Plan your meals to make cooking enjoyable

Have you ever stood in front of an open fridge at, say, 7 pm, waiting for some sort of meal planning inspiration to strike? I know you probably have and I also know that at the end of a long day, it can seem like a monumental task to decide what to make for dinner.

I recently sat down with my client Jennifer Atieno, a mother of two, who says she has been having daily pre-meals chaos since she rarely plans what meals to cook for her family.

Planning your meals for the week is a time, money and stress saver. Plus you can control the nutrition of your family’s meals. All it takes is a few minutes, a meal schedule and a glance at your cupboard to see what you have on hand.

Here are some tips I gave Jennifer so she can learn more about meal planning and its benefits:

Choose which meals you want to plan
Jennifer generally plans out only dinners, but she does so with an eye towards what dinner components can also be used as part of her daughter’s lunch the next day (such as fried chicken for dinner that could become part of a sandwich for lunch). If you have a large family or specific dietary requirements, you might opt to plan breakfast and lunch each day, in addition to dinner.

Use a planning system that works for you
Though there are a number of menu planning systems available, a simple notebook or binder might work just as well for you. As with any system, the one you choose needs to be something you are comfortable using and can stick to. Also, post your meal plan for the week somewhere in the kitchen (you can stick it on your fridge) so that everyone in the family knows what to look forward to.

Get others involved
I advised Jennifer to be involving her family in creating a meal plan. It is imperative to enlist family members in the process of browsing through recipes and deciding what they will eat each night.

Consider family schedules
Part of Jennifer’s process will be taking a look at activities she and her family have scheduled in the week ahead. On days that are particularly busy, dinner is bound to be something fairly quick and easy to make; more involved meals are slotted for evenings with less goings on.

Aim for variety and seasonality
When planning meals, take into account the local produce that is in season and the variety of foods your family has been eating, with the goals of including as many fresh foods in their diets as possible. Save money by checking out the grocery store current pricing for that week. If there is lots of produce in season, you can take advantage of the discounts.

Find smart ways to include take-out and frozen foods
If you have the time, effort and energy to cook all of the components of your meals from scratch, great. If not, consider using take-out or frozen foods as building blocks. For example, add fresh vegetables to frozen leftover meals for a quick and healthy main dish.

Look for customisable dishes
If you are cooking for several different tastes or dietary needs, look for meal items that are flexible and customisable. For example, for Jennifer’s older daughter, who loves to eat vegetables, dinner might be pasta with the preferred vegetable sauce. This prevents having to plan for and cook multiple dishes for different family members.

Use your plan to create a grocery list
Once you have created a meal plan, list a few days worth of dishes on your meal schedule and, next to each dish list what you will need from the grocery store in order to make it. You can carry the schedule to the store so that you do not have to worry about forgetting any ingredients. Avoid buying items you already have and make sure you choose dishes with items in your cupboard. If you stocked up on tomatoes and beef the last time you went shopping, use them up by preparing pasta with meat sauce one night.

Organisation is key
Before you do your grocery shopping, take note of what you have and what is available to buy for that week. Not only can this save you money, but it can help you brainstorm ideas of what to prepare for that week’s meals. Recipes are your best friend when it comes to planning healthy meals. You can print out recipes for all sorts of healthy dishes. Once you know what is for dinner, you can make a shopping list with the ingredients.

Variety keeps it exciting
When planning your meals for the week, opt for a variety of healthy choices and rotate different types of food throughout the week. Variety is also important in ensuring that your body is getting all the nutrition it needs.

Healthy cooking methods
When planning your meals, select recipes that use healthy cooking methods like stir-frying, baking, steaming and stewing. All of those methods of cooking preserve the nutrients in your food where as methods like frying and boiling can let vitamins and minerals escape. Prepare your evening meal in the morning and when you are ready to eat, simply serve it.

Don’t forget snack time. You have done your best to eat healthy, so do not back down come snack time! The best way to avoid unhealthy snacking in between meals is by not keeping unhealthy snacks around. Instead, make sure that you have fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthy snacks. Including nutritious snacks as part of your healthy meal plan will make sure that you are prepared when hunger strikes.

Stay flexible. Remember that even the best-laid plans can sometimes go awry. If for example, Wednesday rolls around and you decide you are not in the mood for the Wednesday dinner you had planned, switch it with Thursday’s meal. Since you will likely have the recipes for that meal handy and the ingredients in stock, the switch can be simple and stress-free.

Involve your kids. Ask your children what some of their top meal choices are for the week and choose one or two so that you know they will be happy. When you serve some of their favourite meals some nights, you can alternate with meals that incorporate something new you would like them to try – everyone wins. If your children are old enough, you can even give them a night every few weeks to plan and help prepare the meal. On the other hand, if you have a toddler, keep in mind the following when preparing their meals and snacks.

Toddlers typically like:

• Bright colours: Try oranges, carrots, green peas, and red watermelon. Fruits and vegetables offer eye and taste appeal.
• Mild flavours: Carrots, potatoes, bananas and apple sauce appeal to toddlers. If you cook cauliflower, cabbage or broccoli, cook them for a very short time to prevent strong flavours.
• Different textures: Crisp, raw fruits and vegetables, smooth foods such as soups, yoghurt, and soft, moist, cooked meats and eggs are well received at meals and snack.
• Finger foods: Fresh fruit or sandwiches cut into pieces are good examples.
• Variety: Toddlers get bored eating the same foods. Offering a variety of foods is not only important
  nutritionally, but helps to keep toddlers interested.
• Starchy foods: Rice, bread, pasta and potatoes are generally well received. By taking a little time, you can prepare healthy meal plans for a week or more. Planning ahead will save you time and money in the long run, and create more time for you to enjoy meals with your family.

END: BL 40/16