Today we want to share a key tip that will help you be healthier: a good meal plan for the week. With this you can obtain many advantages, such as not falling into the monotony of repeating meals, spending less by organizing yourself in advance, saving time by not having to think about what to cook and not having to run out to find food that night you want to stay home.
Planning your meals will help you prepare richer and more nutritious dishes for your family and will motivate you to try those recipes that you have saved for years on your Pinterest boards. Make the kitchen a great experience for you, where you can express your creativity and affection to those you love.
Ask your family if anyone has a craving or desire to try a new recipe. Surely you will get a surprise! You can also take the opportunity to have a moment and share as a family, talking about the favorite ingredients of each one and how these can be combined with other healthier ones. So you can pamper them and take care of them at the same time.
If you have small children, this can be very useful and fun. Involve them in the process to create the plan and choose the ingredients, integrating their favorite foods and healthy recipes.
Organize the plan on a chart and post it on the refrigerator
Create a table with all the meals of the week organized by day and each day divided with the different meals. Normally it is usually breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks between meals. The meal plan captured in a table will be of great help to organize yourself when going to the supermarket and start cooking. In addition, if you ever have to leave the house, the other members of your family will be able to know that it is their turn to eat, without the need to call you on your cell phone 10 times.
As the days go by, add new ideas and modify your weekly meal plan. In this way you will always be trying new recipes, and your family will not get tired of always eating the same menu.
An idea that we recommend is to set aside some time during the weekend to look for recipes on the Internet. Take advantage of websites like Minimalist Baker and Royal Prestige®, where you can find delicious, nutritious and easy-to-prepare recipes.
After creating your weekly meal plan, it's time to make your shopping list
If you plan the meals of your week, it will be very easy to make the shopping list. Simply write the ingredients next to the dishes of the weekly plan in the table and you will have already organized two tasks in one. In addition, this practice will help you not to go out of your budget.
When you go to the supermarket, you will know directly what to look for, avoiding those not very healthy snacks that, when paying, make a difference in the total bill. Now, once in a while it's okay to break the rules. Add that favorite snack to your list and when you eat it, enjoy it.
And as we promised you, below we share several practical and healthy options that you can implement when creating your weekly plan, for the different meals of the day.
Imagine that after sleeping around 8 hours during the night, your body wakes up desperately asking for water and something to eat, in order to continue functioning properly. Yes, we know that many people skip breakfast when they wake up, but this is a very bad idea.
According to the American Chemical Society (ACS), for a complete breakfast you need two basic components: some type of carbohydrate (grains, fruits and vegetables) and some protein. It is also advisable to drink a glass of water on an empty stomach, this will help your body to release toxins, in addition to rehydrating the body quickly.
Midday arrives and if we have a very busy morning, we miss lunch without realizing it. Then, when our body alerts us that it is hungry, that is when we realize it and eat the first thing we find, often choosing a not-so-healthy option.
To stay happy and satisfied, it is better to have your week's lunch planned and already prepared. A good lunch should combine vegetables and fruits of the greatest possible variety of colors; legumes and proteins, such as chicken and lentils; cereals, such as rice or potatoes, and plenty of water before and after meals.
For snacks, smoothies are a great idea to combine various food groups. If you put fruits, milk and seeds, you will be combining vitamins, proteins and healthy fats among other things. This will give you instant energy and satiety. Prepare them easily with the Royal Prestige® Juicer. Its powerful motor efficiently extracts the juice from fruits and vegetables, allowing their nutrients to be better used.
You can also use a handful of nuts or dried fruit, such as almonds, or spread peanut butter on banana or apple slices. Add grated coconut and raisins as a perfect snack for the little ones.
It is ideal that you eat dinner as early as possible. Do not overload the stomach and do not lie down immediately after eating, to avoid gastrointestinal problems and even sleep better. Try to make the menu options for dinner similar to lunch, but in smaller quantities and using lighter foods.
Finally, we suggest that you think about the weekly meals by food groups, and how many times a week it is convenient for you to prepare them. For example: a protein per day, vegetables in all main meals, pasta for weekends, grains and legumes for lunch dishes, four pieces of fruit a day, etc.
