Many homemakers consider meal planning to be just another chore that weighs on their “to-do” list. But the truth is, this chore should be top priority. And in this post you will learn why I say that.
But first, tell me something – Isn’t it frustrating to wake up in the morning not knowing what to cook for the day?!
Imagine this:
The alarm buzzes and you wake up ready to face the new day. You freshen up, enjoy some me time and walk into your clean and tidy kitchen. Your day has been off to a perfect start and you feel elated. You put on the kettle and are all set to make breakfast for the family. And then, boom… one question throws your entire day off track – What do I cook for today?
What do I cook for today? – This one question plagues most homemakers and moms every morning! CLICK TO TWEET
One of the many struggles of a homemaker is preparing quick, healthy meals for the family, on a budget. And yes, they’ve got to be delicious and exciting too!
Ever since I got married, I would wake up every morning with this question running through my head. And that was enough to throw my entire day off track!
But, all this ended once I turned to meal planning. And let me tell you – Meal Planning isn’t as hard or complicated as I thought it would be! Planning my meals saves me time, money and most importantly – my sanity! In fact, I even created My very own Meal Planner – GLAMPS – to help me plan my meals and grocery shopping! But more about that later.
For now, let me tell you why you too should be planning your meals.
here are 7 reasons why you should start practicing meal planning right away.
1. Meal Planning saves time
No matter what your circumstances are, meal planning will save you a lot of time.
Do you ever spend hours searching for recipes while you could/should have actually been cooking?
When you plan in advance, you do that research in your free time. So when it’s time to cook, you already know what to make and have all the ingredients ready at hand. You no longer need to run around the kitchen wondering what to cook or run to the store to get ingredients you have run out of!
2. Helps with grocery shopping
Having a plan also makes grocery shopping a breeze since you know exactly what you need. So, you can buy everything in one trip. No more emergency trips to the store to get those missing ingredients!
I recommend setting aside one day of the week to plan the menu for the week ahead and shop for ingredients the next day. For example, decide the week’s menu on a Sunday and do the grocery shopping on Mondays.
3. A Menu Plan saves money
When you menu plan, you know exactly what you need to buy. You have a shopping list and you stick to it, putting an end to impulse buying. So, no more buying stuff just in case you might need them.
4. Meal planning helps you stay sane and reduces stress
With a Menu Plan in place, you know in advance what you have to cook and when. As a result, you will feel more in control and less stressed.
A well thought out Meal Plan is a blessing on the days when you are in a hurry or running low on energy.
When you plan in advance, you can avoid serving the same meals every day. You can look for new meal ideas that your family will enjoy. That means no more struggling to get your kids to eat and no more grumpy faces at the dinner table!
5. Minimize waste by planning your meals
How many times have you bought something from the grocery store thinking you’ll use it for something, only to throw it away later?
When you plan your meals and stick to the grocery list, you are less likely to buy something that you will not use. As a result, you waste less food.
By minimizing food waste, you do a service to society, your own family and above all, to God.
6. Meal Planning helps you eat healthy
Having a menu plan in place helps you minimize quick, unhealthy or not-so-nutritious meal options.
When you plan in advance, you have ample time to create a well-balanced and nutritious meal plan. You can plan for healthy side dishes and salads to accompany the mains and thus increase your family’s vegetable consumption.
Knowing what to cook each day and having all the necessary ingredients in stock means lesser days eating out, ordering fast food or skipping meals.
Just by meal planning, you can ensure that you and your family eat wholesome, nutritious meals every day.
7. Meal Planning makes cooking fun and enjoyable
When you plan ahead, cooking no longer becomes a chore. You can schedule quick simple meals for busy days and save the more complicated ones for days off or weekends.
With a menu plan, you will cook up new and exciting recipes than if you don’t plan. Planning in advance allows you to try out some new recipes from all those cookbooks that you’ve hardly ever cooked from!
Meal Planning is in itself a creative task. You can even explore your creative streak by making fun, pretty printables to make it more interesting.
The truth is, Meal Planning is not as hard or complicated as you’ve been telling yourself it is! Once you get started and see the benefits for yourself, you will kick yourself for not starting out earlier! What’s important is to have fun and enjoy the process.
In fact, when I created the GLAMPS Menu Planner that I spoke about earlier, I actually enjoyed the entire process of creating something that would simplify my everyday. In addition I learned so much along the way.
Now, as promised, a little bit about my Menu Planner – GLAMPS:
GLAMPS is an extremely practical Excel based Menu Planner featuring an Automatic shopping list generator. This meal planner is completely flexible and very simple to use. In fact it’s so simple, that I affectionately call it the Menu Planner for Dummies… created by a dummy! 😉
To learn more about the GLAMPS meal planner and how you can use it to plan your own meals, click here.