Congratulations to Chloe Kinney from the Library!
She is the winner of the Groceries Gift Card!
We all know the phrase, "a little planning goes a long way" - and the concept applies to healthy living habits. Busy families are familiar with the day-to-day chaos called "life" and preparing healthy meals, on top of everything else, can feel overwhelming! Planning your meals can help alleviate some of that!
If you've never sat down and planned your meals you may not know how to start. To be successful, start small by planning one week's meals at a time. Once you have that down, try two weeks, three weeks, even a whole month or more!
The simplest way to begin meal planning is to open the cabinets, fridge, freezer, pantry - wherever it is you store food and see what you have to work with. This quick strategy will help you determine what you have before you begin the planning process. It's also a good way to make sure you use items before they expire and see if you're running low on staples.
Brainstorm with family members different meals you enjoy, to create a list of options to choose from. This will also make grocery shopping easier as you can build a shopping list of ingredients to keep on hand.
Once you have an idea of what you have stocked and what meals your family enjoys, write it down! You can use your smart phone or an old piece of notebook paper, but write it down.
All that is left is shopping for ingredients you may need and deciding which day you're going to have Grandma's famous lasagna!
What are your tips for meal planning?
Let us know in the comments and Be Entered to Win a Groceries Gift Card! (giveaway has ended)
Must be a Weber County Employee to Win
Include your name and department in your comment
Must be a Weber County Employee to Win
Include your name and department in your comment
My name is Zane Melaney with the Ogden Eccles Conference Center Department. There is a free app called Ziplist that makes meal planning, shopping lists, and organizing recipes very easy. My family has special dietary needs and with two little ones in the home my wife needs all the resources to help her stay organized. This app can help in a variety of ways.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Zane! I've never heard of Ziplist and will definitely check it out.
DeleteI'm terrible at meal planning but I've figured out that I need to do it when I'm not hungry. Otherwise, everything sounds good and then by the time I'm ready to make/eat the meal I pre-planned, it doesn't sound good. I've also started planning and shopping only one week at a time rather than trying to shop for everything that I need to last me a month. This way the food doesn't go bad, my choices are limited so I have to eat what I have, and I save money. Chloe Kinney - Weber County Library (Pleasant Valley Branch).
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Chloe! We're always looking for ways to save money. Congrats on winning the giveaway!
DeleteHi, my name is Sherri Sillitoe and I work for the Weber County Planning Division. I am terrible at meal planning and I am a diabetic, which is not a good combination. I have found that I need to coordinate with my family in meal planning, but also I need to take care of my needs. One tip is that I cannot go to the store hungry. I need to write down what snacks I require for my dietary needs and also take an inventory of what I already have as ingredients for any weekly meals. I am always looking for ways that I can improve. I know that it is important to have a weekly plan and if I don't have one, that is when I stray and go for the unhealthy choices. It is also a challenge to know just what to cook.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great tip to include your family in meal planning. It's frustrating to spend time, money and energy and not have them like it. But if you include them you should avoid that! Keep taking care of yourself!
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