Why you need to start meal planning

Meal planning involves creating a weekly schedule with all of your upcoming meals and snacks for the days ahead. Read on to learn about the huge advantages of a little meal prep.

When you have planned your meals, you not only know what you are going to cook but also have all the necessary ingredients at your fingertips. This helps make mealtime less stressful, particularly after a full day of work.  Meal planning also helps you to budget more effectively and reduce food waste.  You won’t be buying and throwing away fresh ingredients you don’t end up using.  What’s more, you can also build leftovers into your plan. That way when you are cooking dinner you are creating a healthy grab-and-go lunch for yourself (and loved ones)  for the next day.

Meal planning is particularly helpful if you have specific nutritional requirements or goals.  We are less likely to turn to quick service meals if we know that we already have everything we need to easily create a nutritious (and delicious)home-cooked meal.