Anyone who has hung around here a while knows that I have a thing for menus. However, I don’t love meal planning as much as I love coming up with dinner party menus. For some reason, they just don’t seem as fun. Go figure. That doesn’t however, mean I skip them altogether.
I think meal planning is important for a number of reasons. First off, it saves money by providing a plan while shopping that stops me from buying extras that will go to waste. Similarly, it stops me from needing to make extra trips to the store, which saves even more. I have a clear picture of what I need to do when I get home, so it’s not 10 pm and I’m just realizing I haven’t eaten anything. So really taking 10 minutes to meal plan also saves me daily stress at meal times. Also, it gives me a reminder of whats happening during the week. Am I getting home late one night (that means I need a crockpot meal), or are we eating with someone else? See more stress relief. Finally, it helps us stay healthy, by thinking ahead about what we are eating we tend to choose healthier meals that we would in the moment. [Read more…]