When it comes to preparing homemade meals, there are times when most of you often stare at the refrigerator wondering what to cook? If you are already hungry or are in a hurry, then you might end up with instant foods. All you need to do is just cook the packaged food in the microwave oven for a few minutes to make a quick dinner. Though instant and processed foods make an easy meal, they are mostly unhealthy and can cause various health issues. But with meal planning, preparing healthy meals at home becomes hassle-free. Further, it can considerably save your valuable time, money, and energy.
Whether you are looking to maintain an ideal weight, reduce stress levels, or eat mindfully, meal planning is the ultimate key to your family’s great health and well-being. It involves pre-planning your meals so you do not have to worry down the week about what to cook or eat.
The simplest approach to pre-planning your meals includes
There are several benefits of healthy meal scheduling. By organizing your meals, you are actually planning for a healthier life.
This is why you should consider pre-planning your meals:
By planning your meals ahead, you have more control over what you eat. This keeps you away from binging on unhealthy foodstuffs. Incorporating nutrient-dense foods into your everyday diet gets easier. Further, it enables you to cook meals keeping food sensitivities in mind. To make your meal planning more interesting, you can always discuss with your family what they enjoy eating and prepare the recipes at home. Thus, feeding your family with healthy and delicious meals is no more difficult. Planning your meals and eating mindfully provides several health benefits including it reduces stress, strengthens immunity, supports an ideal weight, and promotes a healthy body and mind.
When you know what you will be cooking for the week ahead, it keeps you more organized. This avoids the stress of those last moment meal preparations. Make sure to set two extra meals for an emergency. You can always keep whole grain tortillas or healthy pizza crust handy. This can be of great help when things do not go according to your schedule.
With a pre-planned meal list in your hands, shopping for groceries is much simpler and less time-consuming. The best idea is to shop non-perishable ingredients such as pasta, rice, lentils, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and sauce for the entire month. Perishable ingredients such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms can be purchased in moderate quantities once every week. And shopping for in-season produce reduces the cost. It is always a good idea to make easy recipes during the busy weekdays.
After a long stressful day when you do not know what to have for dinner, you are more likely to pick up food from a takeout. However, when your meal is pre-planned with the groceries ready at home, you can easily prepare healthy dishes saving considerable money on restaurants. Everyone deserves a treat. It is perfectly alright taking a break from the kitchen and enjoying food from healthy take-out occasionally.
It is a good idea to cook meals in small batches to avoid any food wastage. Make sure to include recipes with perishable ingredients first in your meal scheduling. Otherwise, you will find that the mushrooms are already brown when it’s time to cook them.
A hectic lifestyle can leave you feeling stressed and fatigued. There are various factors contributing to stress including environmental toxins, long commuting hours, work overload, and uncooperative colleagues and boss. Further, eating unhealthy foods can also add to your stress levels. While it might not always be possible to eliminate all the stressors, avoiding stress related to unhealthy eating is certainly in your hands.
Your body fights stress through the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response system. It is a complex network of various organs and six circuits which work closely in unison.
A pair of walnut-shaped adrenal glands located on the top of your kidneys is also a part of the response system. When your body detects stressful situations, the NEM signals your adrenal glands to secrete the anti-stress hormone cortisol to deal with stress. With more stress, the adrenals are forced to secrete more cortisol. Over time, constant stress can leave your adrenal glands overburdened causing decline in cortisol secretion. This can reduce your body’s natural stress-fighting ability which can cause adrenal fatigue.
If you frequently experience extreme fatigue including symptoms of insomnia, brain fog, anxiety, difficulty in waking up, low energy levels, low concentration levels, constipation, stubborn weight gain, and craving for salty and fatty foods, then it could be signs of Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS). Avoiding stressors and eating nutrient-dense foods are the key factors for adrenal fatigue recovery. AFS sufferers should focus on eating the right food for rejuvenating the adrenals and regaining energy.
Adrenal fatigue diet helps in restoring and healing the adrenals for optimum recovery. It also helps in maintaining your energy levels without causing excess stress on the body. In adrenal fatigue meal planning, over 30 to 40 percent should comprise of fresh vegetables. Make sure to include brightly colored vegetables, vegetable sprouts, and baby vegetables as they are rich in nutrients. Typically, frozen vegetables immediately post-harvesting are also acceptable. Vegetables need to be served with healthy fats such as coconut oil or olive oil. This helps your body absorb the fat-soluble nutrients. Also, consider adding sea vegetables to your diet as they are rich in trace nutrients.
