Having a meal plan means that you can go more on autopilot – the thinking and planning has already been done and you should have the right ingredients and time to create the meal you need to.
1 – More organised meal times!
There’s nothing more frustrating than opening all the kitchen cupboards to see what you have – waiting for inspiration to hit as to what to cook – only nothing stands out!
Time you spend thinking about what to cook could actually have been spent cooking meal and getting it done so that you can spend more time afterwards doing something else that you want to do.
Having a meal plan means that you can go more on autopilot – the thinking and planning has already been done and you should have the right ingredients and time to create the meal you need to.
2 – Less bad choices
Having no clear plan for meals often leads us to make bad choices with what we eat.
Takeaways or ready meals seem to be a quicker option and can easily become habits if we’re not careful, and actually there are many meals that are just as quick and easy but a lot healthier for you that can be made in the same amount of time.
Meal planning removes the need to make a choice when you’re hungry and/or tired, and planning up front with a clear head means you are more likely to try and plan healthier foods most of the time.
3 – More balance
Meal planning means you are more likely to be able to create a more balanced week of food as you are thinking about it up front and can see any repetitions before they actually happen.
Even though each meal you eat may be really healthy, if you only look at one meal at a time (which will happen if you don’t meal plan), then you can all too easily lose sight of the bigger picture and create a less balanced diet as a result.
4 – More variety
Seeing what you are eating for the next week/month written down can alert you to any patterns of bad habits you may want to change, and often can give you the push to try new things or change things round a little more often, which can only be a good thing!
5 – Less food waste and more money saved
If you can create meal plans that use food wisely (what you already have, leftovers, freezing batches of food etc…) then you will start to see a natural reduction in how much food you waste.
Buying only what you need for your meals that are already planned out, and not being swayed by bulk special offers, can avoid throwing out lots of food you haven’t been able to eat in time (before the expiry date) – which will also save money over time.
Top tip!
Encourage the whole family to get involved in the planning and preparation of weekly meals.