Save time and stress less with meal planning!
You get home from work, the kids are demanding dinner and you have 20 minutes to get it on the table. You open the fridge and see a fridge full of beautiful produce but you have no time to think how to pull it altogether. It all seems too much and yet you know you want to feed your family well so you do the best you can. It feels like the joy of cooking has been lost, you are just going through the motions and if you only had more time you could think of some amazing things to make. Does this scenario sound familiar?
This is where meal planning can help! A little bit of time upfront on a Sunday afternoon can save you a lot of time and stress later in the week.
So why meal plan?
- Money – Budget and stick to it, only buy what you need
- Time Saver – Cook ahead
- Variety – Try different recipes
- Stress Less – The week is planned for you
- Waste less – only keep what you need
How to Meal Plan
1) Choose a dedicated time each week to meal plan
For example my box gets delivered on Saturday morning so I will grab my coffee and start meal planning straight after. Then I will go to the shops after and collect anything else I need to go with this.
2) Use a Weekly Meal Planner template and stick it on your fridge
Download our FREE MEAL PLANNING TEMPLATE here.
- Build up a collection of recipes your family loves and use these as your staples for 3-4 nights.
- Choose 2-3 recipes from your cookbooks (we know you have a few!) or go online and find new recipes online to try.
- Add these meals on your weekly meal planner.
- Choose quick meals or ready made meals on nights you have things on like after school activities.
- Use the 5th night as a leftover night (this is normally our Friday night so we avoid take-away).
3) Set aside time for Meal Prep
I like to meal prep on a Sunday afternoon. I will normally cook a roast dinner and while the oven is on, I will roast a few trays of veggies. The leftover veggies I will use for lunches during the week. A good tip is - if you are planning on making curries or stews they taste better later in the week as the flavour settles so save these to eat later on. If you plan on having meals like BBQ's or pan fried then these will taste better eaten straight away.
4) Include some super-easy meals
Healthy meals don't have to be complicated! Make life easier for yourself by including some really easy dinners in your weekly meal plan. Here's some of our favourites:
- Golden Pig Gluten-Free Dumplings - fry them in just 10 minutes! Add a handful of veggies and serve them in a bowl of bone broth made with Best of the Bone Bone Broth Concentrate
- Frittata - add any veggies you like and some scrambled eggs - dinner done!
- Eggs on toast
- Avocado and tomato on toast
- Bone broth with a few added veggies
- Leftovers
- Fry up - any veggies taste great fried in ghee and bone broth concentrate!
Most of all find a system that works for you and is something you will stick to each week in order to alleviate stress around meal times and avoid food wastage.
Join the conversation around in our Farmacy Family Facebook Group and share your recipe creations. Search by using #recipe.
Written by: Leah Williamson - Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
