Meal Planning: Your Ticket to Freedom

It's 5:30 p.m. and you're heading home after a long, full day. All of a sudden your mind turns to the daily question, "What's for dinner?"

Whether it's just you or whether you're preparing a meal for a whole gang, it's not an energizing prospect to imagine planning, shopping for or cooking a meal from scratch at the end of a long day.

That's probably why the fast food businesses are booming and why our health is suffering from the effects of these "easy" foods.

If you think meal planning is an unnecessary step, or that it would create a strict regimen that you'd be trapped by, read on about how meal planning can free you from worry and improve your health and well being.

REASONS FOR MEAL PLANNING

Less time and money spent at the grocery store

When you plan your meals out a week at a time, your trips to the grocery store become much more manageable. You know exactly what you'll need and you'll be less susceptible to "impulse" buying. Sometimes, when I'm feeling REALLY efficient, I even write my list in order of where I'll find it in the grocery store. Plus, buying the ingredients to cook a meal from scratch usually costs much less than the ready-made version.

Healthier meals = healthier you and your loved ones

When you're planning ahead, you'll have much more control over what you eat, and you can consciously choose to improve the health of your meals.

Better-timed meals

If you BEGIN planning and cooking dinner when you get home, it could be quite late before you're sitting down to eat it. The closer to bedtime it is when you finish dinner, the less likely you'll have time to properly digest and for your body to absorb what you've eaten. For breakfast and lunch, having the meals planned out can help remind you to STOP and EAT them.

Variety

When we choose our meals in the moment, based on what's fast, easy and enjoyable, we tend to stick to a few standby's and don't branch out very much. Nutritionally, this leaves us lacking. We also risk getting bored with our food and looking to fast food or unhealthier options for "excitement".

HOW TO PLAN YOUR MEALS FOR THE WEEK

1. Keep some spontaneity. You could just plan one part of the meal. For instance, if you know that you always have plenty of fresh of frozen vegetables that you can choose from, then simply plan "chicken, potatoes and vegetables". Then you can still have some spontaneity in your meal.

2. When you have time, make "frozen dinners". Make a double or triple recipe; package the leftovers in single (or family-size) servings and freeze.

3. Factor in schedule changes. Maybe the night after the big meeting or the night of the soccer tournament aren't the best nights to cook a meal from scratch. Plan a quick meal, take-out or your own "frozen dinner" for those nights.

4. Aim for balance. With the week spread out before you, look for balance between heavy and light meals, vegetarian and meat-based meals, and a variety of different-coloured fruits and vegetables.

5. Plan while you're in the kitchen. That way you can easily check for the ingredients of the dishes you're planning. If they're not there, add them to your grocery list immediately.

6. Keep an active grocery list through the week. That way, when staples run out you can add them to list.

7. Grow your recipe collection. Use the Internet, the cookbooks of your friends and family, magazines, etc. and find new things to try. One new recipe a week will keep things exciting!

8. Get some expert advice. Consult a trusted source such as Canada's Food Guide, or better still get individualized meal and nutrition suggestions from a registered dietician or a holistic nutritionist.

9. Make it a team effort. If you're feeding others as well as yourself, make the planning a team effort so that everyone gets some of their favourites through the week.

10. Always follow your plan, except when you don't. There are going to be things that come up, days that you just don't feel like eating what you've planned, or days when you've forgotten to do your nightly prep. Create a list of healthy stand-by's that you can throw together with the staples in your own kitchen. If you're on the go, be prepared by having a list of healthy choices at your favourite restaurants.

A meal plan is not a rigid "diet" or set of orders. The meal plan serves you, not the other way around.

Start now with tomorrow's meals. What can you defrost or partly prepare tonight to make tomorrow's meals easier and healthier?

(c) Copyright Linda Dessau, 2005.

Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, is the author of "The Everyday Self-Care Workbook". For free resources, including your own Meal Planning Worksheet, visit http://www.genuinecoaching.com/resources.html

---

Is Eating a Raw Food Diet Actually Healthy for You?

