Planning meals has been proven to help you in your health journey. It's right up there with stepping on the scale if your goal is weight loss. On top of that there are other side benefits that you'll love. Meal planning saves time, relieves stress, and keeps money in your wallet. And yet, it stills feels like the one thing that holds us back. Let's look at meal planning with a slightly different twist.
Let's do an experiment to see how you succeed with this version of meal planning.
1. List out all the dinner meals you and your family enjoy eating during this time of year. That list will probably be a bit different in the Summer vs. the Fall vs. the cold of Winter. How many did you get? Aim for at least 10 different dinner meals. Remember some of these might be the quick options like picking up a rotisserie chicken while others are all day cooking affairs like homemade spaghetti sauce.
2. Do you have on hand all the items to make these meals? Check your cupboards, freezer, and fridge. Some items can be kept, like canned goods, all year round; others are best fresh so you'll have to purchase those items. But then others can be pulled from the freezer when you need them.
3. Look at your schedule. See what is coming up that might pull you away from making a meal or that might require a meal that is very quick to make. I leave cans of tuna in my cupboard because when fast and speedy is required, I can quickly put tuna on a salad or cook up some tuna patties. If you will be away from home one night, you'll end up with more options to chose from on the other evenings.
4. Again take a peak at your schedule, this time looking for those times when you might be able to spend more time in your kitchen than usual. I often can do this on Sundays. Its during this time, I prep what I can for other meals, but I can also make a dish that takes more time than I usually have to prepare dinner.
5. With your favorite dinner meal ideas in one hand and the list of items you need to make these meals in another, head off to the store.
6. Now when it comes time for your next dinner, you've got options to choose from.
Did you know Coach Dean came up with an entire guide to Meal Planning. It covers everything. You should check it out here.
To Your Best Health,
Coach Nancy