Meal Planning for Beginners

Meal planning helps me with my sanity. For years I would go to the fridge around 5pm and “hope” that I had enough ingredients to make a meal. I would grocery shop with vague ideas of what I wanted to create for the week but by the time it came to remembering, the meal would never happen.

A few years ago I started meal planning. I was working full time and my kids were starting extracurricular activities. I wrote down on a slip of paper what we were going to eat for each meal that week, and my goodness, it changed my entire outlook on grocery shopping. With every week that I meal planned, I noticed that my grocery bill was lower and I wasn’t running to the grocery store every night for the one item I was missing. It’s brilliant.

There are quite a few programs out there for meal planning but it doesn’t have to be difficult. I use a program that is meant for nutritionists called That Clean Life. It puts everything for me into a neat little plan with the recipes and the grocery list as well. Amazing!

If you don’t have a program that you use, I would simply suggest opening up a worksheet on your computer and putting meals under each day. I always pick my meals based on how busy I’m going to be that week. For instance, on Tuesdays I have to have my son to hockey by 5pm so I know that I need to have a meal that I can stick in to my Instant Pot so that it’s done on time. On days that I know I have a bit more time, I’ll pick a meal that might be more time intensive and use more dishes.

If you’re an existing client of mine, I offer my meal planning services as a part of your appointment. I can make one up for you quickly because I already know what your dietary requirements and restrictions are. If you’re not an existing client, I offer my services for $60 a month.

It’s time to save your sanity and start meal planning! Your family, stomach and wallet will thank you :)

Children and Cooking

I posted a picture of my daughter cooking us dinner on my Instagram a I got quite a few comments. My oldest daughter is 9 years old and she loves cooking. All three of my children love helping me out in the kitchen. They love helping me meal plan, choose the ingredients, stir everything together, and best of all, they love to eat everything they make.

There are so many kids out there that are picky eaters. It’s one of the big questions I get. One of the simplest things that you can do to get your child to expand their diet from chicken fingers and french fries, is to teach them how to cook.

Here are my reasons for getting kids more involved in the kitchen:

1. It teaches them about healthy eating. They’re more apt to eat healthier foods if they have had a part in making the meal. This can depend on the age. When my children were younger, I had them setting the table and making a salad. As they’ve gotten older, they started measuring ingredients for me. As they became more confident with knives and cutting, they started chopping vegetables and putting everything together in the bowls and pots.

2. It creates good values around food. Some of my favourite memories growing up were around our big kitchen table. I grew up in a large family and dinnertime could last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. We learned how to carry on conversations, enjoy our food, and create relationships around that big table.

3. They are more likely to carry these values on into adulthood. There are quite a few studies that show how important meal times are for families. They can help prevent depression, anxiety and eating disorders, especially for young girls but also for boys.

4. When they cook the meal, they will try lots of different foods. I have been able to get my kids to try so many different types of foods and flavours because they’ve put them together. Their current favourite soup is Masala Lentil Soup with lots of spices and flavours. I’m not sure they would have been interested in it if they hadn’t put it together themselves.

5. It prepares them for adulthood. I have so many clients and friends who don’t know how to cook. To me, this is so sad because it’s a life skill! Being able to feed yourself properly is such an essential part of living, but unfortunately most adults can’t do this and are limited to sticking a pizza in the oven. If you teach your kids how to cook when they’re younger, they’ll enjoy it and continue it on in to adulthood and eventually thank you for preparing them for the real world!

If you’re unsure of where to start, I would suggest going to your local book store and buying a recipe book that is appropriate for your child’s age. I bought my kids their first cookbooks when they were four and we still pull our favourite recipes from those books! Take them grocery shopping and get an idea of what they’d be interested in making. Even baking cookies together teaches them about the importance of measuring and temperature times. Resist the urge to do it all yourself because it’s easier. I promise it will get easier and less messy as you go along!

Are there any recipes that you and your family love to make? I’m always looking for new ones!

Did you learn to cook as a child? Let me know in the comments below.