It’s common for people with hectic schedules to choose takeouts over cooking. This may be due to the stress of cooking their meals from scratch. However, you don’t have to depend on fast food as a busy person. Planning your weekly meals is a great way to enjoy home-cooked meals without wasting time. Leveraging your free days for this process is essential, so keep this in mind. If you are unsure whether to plan your weekly meals, here are some reasons to convince you.
Photo by Vanessa Loring
Time-savings
As stated earlier, the last thing anyone wants is to cook their meals from scratch after a long and tedious day. Fortunately, with weekly meal planning, it’s easier to prep your ingredients beforehand. You also eliminate the need to rush to the grocery store for missing ingredients. It’s even easier when you prep and pack them for each day. You can have ample time to eat and rest, so keep this in mind. Granted, some dishes must be prepared and consumed immediately. However, this doesn’t defeat the purpose of weekly meal planning. Knowing what you would eat during breakfast, lunch, and dinner can save you the stress of thinking hard and long when hungry. Besides, regular cooking often results in leftovers you can repurpose the next day. And you can even have enough leftovers that you may not need to cook on some days.
Health benefits
Meal planning is beneficial if you wish to practice healthy eating regularly. It becomes easier to prepare healthier meal options as you decide what ingredients to use. It’s common knowledge that fast foods have a high sodium content and are loaded with saturated and total fat. And these contribute to unhealthy weight gain and, ultimately, obesity. On the other hand, eating homemade meals reduces your risk of becoming overweight, as you’ll be more inclined to cook healthy options. Moreover, portion control is easier with meal planning, so keep this in mind. And this can increase your lifespan while keeping you in optimum health, so feel free to consider this. Experts recommend eating a balanced diet to reap the full benefits. This means stocking up on vegetables, healthy carbs, lean protein sources, healthy fats, and so on. While at it, avoid consuming excess sugar, salt, and other unhealthy ingredients.
Easy on the pocket
Ordering takeouts may seem convenient and cheaper, but that may not always be true. Research indicates that the average American spends approximately $33.89 on single-order delivery, culminating in $1,843.72 annually. It’s also worth noting that these costs will increase if you have to order takeouts for a larger family. This can be concerning, especially if you live on a budget or are saving to reach your financial goals. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend this much on tasty meals; you only need to embrace weekly meal planning.
This practice encourages you to cook more meals, causing you to spend less on feeding. Moreover, you can spice up your weekly menu with various dishes, ensuring you and your family are not tempted to spend on restaurants and fast food joints. As a tip, include meals you and your family enjoy. While at it, incorporate new recipes gradually until everyone gets used to them.
You prevent food waste
It’s common for food items to stay in your fridge or pantry until they expire. However, continuous food waste can culminate in significant costs. A 2022 research indicates that Americans waste approximately one-third of their food purchases. An RTS study also reveals that almost 40% of the US food supply is discarded into landfills. Fortunately, you can avoid throwing food away and wasting resources with meal planning. Indeed, it encourages you to cook more often, requiring you to use all your groceries. Experts recommend once weekly to avoid buying things you don’t need.
Consequently, you can prepare your weekly meals at once if you have the time. This way, you can rest assured at each ingredient is utilized efficiently. Storing your meals in containers can also make them easy to reheat while maintaining flavor and consistency, so keep this in mind. It’s also important to store each food item correctly to ensure longevity. For instance, perishable items like veggies and fruit can be stored in the refrigerator. Likewise, fish, beef, chicken, and other animal protein should be stored in the freezer. Knowing how to store your aromatics is also essential. For instance, you can learn how to make garlic paste to effectively utilize this ingredient.
