Meal Planning is a magic bullet that helps you save time, save money, be more efficient and live a healthier life.
I’ve always detested grocery shopping, even though I adore the swanky supermarkets and gourmet food stores I go to if I want to enjoy the process even a little. The very idea of standing in front of a dairy freezer, sauces aisle or produce section exploring the different possibilities of meals that could be, based on other ingredients I might have in the fridge every day, would send me into a tizzy. I often ended up throwing away half the produce I bought and said a silent sorry (To God? Myself? My wallet? I dunno!) as I got rid of that carton of expired almond milk or bag of quinoa that I had purchased so enthusiastically 3 (!!) weeks before.
The work-from-home life has been tough on the kitchen managers of the home. If you are one, you know what I’m talking about! Whether you’re responsible for putting food down on the table for a family of 4 or just provide nutrition for yourself, the whole thinking process of ‘What to cook/eat today?’ is a distracting, stressful, daunting task for most people.
Steve Jobs did it the easy way for his wardrobe. He wore only black turtlenecks and blue jeans to take the mundane decision-making of ‘what to wear’ out of his daily routine, while the rest of us lesser mortals stare into our cupboards every morning deciding our ‘look of the day’. I bet Mr Jobs wasn’t the decision maker over his food intake though. Imagine eating the same thing every day, always!
The average person eats between 18-21 meals a week (snacks excluded!), and making this decision on a daily or meal-wise basis, not only for yourself but for your family, means you’re not likely to be making the right food choices most of the time.
Enter meal planning – the greatest time saver since the calculator!
The sweet A4 sized weekly meal planner sitting pretty in my kitchen has made my domestic life easier than it’s ever been! Planning our meals for the week in advance gave me the space, choice and freedom to design the family’s nutrition intake. A high carb breakfast could be compensated with a protein rich lunch, and rounded off nicely with a vitamin rich dinner if planned well. Moreover, making the weekly grocery list became easier too.
Sounds like too much work? It isn’t really!
You can design your family’s weekly meal plan based on your schedules, preferences and of course, choices! Include each person’s favourites in at least some of the meals, so everyone buys into this new concept, and frankly, ’cos that’s fair to everyone! Switch things around every week so you’re not repeating the same meals too often (unless you prefer that, of course).
15 minutes on a Sunday evening is all it takes! The mind space you’ll free up during the week for more productive tasks, and the sheer joy of waking up and going into the kitchen KNOWING what meals you’re going to make/get made will be worth all the effort!
In typical Cupik fashion, our reusable acrylic meal planners are well designed, decorative and useful. Just write with sketch pens or whiteboard markers, wipe down with a wet cloth at the end of the week and restart the following Sunday!
Enjoy, and bon apetit!