Meal planning may take a little extra time up front, but in the end it's worth it . . .
It's hard planning meals for the week. It seems easier to walk through the store until you find something to cook for dinner. However, at the end of the day more time is spent taking extra trips to the grocery store and having to cook dinner every night. With a plan in place you will be able to shop and cook fewer times during the week.
“With a meal plan in place, it is possible to shop and cook fewer times during the week.”
The Master Plan
Check your calendar and decide how many meals you'll need to cook. Take into account leftovers so that you aren't cooking every day of the week. When deciding the types of meals, think about using similar ingredients to create different entrees. For example, ground beef could make you tacos on Tuesday and spaghetti on Friday. This will help you during the cooking process as we explain later in this post. Now it's time to make a grocery list of items you need. The list will save you time and expedite the shopping process so that you don't end up wandering around the store.
Cook it up
When cooking during the week, consolidate the process buy preparing all the like items at once. So if you make ground beef tacos and spaghetti in one week, you can cook all of the beef on taco Tuesday. Then store half of it in the refrigerator until Friday when you make spaghetti. This saves you time on Friday and you can skip browning the meat. Just warm it up in the marinara sauce!
We know that the meal planning process is challenging. If you aren't able to create a plan yourself, Woodlands Family Nutrition does offer a monthly meal planning service at an affordable price.
Disclaimer: Woodlands Family Nutrition is an online nutrition practice that serves The Woodlands, Texas and surrounding Montgomery County area (Conroe, Montgomery, Spring, Willis). This practice provides nutrition therapy virtually via telehealth. All information presented and written within woodlandsfamilynutrition.com are intended for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other health-care professional.