The Wonders of Meal Planning

Let’s face it, life can be stressful. Waking up early in the morning to go to college or the office can be hectic, when things are not in place. One of the main time-sapping activities in the day is deciding what to eat. Most of the time, you probably heat up some leftovers and take your coffee to-go. Certainly this isn’t the most healthy or efficient way of managing meals throughout the day, right?

Well, we’re here to tell you that mealtime tension can be reduced by simple meal planning beforehand. To the uninitiated, meal planning might appear elusive or even overwhelming.

However, it is not. With just a little planning and an excellent meal planner, you can plan and prepare nutritious and delicious meals that suit your tastes and lifestyle.

Weekly meal planning is a fantastic way to start improving your food choices, whether you’re cooking for yourself or a larger group. Through weekly meal planning, you get to plan, shop and prep over the weekend! This frees up your week to do stuff you love. Moreover, planning a healthy meal ahead of time will help you avoid a less-than-healthy and rushed meal time.

What Is Meal Planning?

Before we tell you the benefits of planning your meals, let’s make sure you understand what meal planning is.

Meal planning means jotting down what’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner once for the whole week, rather than answering the question every single day. That way you can do the shopping and preparation well beforehand for wholesome meals and also free up time for other things that demand attention.. We believe that meal planning can be broken down into three simple phases –

• Selecting your dishes and their recipes, if needed.
• Shop for ingredients.
• Prepare.

Although there are different types of meal planning, we recommend that you follow a simple system that works in line with your nutritional requirements.

Why Is Meal Planning So Important?

You’ve heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” right?

We want you to really think about it.

How did you feel the last time you sat around eating junk food?

Do you remember the time when life seemed to be on track and you found yourself eating all the fruits and vegetables?

Nutrition is essential to being successful in everything we do.

When our body is filled with junk food, our mind becomes hazy, our body becomes fatigued, and we are unable to operate effectively or efficiently.

We believe that a happy stomach leads to a happy mind. In today’s day and age, having both of them functioning at the highest level possible is imperative. Planning prudently for your well-being, as well as mentally decluttering yourself will help you live a happier, and more active life.

What Are The Benefits of Meal Planning?

Meal planning is a simple way to help you achieve your objectives, whether you’re attempting to lose weight, improve your nutrition or simply save valuable time. There are various benefits to preparing your meals ahead of time that can help you not only lose weight but also improve your health.

1. Improve Your Health

Meal Planning can help you curate a diet that suits your individual health requirements. Different people have different nutritional needs. You can tailor your meals depending on your lifestyle, profession and available resources in your location.

Avoid eating outside food as much as you can. However, there’s no harm in factoring a single ‘cheat day’ to treat yourself for being disciplined all throughout the week.

2. Save Time

Being hungry and realising you have nothing planned is undoubtedly stressful. Instead of selecting what to make while standing in front of your fridge or pantry, you can have a healthy meal ready in minutes, thanks to diligent meal planning. This also mentally prepares you for post-cooking cleanup.

3. Save Money

Everyone can agree that saving money is a goal we all strive for, and meal planning is a fantastic way to get started on that path. While you may avoid dining out, meal planning also entails purchasing products in bulk, which can save you a lot of money. Sticking to the grocery list also prevents impulse purchases at the supermarket.

4. Learn Portion Control

You will be able to observe how much you are consuming if you plan your own meals. This also stops you from overeating at restaurants, where portions are typically much larger than you should be consuming.

5. Avoid Stress

Meal planning involves writing down the meals for the week, grocery list, try out new recipes and so much more. In essence, it is a foodie form of journaling, which can be a cathartic experience. Moreover, knowing that you have your entire meal planned for the week will keep you stress-free.

6. Prevent Food Wastage

When it comes to meal planning, you go to the grocery store with a strategy in mind and know exactly how you’ll use each item. This  also leads to an increase in savings.

You won’t have to worry about food going bad in your fridge when everything can find a purpose and also by incorporating leftover food into your weekly meal plan.

7. Get Creative In The Kitchen

The concept of meal planning and the reasons why you’re doing it are put into action when you choose your recipes. In fact, we believe it is the most important phase because it initiates the entire process. So you can move beyond the same old, same old basic recipes and get inventive in the kitchen by cooking those fancy dishes that you always wanted to.

8. Variety of Meals

Aim for variety in your meals, but don’t feel obligated to do so every day. It’s perfectly fine to have poha for breakfast and a salad bowl for dinner several times a week if you can manage to efficiently rotate them throughout the week. Bring some of your favourite meal options to the table, throw in some of the newer ones and work with that list. Slowly you’ll get a hang of the planning process and create a system that works for you. Don’t forget about snacks, too.

About The Meal Planner by Decluttercat

Your meal planning is only as good as your meal planner!

The Meal Planner by Decluttercat is designed beautifully and smartly to make your meal planning exercise an easy one. Here’s what you can expect –

Smart Design

The Meal Planner by Decluttercat is minimalistically designed so that the main task of meal planning is achieved. Our smart meal planning template means that there is plenty of space for dates, details and journalising records of your meals.

Practical Size

Compared to other meal planners in the market, our meal planner stands out. For starters, the handy size of our planners (8×5 inches) allow you to store it easily on a bookshelf or even your bag. Moreover, our meal planners are bound in such a way that you can use them as notepads and turn to a new page easily. Finally, there are 60 pages in the meal planner, which means you can easily use it for a whole year! This is perfect for meal planning for beginners.

Ready-Made Grocery List

The smart design of the Meal Planner by Decluttercat means that you have a ready made grocery list right in your meal planner! The Meal Planner by Decluttercat comes with perforated, tear away sheets that are ideal for grocery shopping. Simply, jot down the list of groceries, tear it from the meal planner and start shopping!

Conclusion

Taking the time to prepare your meals for the week ahead is well worth the effort. The trick is to devote a small amount of time each week to it. With our Meal Planner by Decluttercat you will become a meal planning champion in no time!