don't have it, I add it to my list. If I'm not sure, I put it on the side with the meals, at the bottom. Once my list it done, I go and check for the items I wasn't sure about. If I already have it, I cross it off. If I need it, I add it to the other side of the paper with the rest of the grocery list.

It's fun to ask family members if they have any requests for the week. If kids are old enough to cook, you can involve them in this process. Have them plan and prepare one meal regularly. This will teach them meal planning skills as well as how to prepare some of their favorite meals.