One of the things we often took for granted is cooking and eating home-cooked meals. For people who are always on the go, eating means buying coffee or ordering takeout. Aside from the fact it’s not healthy, it will also hurt your budget. True, food preparation takes time. But for people who wants to change their diet, save, and even lose weight, meal planning is the answer for you.
“With anything in life, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That applies to meal planning as well. Planning meals and snacks ahead of time increase the chance for success, it increases the likelihood a healthier food choice will be made.” – Silvia Veri, registered dietitian at the Beaumont Weight Control Center – Canton.
benefits of Meal Planning
1. Eat healthily
When you check on your refrigerator or pantry, would you be able to cook a decent meal out of the ingredients stored in there? Most adults living alone probably have just junk food or beer in their fridge and the only way to eat a meal is from the nearest fast food. It’s unhealthy.
With meal planning, that will no longer be a problem. Having thought of the menu and prepared all the ingredients beforehand, it’s guaranteed you and your family are eating healthy food.
“Many times unhealthy foods are chosen because of convenience. If we can take the time out to plan meals, write a grocery list and have fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans available, they will become convenient and eaten more often.”- Silvia Veri
2. Save Money
Did you know that every average American household spend every year for eating out is $3,000? That surely ruins one’s budget. The amount you pay for a single meal in a restaurant is enough to buy ingredients that can accommodate for up 2 to 3 meals when cooking at home. Imagine how much you can save!
3. Save Time
Having your healthy meal ready in a few minutes is one of the benefits of meal planning. Cooking takes time, but with meals planned out already, we don’t need to waste time deciding on what food to eat nor do trips to the grocery store to buy ingredients.
4. No more Stress
When I was young, I can still remember how my mom would stress over what food to cook, especially for dinner. Before, I thought those were just silly and non-sense. Now that I’m an adult, it all made sense. It is not easy to think of what food to put on the table. And you have to do it every day!
But with meal planning, everything has been thought of in advance. No need to worry over what’s for dinner, and just put your focus solely on cooking.
5. Less Food Wasted
Did you know that about 40% of food is wasted in America and the average family throws away $2,200 worth of food every single year? What a waste. But, when you do meal planning, you already know what food to make and what ingredients to buy. The things you purchase already has its purpose. Thus, the probability of throwing your food to waste reduces.
Start to indulge yourself in meal planning and enjoy fully the benefits listed above.