I’m a big believer in meal planning. And I’ve been doing it in one form or fashion for over thirty years. If you’re new to meal planning you may wonder if it’s worth it. I believe that the benefits of meal planning definitely outweigh the cost in terms of the time you spend. Let’s take a look at some other reasons why you should meal plan.
Meal Planning Helps You Save Money
Who isn’t trying to save money at the grocery store these days? Our food budget is one of the largest expenditures (after our home) in our budget. And every dollar you can save on food is a dollar that can be used on other expenses or to build your savings.
How many times have you done this: gone to the grocery store with no list and ended up spending a fortune on items and still had nothing to eat when you got home?
Or perhaps you bought a lot of food, but at the end of the week you had produce that had gone bad or had meat that you’d let sit too long and were not afraid to eat it.
Or maybe you stocked your freezer, but when you pulled out that package it was so old that you were afraid to even feed it to your dogs.
When we shop without a plan, we end up buying things that we don’t need, that won’t get eaten before they perish, or that end up sitting in a freezer for ages until they’re so freezer burned that you end up throwing them out.
All of this is a waste, and any time you throw food out, you’re throwing away money. Because food items are money!
Fortunately, creating a weekly or monthly meal plan will prevent this. Once you know what meals you need to make during the week, you can only shop for items that you need to make the meals you’ve planned. You are less likely to throw miscellaneous item into your grocery cart “just in case.”
Meal planning, and appropriate grocery shopping, can result in real savings that your wallet will notice!
Meal Planning Saves You Time
Another benefit of meal planning is that it saves you time because you’re able to do one big weekly shopping trip (or an even bigger monthly trip if that works for you) and you can stop running to the grocery store every few days because you forgot something you needed.
We all know that every time we go to the grocery store it costs us money (duh!) but do we ever really stop to think about the time it takes?
Making a comprehensive grocery list from your meal plan will cut out those last minute trips. You’ll also save gas and wear and tear on your car. Sounds like another win for meal planning.
And finally, knowing what you’re going to cook in advance saves you the time of that back and forth, “What do you want for dinner, honey?” dance that frequently happens when you get to negotiating the evening’s meal every night.
I’ll admit that the back and forth bouncing and rejecting dinner ideas makes me absolutely nuts. I’d just rather go cook and eat…forget about the negotiation.
Meal Planning Saves Your Sanity
I don’t know about you, but my absolute least favorite thing in the world is to walk into the kitchen and have to make a decision about what to cook. I’d honestly rather take a beating.
This is because at the end of the day I’m tired. I’ve already made all the decisions I can handle for one day. And one more decision just feels like too much.
Now I don’t mind the cooking part, but having to make a decision at the end of the day is just more than I can stand.
That’s why I’d rather sit down once a week (or once a month, depending on your preferences) and make all the decisions at once while I’m in planning mode.
Meal planning also helps me stay sane because I’ve taught my family not to come ask me what’s for dinner. I post the weekly menu on the bulletin board close to the refrigerator and that’s where I tell them to do look.
Trust me, after enough times of telling them to go look on the menu they’ll eventually quit bugging you about it. Win-win!
Meal Planning Helps You Improve Your Health
One of the most important reasons to meal plan is that it’s a good way to take control of your health and the nutrition of your family.
It’s easier to plan around dietary needs in advance and if you’ve got someone in your family with a health issue, this may be something that is critical for you.
But meal planning is also a good way to make sure that there is balance in your diet. Is everyone getting enough protein and veggies? Are you serving too many sweets or convenience foods? Even if no one has a health condition, it’s still important to make sure that we’re serving nutritious foods to our family and not just feeding them junk.
And if someone in your family does have a health condition, what you serve can make a huge difference in how they feel or perhaps even their life expectancy.
Conclusion:
Convinced yet? Give meal planning a try and see how much it can simplify your life plus add money back into your budget. You may become as much of a true believer in the importance of meal planning as I am.
More to help you in the kitchen:
I’m a retired educator, mom of three adult children, cancer warrior, sandwich generation member, and lover of life!
I help older women create & live a life they love through radical self acceptance, unapologetic goal pursuit, and relishing the joys of home.
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