The Health Benefits of Meal Planning

When people think about planning out their weekly meals, it’s usually the same response:

“That’s too complicated”

“That’s too time consuming”

“That sounds like too much work”

“That sounds a little OCD”

What may surprise you is that meal planning is none of the above, and there are so many health benefits to planning out meals and making a grocery list.  Read below for the four most significant reasons to start meal planning today.

1.  Meal planning will help you eat healthier, fresher foods.

When you plan out your weekly menu in advance, you are less likely to run through the drive-thru or just eat a frozen waffle for dinner because that's all you have.  It’s no secret that fast food and restaurant menu’s contain little to no nutrition, so when you are actually able to cook your own foods that have been planned out for you, you’ll feel better knowing exactly what you are putting on your plate.

2.  Meal planning will help you will save money and time.

A lot of people (myself included) have a tendency to go to the grocery store multiple times a week, just to pick up a few ingredients here and there, and this ends up with out of proportion costs that could easily be avoided.  The only time a second or third trip to the store is necessary is if you are buying fresh fish or meats for a planned dinner.  With proper meal planning and a good grocery list, you can reduce the amount you spend on ingredients as well as the number of trips it takes to get to the store.

3.  Meal planning will help you enjoy your food.

Make meal planning fun!  Choose meals that excite you, so that you are actually excited to eat it.  Go through this website or others like it or flip through a magazine and mark the recipes that catch your eye.  The worst type of meal planning is a boring and bland plan that just seems mundane and blah to you.

4.  Meal planning will help you make better decisions.

When you’re sitting down to dinner with a perfectly cooked steak paired with roasted vegetables and a tomato-mozzarella-basil stack, I’m pretty sure you’d rather continue digging in to the steak than going to McDonalds for a filet-o-dump, right?  Which is better – a freshly made guacamole with carrot sticks and tortilla chips or a bag of doritos?  I’m seriously hoping you guessed the steak and guac!