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Meal Planning: The Benefits

by Chloe Waring in Nutrition

The Benefits of Meal Planning

When it comes to having a healthy and balanced lifestyle, nutrition is a key driving force in achieving it. Not only does meal planning control which foods you are consuming, it is also a way of spotting any nutrients you may be lacking as well as being healthy on your pockets and saving money!

We have all heard the saying “fail to plan, plan to fail” and when it comes to our diet this phrase could not me more accurate. When we don’t plan our meals it makes life so much more difficult and almost impossible to get all of the correct nutrients and healthy foods we need in a sustainable way, it’s easy to start off the week strong and healthy and then run out of ideas or get a little bit lazy and lose motivation toward the end of the week. This takes the hassle out of that! Here is a rough guide on meal planning.

  1. Write down each day of the week and split into sections for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks, for example:

Monday:

Breakfast –

Lunch –

Dinner –

Snacks –

Click this link for our free planner template! https://www.griffinfit.co.uk/meal-planner-download/

  1. Write down exactly what you plan to eat for each section, whether it is something different every day or you plan to cook one big big batch of something for each day, as long as you’ve written something for each category on each day. For example:

Monday:

Breakfast – yoghurt & granola

Lunch – tuna salad

Dinner – garlic chicken breasts with rice and peas

Snacks – rice cakes with peanut butter, an apple, low kcal jelly

 

  1. Create a shopping list with all of the ingredients and foods you will need for your weekly food intake. Do not sway from your shopping list when you go to shop, only buy what you absolutely need (this is the part where you will see some serious money saving!)
  2. Prepare each days’ worth of food the night before so everything is ready to grab and go! If you are making one big batch i.e. a pasta dish for each day of the week, make it the night before and separate into individual portions for the next few days.
  3. Enjoy!