You may find planning a menu a chore, especially if you are preparing the majority of your family's meals. You can streamline the process by using any of these tools to cut down on the time you spend planning. To begin, any dietary restrictions are top priority. Many recipe websites offer advanced search features which will allow you to exclude any inappropriate recipes. Your weekly menu should consist of fresh foods rather than processed foods for optimal health benefits.
Dietary Guidelines
The "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010" can provide the basis for a healthy diet, suggesting both foods to increase and those that you should reduce. For example, you should increase your intake of fruits and vegetables, up to 2.5 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruits and juices daily, and reduce the amount of saturated fats in your diet to less than 10 percent of your caloric intake. Using this type of information, you can plan meals to ensure adequate intake of all food groups.
Set Days
Another option you can try is to set up a defined schedule of meal types. For example, you may designate Mondays as "Meatless Mondays" or Fridays as "Friday Fish Days." This way, you have taken some of the planning time from your menu. You can then focus on recipes for one type of meal rather than searching through a myriad of possible meals. You can also use this set menu as a basis for a rotation schedule. You can repeat a menu every three to four weeks to include everyone's favorite dishes.
Pre-Made Menus
If you follow a particular diet plan, it usually offers a menu plan, either in a cookbook or on its website, both of which may offer recipes, as well. The advantage of using these types of planners is that nutrition information is calculated for you. This way, you can track your nutrient intake to help you make healthier choices. The website Every Diet offers a review of over 350 diets with sample meal plans sometimes included in the review. You can check out which diet appeals to you and see some sample meals that the cookbook or website offers. Another resource you can use is recipe sites. Some sites such as Epicurious or Food Network.com provide a weekly menu of recipes from their site. If you like to try new things, this option may help you explore your culinary horizons.
Spreadsheet
You can create your own menu planning spreadsheet. Simply start a new sheet with the days of the week and meals you need to plan. You can set aside time once a week to plan the next week's meals. If you are using recipes from online sources, you can include a link for added convenience. To make your spreadsheet even more useful, you can keep a running list of recipes that you want to try. If you find you are at a loss for what to make, you can go to your list for an idea. The advantage of this method is that you can customize it for your needs.
References
- "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010"; Chapter 3: Foods and Food Components to Reduce; U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion; 2010
- "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010"; Chapter 5: Building Healthy Eating Patterns; U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion; 2010
- Meatless Monday: Why Meatless?
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