Whatever diet you choose to live by, the food you eat has to provide your body with the nourishment to properly balance your body's chemistry. If you... Read More

Male Infertility and Glutathione

Are You Half The Man Your Father Was?It is a well-known fact that sperm counts have dropped by half in the last 50 years, and that modern... Read More

Use Food and Focus to Gain Tons of Energy for Summer

While there are many effective ways to get more energy and build your productivity, I've found it very important to pay attention to the seasons."But wait a... Read More

Battling Childhood Obesity through Smart Eating

Finally, a positive solution regarding America's difficult and costly campaign to stem childhood obesity is emerging. For the thousands of children and their families who are currently... Read More

Dieting -- The Basic of Meal Planning

BASIC MEAL & MENU PLANNINGAs a basis for meals and menu planning, refer to the pyramid information mentioned earlier to make sure you have the basic food... Read More

The Magic in Food: LOVE

Remember the old adage, you are what you eat? The simplest magical ritual that you can do is to cut open a fruit or vegetable and eat... Read More

Glorious Summer Greens

Summer brings a lot of fantastic things with it, but one of the healthiest for those of us in the colder climates is more fresh food. The... Read More

Maximizing Your Nutrition Dollar

Because of consumer demand, the food industry focus is on producing fruits and vegetables that ship well, not nutrient content. How food is stored and processed has... Read More

The Face of the Waters

The story of creation begins with water. Water is an essential nutrient in our diet, but many people fail to address this important component of health. While... Read More

Hypertension -Twelve Simple Things You Can Do To Lower Your Blood Pressure

Headlines:Nearly a quarter of American adults just got diagnosed with a new disorder: pre-hypertension. Is your blood pressure low enough?Nearly 23% of people over the age of... Read More

Immunity and the Immune System

Since the 1930's the western diet has dramatically changed. This change is due to the change in farming from the natural farming process which has developed over... Read More

Why Fad Diets Don?t Work

Fad diets have been around for more than 50 years and no matter how many come and go, we are always intrigued and excited by the next... Read More

Its Not That Bad - The Biggest Lie We Tell Ourselves

Some people say to themselves, junk food is not that bad. If you want to believe this than good luck. Remember how important your beliefs are and... Read More

Explanation of Ambrotose

There are basically four major components, or essential molecular components that the body requires for what we call good health.We know about amino acids and proteins, that's... Read More

How Do You Know Your Nutrition is Working for You?

Please feel free to comment, so that the article may be developed.How would you like to know what is going on in you body?Are you healthy? How... Read More

4 Steps To Brain Health

New studies bring to our attention that high levels of cholesterol might make the brain cells more prone to dementia. The heart and brain are connected to... Read More

An Open Letter to Mankind

In the last twenty years, a huge and growing body of research has been carried out into the role of the sugars that are an essential part... Read More

Stress and Aging - Human Growth Hormones

Modern life can be stressful. There are so many concerns that you have to worry about like work, family, relations, and other activities. Sometimes you have to... Read More

You Are What You Eat

Your magnificent machine is, in fact, a symbiotic collection of diverse, yet related sub-systems, coordinated and operated by a three pound mass of wrinkled gray matter known... Read More

Poor Dental Hygiene May Account for Poor Health

Bright white teeth and fresh breath does not necessarily mean you have a healthy mouth! General health is directly related to gum health. Gum disease has... Read More

The Portfolio Diet: The Solution to Heart Disease

What if there was a combination of foods that were as effective at lowering LDL cholesterol as prescription drugs? Would it be worth adding some new foods... Read More

Correct Your Acid / Akaline Balance by the Water You Drink: What the Experts Say

In health circles there has been much recent talk about acid / alkaline imbalance. Let's see if we can clarify how experts recommend we correct this imbalance.The... Read More

Our Livers Need for Water

Although many realize that the liver has its own cleansing system, it does need help - as it cannot maintain its healthy state if its being abused.... Read More

Functional Foods Are Becoming More Popular...

Established in 1989 by Stephen DeFelice, "Foundation for Innovation in Medicine" defined "Nutraceutical", as a food, dietary suppplement, or medical food that has a medical or health... Read More

7 Tips on Using Food Diet Remedies for Your Common Health Ailments

Making simple changes to your food diet can help remedy some of the common health problems. Increasingly, more health experts are acknowledging that natural food is a... Read More

16 Quick Tips for Eating at Restaurants or Work

Most of us eat at restaurants for a variety of reasons; time and convenience are the most common motives. Below is a prepared list of quick tips... Read More