We’ve all been there. The kids have hockey practice, you’ve left work late, and have absolutely no idea what to make for dinner.
When stress is high, and time is short it can be too easy to throw your hands up in defeat and pick up something quick at the closest fast food restaurant.
This scenario could have played out differently with dinner planned, all the ingredients on hand and possibly prepped to make dinner time run smoothly.
It’s days like these, that you need a meal plan. In addition to reducing meal time stress, meal planning can also cut down on food waste, save money and make the healthy choice the easy choice. Follow these tips for making your meal plan work for you.
Your meal plan should accommodate your lifestyle.
Sit down and plan out your week. Know what days you have time, and what days you don’t. Have a little bit of down time on Monday nights? Try a new recipe, cut up some raw veggies for snacks, or make a couple extra portions of dinner to pack in lunches the next day. Have an early morning meeting on Wednesday? Plan for a grab and go breakfast. Dance recital on Thursday? Plan for leftovers.
Get inspired
Take a look through cook books, magazines, food blogs and choose some meal ideas you like. Look to the season to inspire your fruit and veggie selection, or check on flyers for a more economical approach. Make sure everybody has a say, by asking all members of the family for their input. Create your grocery list based on these meal ideas and make sure you have everything you need on hand. For some extra inspiration, try out cookspiration.com for some tasty, dietitian approved recipes!
Focus on balance, variety
Use Canada’s Food Guide to make sure you are getting all your food group servings and nutrients you need for your day. Plan for three regular meals, and one or two snacks daily. Aim for at least three of the four food groups at each meal, focusing on brightly-coloured fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy and lean, unprocessed meats and proteins. Try to expand your food repertoire with something new like couscous or chickpeas. You might be surprised at how easy they are to prepare! Balance is the key to getting healthy eating right.
Get prepped
Keep staple items on hand and ready to go. This is essential to making meal plan run smoothly.
Frozen fruit and veggies, canned legumes, whole grain pastas and long grain rice are a sure fire way to create healthy meals that are quick and efficient. This also ensures you have healthy foods at your fingertips without depending on processed, convenience foods.
Once you get the hang of meal planning it becomes the easiest solution. If you’re still not sure how to get started, check out eatrightontario.ca for sample menu plans, great recipes and more tips for ensuring your menu plan follows healthy eating guidelines.
For more information about any of the free services offered by the Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team, visit the website at www.mmfht.ca, or call the Drayton office at 519-638-2110 or Clifford office at 519-327-4777. Visit the Facebook page (“Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team”) and/or follow them on twitter (@MintoMapleton) for healthy living tips and information on upcoming programs and events in the are.
Maggie Armstrong is a dietician with the Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team.
