4 Huge Benefits of Meal Planning Each Week

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What you eat is a huge part of living a healthy, mindful life. However, cooking homemade meals can become time-consuming and stressful. 

Whether you’re going on a special diet or just planning your Sunday grocery list, meal planning each week can help you save time, money, and help you feel more in control of what you eat. 

Meal planning is taking the time to make a plan for what you’ll cook and eat each week. It’s a good idea to take half an hour on the weekend to plan your meals before you grocery shop for that week.

Benefits of Meal Planning

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1. Helps You Take Control of Your Diet

Meal planning can be a game-changer when it comes to reaching your health goals. If you’re trying to eat less meat each week, increase your protein intake, or get more fiber in your diet, the best way to do so is to plan your meals ahead of time. 

Reaching a certain health goal shouldn’t be another source of stress in your life. Instead, you should feel empowered to eat well and fuel your body with healthy foods. Meal planning helps you stay healthy even when busy. Simply mapping out what you’ll cook for the week can take so much pressure out of what you eat. 

Plus, meal planning can encourage you to cook at home more often. It might even encourage you to seek out new recipes and try new meals that you’ll fall in love with.

2. Saves Money

You know when you clean out your fridge and you find old vegetables in the back that you’ve long forgotten about? We’ve all been there. Planning your meals ahead of time can help you reduce food waste and save you money. 

When you know exactly what ingredients you need for the week, you’re less likely to buy things you don’t need. 

3. Saves Time

Ever paced around your kitchen, thinking of what dinner you can put together with the few items you have left in your pantry? Or, have you decided what to make but realized you have to make a last-minute grocery run to get a few more ingredients? Meal planning ensures you’re fully prepped to cook each day. 

Not only will it save you cooking time, but when you get to the grocery store, you’ll know exactly what to search for and won’t waste time there, either. 

4. Makes Eating With Dietary Restrictions Easier

For those with dietary restrictions, meals can be a constant hassle. Meal planning can make controlling what you eat so much easier. For example, if you have gastrointestinal issues and your doctor has recommended a low-FODMAP diet, meal planning can let you track exactly what you’ve eaten and narrow down exactly what foods upset your body. 

Or, say you’re trying to go vegan or vegetarian. That’s a tough switch to make at first, but meal planning can help you adequately prepare and feel more confident in your new go-to foods.

Final Thoughts

When you’re busy, crafting delicious meals can be just another stressor. Planning your meals helps you take control of your schedule and make delicious meals a breeze. 

One thing to note is that meal planning isn’t necessarily about restrictions. You should still be able to have the foods you love. Meal planning just helps make preparing those delicious meals more manageable. 

Use this meal planning printable to get started meal planning today. You can print this out to put in a journal or pin on the fridge and fill it out at the beginning of each week. There’s room for each meal, plus snacks and desserts as well!