Meal Planning 101
Planning out what meals you are going to cook and eat for the week is a great way to decrease the stress, time, and burden it takes to decide what to make.
Meal planning isn’t the same as a meal plan. A meal plan is a fixed template that tells you what to eat. We know for most people, meal plans just don’t work - after a while, they become boring, restrictive, as they include little variety and personalization. Meal planning is different, deciding in advance what meals to make for the week - taking into consideration preferences, schedules, foods already at home, what’s in season, on sale and your health goals.
Benefits of meal planning: How could meal planning benefit you and your household?
- Less stress about what to make for dinner, decreased ‘decision fatigue’.
- Decreased reliance and spending on takeout, fast food.
- More balanced meals.
- Fewer trips to the grocery store for last minute items. Meal planning leads to grocery shopping about once a week for only the items needed.
- Budget friendly - planning meals in advance can significantly reduce food bills.
- Less food waste.
- More variety in meals, learning new cooking techniques, trying new foods, and more enjoyment!
Guide to meal planning
Decide what you have already
Take a look through your fridge, freezer, and pantry and decide what you want to use up. Have some wilting greens? Maybe they can be made into a pesto sauce. Have a few cans of beans? Those could make a really great chilli.
Look at your schedules
If there are appointments or extracurricular activities scheduled on some days, plan to have leftovers ready so that you don’t have to cook. To ensure you have leftovers, you can double the size of certain recipes, or even triple them!
Decide what you’re making
Based on available ingredients, schedules, and personal preferences, decide what to make this week, and add them to your meal plan schedule. If you’re stuck on what to make, Pinterest, food blogs, and the Constant Health Recipe tab have some great ideas! If you have some ideas in mind that you’re not able to make this week, keep track of them to have some options for weeks to come.
Make your grocery list
Add a list of the groceries you need to purchase to your meal plan template. Try adding groceries based on the area of the grocery store they are found in (eg. produce, frozen goods), this can make it easier to check off items as you shop.
Tips for meal planning
Figure out the ideal planning time
When would be the best time for you to meal plan? For many folks, a weekend day is best. Set aside some time to think about schedules for the next week, and what foods you would like to prepare, how much time you or others have to cook. Consistency is key with meal planning, so having a set planning time could make it easier to form this new habit!
Learning new skills
If you’re new to cooking and are unsure how to do a certain technique (eg. dicing an onion, cooking meat) an online video can be helpful! Some recipe websites have step-by-step videos you can watch, and there’s also some great tutorials on YouTube!
Small steps
When first meal planning, start small! There is no need to make complicated, Michelin star restaurant meals. Start off by planning a couple of meals a week and build from there. Getting into the habit of meal planning, and following through with the plan is what’s really key!
Budget friendly meal planning
Before meal planning, check your grocery store’s flyer or online websites/apps for deals and coupons. Plan meals according to what’s in season - these food items are usually cheaper. Frozen options for fruits and vegetables can also save you money - and prevent food waste if you only need a small portion for a recipe. Swapping a few meat-based meals for plant-based recipes using canned or dry beans/lentils can also be a money saver!
Feel free to use our attached meal planning template below to help plan out what meals and snacks to make. The filled in example could also give you a better idea of how to use a meal planning template. You don’t have to use each meal/snack column. Base it on your preferences and what you would prefer to plan out. If you'd like to experiment with meal planning, please let your Constant Health dietitian know. Best of luck meal planning!
