Meal planning is a useful tool for reducing stress in the kitchen. Choosing what to eat ahead of time makes mealtime a breeze, frees up space in the kitchen, and can save you money! Here are some great reasons to plan your meals.
The witching hour
If you have young kids, or have ever had young kids, you know what this means. You’re tired, they’re tired, and everybody is hungry.
With everyone stressed out, it’s hard to make good decisions, and you may find yourself in a drive-thru. But if you decide what to eat before the witching hour, you won’t have to make choices when you’re tired.
Eating healthy
I’m sure you’ve heard the advice, “Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry.” Shopping when you’re hungry leads to poor dietary choices, just like trying to decide what to eat when you and the kids are tired. If you choose foods when you’re not hungry, it’s easier to choose healthy foods.
Planning nutritious meals in advance takes the guesswork out of eating for the rest of the week. Stock your pantry and fridge with the food you need, so you have healthy choices close at hand.
Reduce trips to the grocery store
If you know what you’re eating for the week, one weekly trip to the store suffices! Going into the grocery store with a list of what you need will save you time and money. Stores make it easy to grab impulse purchases like soft drinks and candy, but with a list in hand, you’re more likely to bypass the snacks.
Write your list before you get to the store, and make sure to check your fridge and pantry so you don’t double up on supplies.
Let everyone have their say
In our household of 4, we take turns choosing what to eat. By planning a month at a time, we’re able to give everyone a turn.
This also cuts down on complaints, because even if tonight isn’t someone’s favorite, they know their turn is coming soon.
So, why plan meals?
Meal planning saves you time and money, encourages healthy eating, and helps keep your kitchen organized! An organized kitchen impacts life far beyond just the space. It impacts the nutrition your family receives and impacts the emotional well-being of everyone in the house. Maintaining your kitchen as a space of cleanliness as well as a place of happy creativity that feeds your family makes it a wonderful place to be, and to nurture your family and friends.
I will admit that I’ve never been much of a meal planner. But I do usually keep the food on hand that we like to assemble meals easily. We eat a lot of raw vegetables, fruits, proteins, and some dairy. My favorite time of year is now when my husband grills food. That with a nice salad makes for a great meal.
Thanks, Linda! Anything that makes mealtime less stressful is a great choice.
Definitely good advice — which I will never follow. 😉 I’m organized in almost every area of my life, but I don’t cook, I’m persnickety about food, and I’ve never understood how anyone can know on Tuesday what they might want for dinner on Friday when I couldn’t tell you at five to 6 p.m. what I will want five minutes hence! (This is how I end up eating a lot of take-out sushi and big salads.) Nonetheless, I think everyone would be better off following your advice for combatting hunger, hunger-pain crankiness, and impulse shopping.
Julie, maybe your meal plan is not to meal plan! Everyone is different, and it’s good to know what works for you–and what doesn’t.
I love to cook, and I’m definitely a meal planner/prepper. It saves me having to think about what to eat and we waste a lot less food. These are great tips!
Thanks Melanie!
I’m a meal planner in terms of trying to make sure I have the components of a meal on hand and ready to use. I learned early on that freezing packs of meat might be frugal but organizing things so that block of ice was ready to use was another thing. Now I freeze cooked meat in portion sizes so i can grab what I need for tomorrow and know it’s going to be ready!
Freezing cooked portions is a great idea, Lucy!