If your family is busy but wants to eat healthy meals, creating a monthly menu will help you stay on track by preventing last minute stops for take-out. Planning meals ahead of time helps you coordinate your meals for nights where you have events or when something comes up and you must throw something healthy together very quickly.
How to Create
There are several ways to set up a monthly meal plan and choosing the most convenient for you improves the chances that you will stick with it. Many internet and software programs are available that allow you to input meal plans and recipes, which then produce a shopping list. Alternatively, if you don't have regular computer access, buy a day planner and write down your meals for each day. Or, simply record your meal plan on a sheet of notebook paper and write your shopping list on the other side.
Healthy Foods
When planning your meals, use the Food Guide Pyramid as a way to ensure that you are covering your nutrient needs each day. Include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, low-fat dairy foods and healthy fats. Incorporate fruit and vegetable salads, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, chicken breasts, lean beef, fish, low-fat cheese and milk and olive oil into your meal plans. These ingredients can be used to prepare fast meals that are healthy at the same time.
Meal Ideas
Since all of the membersof your family has their own preferences, creating a monthly menu together means that you will each get input on what meals to include. This also allows each meal to be tailored to the number of people who will be home to eat it and how quickly it will need to be prepared. Meals that come together in a short time and provide plenty of nutrition include whole-wheat noodles with marinara and steamed vegetables, salmon with brown rice, scrambled eggs with fruit salad and bean burritos topped with sliced tomatoes and avocados.
Benefits
Meal planning is beneficial to several areas of your life. Cooking at home means that you are able to prepare meals that are low in fat and calories, but high in essential nutrients. Planning and shopping for homemade meals rather than eating in restaurants saves you money by reducing the number of trips you make to the store and keeping you from having to eat out because you are in a hurry. You may be surprised to find that having a meal plan actually saves you time because you have a plan of action in place so that a healthy meal is ready quickly.
References
- Raising a Healthy Family: Printable Monthly Menu Planner
- Passionate Homemaking: Simplifying Grocery Shopping and the Benefits of Monthly Menu Planning; September 2010
- Organized Home: Menu Planning: Save Time In the Kitchen; Cynthia Ewer
- Iowa State University: Menu Planning
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Food Groups
