Meals aren’t solutions to stressful problems, but rather fun opportunities to learn and express creativity in the kitchen. Instead of looking at meal planning and cooking as chores, view them as activities.
With proper weekly and monthly meal planning, stress in the kitchen becomes a thing of the past. Here are some tips to help you with monthly meal planning.
Start A Collection Of Recipes
Carve some time out of your week to browse the internet or cookbooks for recipes that look good to you. Don’t let the idea of making something new intimidate you! Look for highly rated recipes online as a sign of quality. Sometimes websites or blogs dedicated to a specific cuisine have higher-quality content than generalist food sites.
Try involving your family in the monthly meal-planning process. If you have kids, give them a night or two to pick a meal they want. Make sure to take notes of the recipes you try and love (and the ones you hate) so you can reuse them again (or not).
Make Lists (And Stick To Them)
The surest way to fail at meal planning is to walk into the supermarket without a shopping list. Make sure your meals for the week or next few days are plotted out before you go to the store. Take stock of the ingredients you have on hand and what you’ll need to buy to make your recipes.
Unless you’re very comfortable in the kitchen and know exactly what you have on hand, avoid trying to plan meals on the spot in the supermarket. You might think it’s easy to pick up some chicken breasts and organic vegetables and call it a meal, but if you don’t have the right oils and seasonings in your cupboards, you’ll find yourself back at the store to pick up missing items.
Embrace Your Freezer
When it comes to monthly meal planning, your freezer is your biggest ally. Some people like to take time on Sunday to cook and portion food into meal-sized containers that can be frozen and stored until needed. Making several batches of soup to freeze one day can lead to quick, healthy and easy lunches for a week.
Frozen meat and veggies make monthly meal planning a snap, as they can be bought and stored until needed. With a good weekly meal plan, you can pull whatever you want for the night’s dinner out of the freezer before you leave for work in the morning. By the time you’re home, the food will have thawed and be ready for preparation.
Use A Food Delivery Service
For busy people, cutting out hours spent shopping at the supermarket is hugely advantageous. With scheduled home food delivery services, the shopping is done for you. Imagine how nice it would be to plan out a week’s worth of meals, then place an order and find everything you’ll need to eat well for the week right in your freezer.
By collecting your favorite recipes, planning your meals and taking advantage of your freezer, you’ll avoid meal-planning mishaps while saving time and enjoying healthy, delicious food.
