Why Should You Meal Plan? 6 Reasons to Meal Plan

With the new year upon us. I know many of us are trying to get back to eating at home, eating healthy meals, and saving some money. People often ask me why I plan meals and why I should meal plan. So, I am sharing the top 5 reasons to meal plan. I have a meal planned for all of these reasons, maybe you have to? Meal planning doesn’t take much time, helps get dinner on the table on those busy days, and more. Need some tips on how to create a weekly meal plan? Read this article here to get started.

Why Should You Meal Plan? 6 Reasons to Meal Plan

Meal Planning Saves Money

After an expensive holiday, you may be looking for ways to save money. One of the best benefits of meal planning is the money you save. One of the main ways we saved for our adoption was meal planning and eating at home. Studies show that when we meal plan, we save money. There are two main reasons meal planning saves you money: You eat out less, and you go to the grocery store less.

Eat Out Less

On average, a home-cooked meal costs about $4 per serving. On the flip side, if you were to go out, you’d spend between $9-$13 per meal, even on fast food. With rising inflation, eating out has never been more expensive.

Cooking at home saves you about $9 per person per meal. When you cook for a family, that cost savings add up quickly. $36 for a family of 4 per meal and $275 per week for dinners. That means up to $1000 per month and $12,000 saved in a year just because you eat at home and meal plan!

Fewer Trips to the Grocery Store

Not only does meal planning help you eat out less, but it will also help you be more intentional about grocery shopping. After you meal plan, make a grocery list and take it with you to the store. People tend to save money when they go to the grocery store with a shopping list rather than just buying items they see without a plan.

Having a meal plan will also mean fewer trips to the store. Whenever you go to the store, impulse buys tend to pop into your cart. Fewer trips to the store = less money spent. Your grocery bill will thank you!

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Meal Planning Saves Time

The number one reason people say they don’t cook at home is time scarcity. On average, Americans have decreased the amount of cooking time in their home. Decades ago, Americans spent an hour and 36 minutes daily cooking. Nowadays, people spend way less time. With a busy schedule, there is little time to plan for dinner on the spot. Your future self will thank you by sitting down and planning the menu for the week.

A variety of factors play into that including more activities and more families working outside the home. Whatever the case, time is an issue for everyone when it comes to cooking at home.

A simple way to reduce the amount of time you spend prepping meals is to make a meal plan. How does that help you? Creating a plan ahead of time means you don’t spend time coming up with what to cook, plus you have everything you need on hand.

Meal Planning Helps Your Waistline

Meal planning has been associated with healthier eating habits and less obesity. Meal planning also promotes eating more fresh fruit and vegetables. Generally, when we eat at home, we eat a more balanced diet with less processed foods, less sugar, and less saturated fats. If you have health goals for the new year or are focused on weight loss or specific dietary needs, meal planning is a great way to help you plan for healthier choices and have a nutritious meal.

We tend to have decision fatigue when we open the fridge and plan a meal right before dinner. It’s the end of the day, and I know I tend to make poor food choices when I am tired. Meal planning has been associated with a healthy diet and more food variety. Since you are planning all at once, you can plan a variety of healthy foods with fewer calories than meals at a restaurant.

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Meal Planning Saves Stress

I haven’t met a mom who doesn’t dread the words, “What’s for dinner?” The last-minute scramble to get food on the table can be stressful, especially when you are meal-prepping for a large family like mine. When we take a few minutes at the beginning of the week to draw up even the most straightforward meal plan for the entire week, we can display that plan, and everyone in the house can know what’s for dinner.

Remember, just because you plan your meals doesn’t mean you have to cook new recipes every night. You can create a menu of wholesome meals your entire family will enjoy, but throw in an easy option like macaroni and cheese, sandwiches, a snack tray, or frozen pizza for those busy nights. No one gets an award for the world’s best meal plan. Creating a menu your family will eat and enjoy is good practice.

Meal Planning Reduces Food Waste

Food has gotten expensive these days. The average cost of staples like eggs, milk, and butter has sky-rocketed this year. Meal planning helps you buy the right amount of food, and less food goes to waste. A great way to reduce food waste for our family has been washing the fruits and vegetables after I get home from the grocery store so that we can pull them out and serve them at mealtime. It’s an excellent way to introduce more fruits and vegetables into your family’s diet, and it’s a simple side.

A little prep work at the beginning of the week is one of the best ways, in addition to meal planning, I have found to save money and reduce food waste in our home.

why meal plan 5 benefits to meal planning family dinners

Meal Planning Promotes Family Dinner Time

Family dinners are essential to us. We both grew up eating around the dinner table with our families. We have fond memories of that and have continued that tradition in our home.

Family dinners are an opportunity for family members to be seen and heard. One of our favorite ways to share about our day at dinner is by sharing roses (a good thing) and thorns (a bad thing), or to mix it up, we do high-low-buffalo. The buffalo is something unusual that happened.

Meal planning helps you make sure you have a meal that matches your schedule so you can gather together for dinner.

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Just Remember…

Meal planning does not mean you are making fancy, multi-side dinners. It doesn’t have to be fancy to be meal planned. You can meal plan PB & J, frozen pizza or filet mignon. The goal of meal planning is to create a plan for how you will feed your family. Weekly meal planning leads to less stress, more dinners at home, healthy eating goals, more nutritious foods, less food waste, and more money in your pocketbook. That sounds like a winning habit to me.

Remember the importance of meal planning next time you are tempted to skip the meal plan. Please take a few minutes to do it. Your future self will thank you.