Planning for a weekly meal can prove to be a bit of a challenge. Our schedules make it
difficult to prepare a home-cooked meal on a regular basis. However, the benefits of a
weakly meal far outweigh the minor inconveniences.

Foods prepared at home can prove to be much healthier compared to fast food. A lot of
foods that are packaged in a box or a can are saturated with sodium, sugar, and the
bad kind of fats. Foods in a box generally lack the vitamins that are essential to our
bodies.

– Basics of Balancing Nutrition in Your Meals

When you are working on your meal planning, you want each meal to have a good
balance of nutrients. This means including enough carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy
fats. Depending on the diet you follow or dietary restrictions, it might include fruits and
vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, dairy, and many other options. It is good to aim
for a colorful plate, as that ensures you are getting a wide range of vitamins and
minerals.

– Start With Your Family Favorites

When you start working on what meals to prepare or even prep for the week, start with
some favorites you know your family enjoys. You already know the ingredients and
cooking process, so this is going to make it easy. It also ensures you have at least a few
meals that you don’t have to think too much about.

– Use Your Current Ingredients

Don’t buy all new ingredients! Meal planning is easier and more cost effective when you
can work from what you already have, whether that is herbs or seasonings, meat in the
freezer, or milk and butter in the fridge. You can even use some leftovers for different
types of meals.

– Changing Your Cooking Methods

Experiment with different cooking methods. The temperature that you choose to cook
can change the chemistry of the food. For example, cooking a tomato can increase its
concentration of folate and antioxidants.

In a nutshell, changing up how you cook can also help with the meal prep process. For example, you
can have multiple appliances going at once to cook different parts of your meals, such
as potatoes in the air fryer, chicken breasts in the pressure cooker, and chili in the slow
cooker. This frees up your oven and stove for other things, or you can skip the oven
altogether and avoid getting your house too hot from all the cooking.

See you soon,

Ludmilla!