The advantage of using a meal plan when working to heal cannot be understated. It helped our family get organized from several important perspectives: recipes, ingredients, shopping, and the ability to reduce food waste. Our meal plan is basic—it includes lunches and dinners for the week. You will notice breakfast and snacks are not included. The reason for that is simple—our family learned it’s easier to do breakfast on our own due to a variety of reasons (food intolerances, schedules, etc.). Snacks are easy to keep in the refrigerator or pantry, and need to be rotated according to schedule, diet, and what’s in season. Our meal plan includes a grocery shopping list so it’s easy to plan ahead for trips to the store or farmers market. There are many meal plan templates available online that cater to a variety of needs, such as including breakfast or special diets.
It’s fun to keep in the kitchen for everyone to see, and even inspires participation in meal planning. It also works great if you are creating a meal plan for yourself or your room-mate(s) or spouse. The key is to get organized and then make meals easier throughout the week. I can’t recommend doing this enough—you just have to try for yourself to see the magic.
Feel free to copy what we used, create one of your own, or download something that works best for you. Whatever template you pick, be prepared to be amazed. Your focus should be on getting or staying healthy, not stressing out about the food that will grace your family’s table throughout the week. Enjoy!
Meal Plan template image by Melissa Keen, Highway to Healthy
Cover photo by Renáta-Adrienn on Unsplash