Quick Guide to Meal Planning 🍳
- Heed Your Handful .
- Aug 2, 2021
- 2 min read
Meal planning can seem like an overwhelming or daunting task, but once broken down into some simple steps, this effective method can help reduce food waste and save you money along the way!
So What is Meal Planning?
Meal planning does NOT mean you have to make homemade meals everyday, and it also isn’t perfect. Making a conscious effort to think through what you and/or your family plan to eat throughout a week can help you effectively prepare without wastage. Meal planning is flexible and can be tailored to your needs.
How to Start:
Follow these 3 basic steps to get started!
Plan and select recipes
Go shopping!
Prepare your meals
.Planning and Selecting Recipes.
When planning for the week, start simple. Pick one day to sit down and meal plan for the week. Figure out what days you plan to eat at home, eat leftovers, get take out or go out. For days you plan to eat at home, find and select recipes and create a shopping list for the week.
Even if you do not follow your plan perfectly, planning out meals prevents you from buying to much produce that you may end up discarding if not used.
Need Recipes? Check out Eat Well’s collection: https://www.eatingwell.com/category/4286/meal-plans/
Check out some amazing cookbooks we have linked on our home page for ideas as well!
More meal prep ideas:
If finding recipes is too much of a hassle, you may be interested in full meal subscription boxes! Check out this list with prices included: https://urbantastebud.com/best-full-meal-subscription-boxes/
.Go Shopping!.
Once you have your recipes selected, create a shopping list, and go to the store. Try your best to stick to your list!
Tip: Split your grocery list into items you can buy at the beginning of the week and items you may want to purchase one or two days before you plan to cook them (mostly perishable items like fresh vegetables, fruits and meat).
.Preparing your Meals.
Follow your meal plan and make sure you engage in proper food handling practices (especially when cooking with meat or poultry).
Consult the FDA food safety charts for safe food handling:
Sources:
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