10 Aug The Benefits Of Meal Planning For Healthier Kids
Life is busy and we have lots of pressures to manage each and every day. Meal planning can be a helpful tool when done right and a very important aspect of eating well. Firstly, it creates less stress because you know exactly what is organised for each meal on a particular day of the week. This ensures you don’t have to worry about what you will cook or worse still – searching the supermarket shelves in a panic to find something to eat last minute.
Once you have written up your plan, write a shopping list based on your recipes. When you only buy what you need, this will help to save money at the checkout, compared to impulse buying once you’re already at the supermarket. Also market research shows you spend more overall when you make multiple visits to the grocery store compared to just heading there once a week.
My top Tips creating a meal plan:
- ✅ Make a meal plan for the week and buy all of your ingredients in one shop. This prevents daily, often more expensive, trips to the grocery store and gives you more time to prepare meals at home.
- ✅ Keep a meal plan ‘bible’ where you keep all your favourite recipes and seasonal meal plans.
- ✅ If you buy large packs of meat, freeze it into cooking portions. This makes it easier to defrost and gives you ready-made portions to cook.
- ✅ Slow cookers are your best friend in the kitchen! Add vegetables, stock and your favourite meat and you can create meals for days – and a meal the whole family will love.
- ✅ Simplify recipes – you don’t have to cook restaurant-style meals every night.
- ✅ Only cook complex recipes if you enjoy cooking; otherwise choose meals that take less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
- ✅ Cook meals that only require minimal ingredients and minimal dishes to clean afterwards (e.g. one pan/pot meals).
- ✅ When cooking a meal, make a double batch so it can be used for other meals or lunches the next day. Pack lunch and freezer portions after you finish eating dinner, so you aren’t left with one single covered dish in the fridge.
- ✅ Get creative! This can be a great opportunity to try using new ingredients and recipes, escaping from regular food ruts. Plan for the whole week including all your allowable drinks and snacks.
- ✅ Remember to also allow extra time for cooking new recipes, as they may have different cooking times or use new cooking methods. Don’t be too hard on yourself – almost everyone finds dietary changes challenging at first.
FIONA STOCK | THE CHILDREN’S NATUROPATH | MELBOURNE NATUROPATH
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Online Learning | Children’s Health | Melbourne Naturopath
Would you like a consultation with me at a fraction of the cost? My online learning classes are jam packed with more advice than I provide in a face-to-face appointment. It’s evidence-based naturopathic wisdom coupled with the latest scientific research on kids health I’ve successfully shared with clients over my 20+ year career.
I’ve also included cheatsheets, checklists, nourishing recipes and 25 page book of class notes.
You will learn:
- ✅ Understand the cause if common childhood conditions (eczema, poor immunity, food allergies, food intolerances, poor focus & concentration, ADHD, behavioural problems).
- ✅. Supporting immune function to help support allergic conditions.
- ✅. Support optimal brain function.
- ✅. Healthy Eating Plan – including portion size for each age-group.
- ✅. Natural medicine recommendations,
- ✅. Plus much more…
Fiona Stock is a Naturopath Melbourne depends on. Fiona focusses on natural therapies for children’s health.
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