3 Benefits of Healthy Meal Planning

There are lots of great benefits to healthy meal planning.

There's nothing better for improving your mood and lowering your stress, than getting home at the end of a long day and having dinner almost ready - either cooking away in your slow cooker, or waiting for you in the refrigerator to be warmed and/or assembled in 30 minutes or less.

Talk about an evening game changer!

In addition to relieving stress, meal planning will also save you time and money and improve the quality of what you're eating.

Granted, you need to invest some time up front in the planning, but the rewards make it so worth it.

Here are just a few of the Benefits of Healthy Meal Planning:

1. Meal Planning Saves Time.

When you have a weekly meal plan, you save time by avoiding last minute stops at the grocery store several times a week shopping for forgotten items and/or wandering the aisles hoping for some quick and easy dinner inspiration that never seems to come.

And while meal planning takes a little upfront time, with practice you get faster and more efficient at it.

2. Meal Planning Saves Money.

Meal planning saves you money in several different ways.

By planning out your meals each week, you can take advantage of grocery store sales and coupons. Fewer last minute stops at the store will help you avoid impulse purchases and the danger of buying too much that is always increased when you're tired and hungry.

Meal plans will also help you get creative with leftovers, turning them into new dishes, so they are less apt to go to waste.

In fact, planning for leftovers is a great way to save both time and money.

For example just this week, I intentionally cooked extra lemon pepper chicken breasts when we had them Sunday and then chopped them up and stirred them into a delicious creamy pasta with chicken and broccoli that we had last night.

This cook once, eat twice approach can help you enjoy two completely different meals each week from some of the same foods, saving both money and time.

Learn more about a Month of WW Friendly Meal Plans eBook

3. Meal Planning Improves Health

You know as well as I do, that what you eat has a direct effect on your health. Meal planning will improve your health by improving the quality of your meals. Healthy meal plans help you create meals that are so much better for you than than a steady diet of take out, and/or fast food, for dinner. You can chose foods that are fresher and healthier including more fruits and vegetables, leaner proteins and more whole grains.

Have I helped convince you that getting into the habit of weekly healthy meal planning is worth it?

Like cultivating any new healthy habit, it will take a little while to get into the groove of it.  But, like anything else, the more you do it the easier and faster you will get at it. We are not talking about rocket science here. Meal planning is a whole lot simpler than that!

 

All you need to be successful with meal planning is a desire to reduce your stress, eat healthier, save time and money and enjoy healthy easy and delicious home cooking. Then just sit down with your calendar, a few quick and easy recipes and the weekly grocery store sales circulars and outline a plan for what to have for dinner each night of the week for those nights you'll be eating at home.

Keep It S-I-M-P-L-E

Think about quick and easy dinners with minimal ingredients, easy slow cooker meals and/or things that you can make once and then enjoy two or three times.)

Create your shopping list and then gather what you need to be ready for a week of great easy dinners with a lot less pain and stress.

More Meal Planning Help

• My Month of Meal Month of Meal Plans eBook.
• My WW Friend Kristen's Slender Kitchen Meal Planning Made Easy Program
• My WW friend Alisha's 12 Week eCookbook and Meal Planner and Table for Two Meal Planner and eCookbook

Customer Testimonials...

“I purchased this bundle about a week ago, and I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU! You have made my dinners come together quickly, easily and inexpensively! And my husband and 2 year old have loved the recipes so far. Plus, I am losing weight!" - Jessica<

"Hi Martha - I cannot begin to thank you enough for my month of meals. We (my husband and I) have only had the first week, but WOW, what great meals! I can't wait for the second week. You have a customer for life!" ~Sharon S.

"I bought the 12 Week eCookbook and Meal Planner  by Alisha Hughes from Meal Planning Mommies. It is great 12 weeks with a shopping list which is wonderful.  I just make a copy of the list and go shopping for the week." - Roberta R.

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