The other 20 to 30 percent of your diet needs to be from healthy lean protein, and a similar portion should be from healthy fats such as seeds and nuts. Soaking your nuts and seeds makes their nutrients easily absorbable by your body. The remaining portion needs to comprise of whole grains, whole fruits, legumes, and beans. Including a small quantity of Himalayan pink salt or sea salt provides essential trace minerals and helps in balancing sodium level in your body. Make sure to drink plenty of water to naturally flush out toxins from your body and clean the entire system.
In adrenal fatigue diet, eating small and frequent meals is encouraged. Consider having six small meals throughout the day for maintaining your energy levels and a stable blood sugar level. Nuts are rich sources of essential nutrients that calm the body. Therefore, having a handful of soaked nuts a few hours before bedtime ensures a sweet sleep. Almost anyone can follow the adrenal fatigue diet, as it is high in nutrition and supports great health.
Following a healthy diet plan keeps your family in great health. Here are some healthy diet methods that can prove helpful in meal planning:
The first step to healthy eating is to eliminate processed foods from your diet. Processed foods are high in sodium, preservatives, and unhealthy fats which have been linked to several diseases including cancer and cardiovascular problems.
Prepare an exciting menu for the week ahead. Consider having six small meals through the day. Include loads of organic vegetables, healthy fats, healthy proteins, and complex carbohydrates in your diet.
With meal planning, you get a chance to incorporate healthy, fresh, real foods in your diet. Fresh real foods are natural reservoirs of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber that are essential for nourishing your body. Certain foods such as carrots, beets, and peas have a natural sweet undertone. Sensitize your taste buds by including these foods in your diet, plus gain the benefit of abundant nutrients. Make sure to stock your refrigerator with seasonal fruits and vegetables from the local farmer’s market.
Make sure to fill half of your plate with vegetables and salad. Vegetables are high in fiber that quickly gives you a feeling of fullness so you do not overeat. One-fourth of your meal should comprise of healthy proteins, and the same portion should make complex carbohydrates.
Scheduling your meals can be fun and exciting. To make it more interesting, you can always discuss with your family members. Consider including kid-friendly recipes which adults would equally enjoy.
Here are some useful meal scheduling tips that you might find helpful:
Write down the meals your family enjoys the most. This would also encourage your family members to get involved in the meal scheduling process. They can also help you with the grocery shopping.
It is a wise idea to group similar meals together. For instance, if you are preparing turkey roast for dinner, set aside some roasted turkey for the next day. It can be used to make turkey wraps for lunch.
Write down the ingredients you will require for making your meals. Make sure to check your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer before buying the groceries. Remove the ingredients from the list which you already have.
Pre-wash and chop the vegetables for the entire week and store them in the refrigerator. This considerably saves your time in the kitchen when you need to cook during the busy weekdays.
Spices and herbs add a great dose of flavor to your dish taking it to a higher level. Therefore, always keep them handy. The natural aromatic oils present in spices and herbs contain therapeutic properties and several health benefits.
Planning your meals is simple and requires a few minutes of your time.
Here is an example of healthy meal planning for a day:
If your meal scheduling focuses on making dinners, then write down the recipe name for each day. Your meal plan might look like this for one of the meals or part of a meal:
Healthy meal planning is a significant factor contributing to your family’s health and well-being. A well-planned meal ensures your entire family is on the right path to great health. Scheduling your meals gives you greater control on what you eat, helps you avoid food allergies, makes meal preparation at home hassle-free, enables you to include nutrient-dense food in everyday diet, lets your family enjoy healthy delicious home-cooked meals, saves time and money, and minimizes food wastage. Enjoying healthy home-cooked meals, regular physical activity, yoga, and meditation are the foundation for enjoying a healthy joyful life.
With meal planning you get to eat healthy even on busy weekdays. During the tight work schedules, consider making easy recipes. Include ingredients that require less cooking time such as mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach, carrots, greens, squash, zucchini, sweet corn, and peas.
