Cooking nutritious meals for your family may seem like a daunting task but with menu planning and time management you CAN do it.
Menu planning does not have to complicated. What it does need to be is realistic for you and your family.
Start with these tips:
- Write down some of your favorite meals and ask for input from family members. If you can’t think of any ideas, look for recipe ideas on the Dinner Tonight website, Pinterest, or recipe magazines.
- Plan a week’s worth of meals at a time. Don’t forget to include side dishes (which can be as simple as a frozen bag of veggies).
- Find Balance. If you have veggies, dairy, and protein at one meal, include fruit and grains in the next to cover all 5 food groups.
- Vary protein foods. Choose a variety of protein foods throughout the week. If you have chicken one day, try seafood, beans, lean meat, or eggs other days.
- Designate meals for each day. If you know that Wednesday nights are hectic with after school activities, make that night grab-and-go style. For example, you could make turkey wraps with low-fat cheese and spinach, carrot sticks, and use Greek yogurt as a dessert.
- Take a quick inventory of your pantry and fridge then go grocery shopping based on your menu. Remember to make a list.
- Love your leftovers. Prepare enough of a dish to eat multiple times during the week. Making leftovers part of your plan can save money and time.
Try menu planning this month. To get you started, here are a few favorite recipes from the Dinner Tonight archive to give you a one-week menu. Practicing menu planning can lead us down the path of healthy living. Let us know what you use to menu plan and share your helpful tips. Enjoy!
Monday- Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Tuesday- Black Bean Rice Salad
Wednesday- Pork Street Tacos (use leftovers from Monday)
Thursday- Oriental Lettuce Wraps
Friday- Family Night Out
Saturday- BBQ Pepper Steak (prepare extra steak)
Sunday- Roast Beef and Blue Cheese Salad (use leftover steak from the day before)
Source:
Learn more about MyPlate, MyWins tips here
