Meal planning for the New Year

We’ve all done it: found ourselves hungry and quickly grabbed some takeout or fast food instead of figuring out what to cook for dinner. But what if you always had a meal ready to go, and never needed to hit the drive-thru again? If you are making New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, or spend less, or lose weight, your solution to all of these could be in meal planning.

Meal planning is simply taking the time, usually once a week, to plan out each meal, instead of the daily question “what’s for dinner?”. After you get into the habit of meal planning, you might add meal prep, which is doing all the shopping and as much ingredient preparation as possible all at once one day of the week or month.

If you are overwhelmed by the thought of preparing your own meals from scratch, our team of nutritionists can help you customize a plan that meets any of your special dietary needs and keeps you on track to achieving your health goals.

Here are steps to begin your journey to meal planning:

1. The best place to start is with a wellness assessment. With a non-invasive 3D body scan, you will know precisely what your body needs to achieve optimal wellness.
2. Make a list of favorite meals and recipes, or ones you would like to try. Don’t worry yet about calorie counts or which meals are healthy, just get your meal ideas on paper.
3. Choose your meals. Things to consider are the cost of ingredients, the parts of each recipe that can be prepped ahead of time, and whether the meals fulfill into your nutrition goals. If you are meal planning for breakfast and lunch, choose those as well. Once you decide on your meals for each day, write them down in a schedule.
4. Make your list and get your ingredients. A detailed grocery list is the key to going to the store once (instead of stopping in for something every day). You can save money by choosing fresh vegetables and fruits that are in-season and buying store-brand items when possible. Keep to your list but be prepared to be flexible with ingredients in case something isn’t available.
5. Communicate your meal plan with your household. You want to make sure everyone knows not to gobble up ingredients you need for specific meals! If you want to prep to save time, be sure to label and store everything so it is accessible for your weeknight meals.
6. Stick to your meal plan. Try meal planning for 30 days, so it becomes a habit.

If you or someone in your family is living with diabetes, consider enrolling in our online Diabetes-Self Management and Education Course. It is covered by most insurance and can help you learn more about glucose monitoring.