By: Melanie Thompson
Do you find yourself standing at the refrigerator at 6:00 p.m. some nights hoping that ingredients will magically appear and turn themselves into a meal for you and your family? Maybe you find yourself zipping through a fast food drive-thru far too frequently to pick up food for supper. Meal planning can really make a difference in how your week flows.
Meal planning can be simple or complex, but it is best to start simple. There are many menu planners that you can print for free online (here is an example: http://organizedhome.com/sites/default/files/image/pdf/food_menu_planner_weekly.pdf), but you could just as easily write out what you plan to eat on a piece of notebook paper and put that on your refrigerator. I usually do my menu planning for the next week on Sunday; my kids are almost always willing to throw out ideas, and sometimes, they even have great ideas. I generally just plan out my main dish and leave the sides to whatever is lurking in the pantry and refrigerator, but you can easily write down the side dishes you want to have with your meals, as well. Make sure to leave a meal open every once in awhile for leftovers, too.
One of the best things I added to my meal planning was to write down a fruit and/or vegetable for each meal that my kids will eat. The USDA uses MyPlate to help people make balanced meals. Using the https://www.choosemyplate.gov/ website, you can easily add necessary parts to your meals to make them more balanced. But just taking the time to plan out the meal isn’t enough.
It is important that you post your meal plan in a place that you will be able to see it on a regular basis. My meal planner is on my refrigerator. I can look at the planner a day or two in advance and make sure I have thawed meat or needed ingredients on hand when it’s time to make the meal.
Since this is National Public Health Week, how about making the commitment to meal planning for the remainder of the week. A little bit of planning can save you time and money; what are you waiting for?