Want to cook healthy dinners, but don’t know how to plan the meals for the week? Here are expert tips for getting started.
When you’re trying to eat healthy, meal planning is one of the easiest ways to guarantee success. When you walk in the door hungry and tired after a long day’s work and there’s nothing planned for dinner, you may be tempted to call for takeout — but when you get home and your chicken is already marinated and your veggies are all cut up to stir-fry, you will find yourself able to resist the temptation. Or, if you have a nanny, you can ask them to start the food prep before you are home.
“When you start to plan, it brings more awareness to your food options, helping you to make healthier choices,” says Stephanie Merchant, a food and lifestyle expert, food author, and the founder of The Nutrition Mom. “Cooking from scratch makes a huge difference,” agrees Mary Egan, CEO of Gatheredtable, a meal-planning service. “A homemade version of just about any dish will be much more affordable and healthier than the same dish from a takeout recipe.”
Here are six steps to get you started with weekly meal planning:
1. Get organised
First, gather up your supplies — your family’s calendar and the sale flier of your favourite grocery store. Egan also recommends checking your fridge for any leftover ingredients you can incorporate into your menu.
Then, sit down and write out a week’s worth of meals — or start with just two to three nights and work up to more. Isabel Maples, a registered dietitian and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, recommends starting with just one food group, such as the protein. Mix it up throughout the week to include a variety of meat, such as chicken, ground turkey, beef or meatless options. Then, go back through those same nights and add a starch and a vegetable. Vary the vegetables and expand on the ones you currently eat.
If pen and paper planning isn’t for you, there are online services that will help you collect and manage recipes and meal plans.
2. Start with your favourites and make them healthier
To make things easier when starting out, begin with meals you already serve and you know your family loves. Then, work to make those options healthier. For example, if spaghetti is a favourite, use whole grain noodles. Move from canned sauce to homemade sauce, using fresh produce and herbs. “Encourage baby steps with making changes and adding one new recipe per week,” suggests Merchant. “If it’s a winner, you now have a new healthy recipe that is in your rotation.” Keep building from there, adding new recipes and making the old ones healthier as you go.
3. Prep when you can
While planning, look at your calendar. Which days you have more time to cook and which days do you need a super-quick prep? Use weekends to chop and cook what you can in advance, to save time during the week. Egan also recommends prepping in the morning before work. “I don’t always do it, but every time I do, it’s fantastic,” she says. You can also find a few make-ahead or slow cooker meals your family enjoys, like lasagna, enchiladas, or slow cooker pot roast. For those nights where there isn’t a second to spare, find a few quick meals, such as scrambled eggs, pancakes topped with sliced bananas and vanilla yogurt, or ground turkey and spaghetti, advises Maples.
4. Post your schedule weekly
When you’re done planning, post the entire weekly menu plan (and recipes, if necessary) on the fridge or whiteboard. This provides accountability and answers the family’s questions on what’s for dinner. It’s also handy for family members to use if you’re running late and they need to jump in and help.
5. Don’t try to please everyone
The quickest way to set yourself up for failure is by having to cook each family member a separate meal. “Modern life is busy, and cooking homemade meals takes effort — being a short order homemade cook makes it too hard!” says Egan. Maples advises not to worry about always finding the perfect meal that everyone likes. Instead, make sure that there’s at least one food in the meal that each person likes — even if it means picky kids won’t eat the whole meal. “If kids aren’t exposed to new foods and textures, they aren’t nudged out of their comfort zone to expand their food horizons,” says Maples. Trying different foods helps kids learn to become more competent eaters.
6. Get inspiration
Even the best menu planners and preppers need some inspiration for healthy family meals from time to time. For some nutritious and delicious meal ideas, check out food blogs, Instagram pages or cookbooks.
Rebecca Desfosse is a freelance writer specialising in parenting and family topics.