Do you get home from work and are too tired to cook a meal? Do you opt for fast food and takeaways because you don’t have the right foods in your cupboard? Do you feel overwhelmed by everyday tasks and don’t know how to take charge of it?
Then creating a Game Plan is for you. A Game Plan helps you to maximise your time and make good food choices for you and your family’s health. Being organised and eating right will help improve your energy and reduce your sense of being overwhelmed.
What is a Game Plan?
Planning your meals each week will help you plan your meals, your shopping list, your food budget, and help you minimise food wastage. Taking 15 – 20 minutes once per week to plan your meals will save your energy and sanity.
No more getting home wondering what to make for dinner and feeling overwhelmed by the decision process. No more starting to make a meal only to find out you are missing an ingredient and now have to go to the shops to purchase that ingredient and whatever other sweet treats there is on the way out through the checkouts because you are feeling tired and hungry. Sound familiar?
Adopting a habit of planning your meals will help you to take charge of meal preparation. You can also make extra servings to freeze for another night or for lunchtime leftovers. There is a common misconception that making healthy meals is time-consuming. It doesn’t have to be at all. Meal planning helps to make sure you are prepared with the ingredients that you need and if there is preparation such as marinating or soaking you can do that the previous day/night.
The food choices we make when we are tired and hungry is for foods that give us a quick fix, such as sweets and chocolate bars. These choices tend to rob you of energy. Foods such as sugar and alcohol contribute to nutrient depletion and are linked to lower energy over the whole day. Foods that are mass-produced such as those in fast-food restaurants have little nutritional value and can be laden with sugar to drive you to want more. This reinforces the already fatigued long term state.
Being prepared and creating a Game Plan you can choose meals that fit your weekly schedule and time frame. If you are home late on a week night due to kids after school activities or your own sport then factor that into your meal planning and have a pre-prepared meal in the freezer from a previous cook. On the nights that you have more time or on a weekend you can cook extra for those times that you are time-poor.
The more you meal plan, the easier it becomes and you can start to recycle favourite recipes into another week. Set aside time when you are not rushed and have eaten a meal, such as after breakfast on a Sunday. Write down several meals that you would like to eat during the week and then check your pantry and fridge for the ingredients. You can then write your shopping list that will reduce any wastage and only get the things you will use that week. What a great way to save money.
Plan ahead. Choose recipes that can be doubled in quantity. That way you can freeze portions for later meals. You can also increase the vegetable quantity of the meal to ensure that you get good nutrition, reduce cost and increase the number of portions for future meals. Looking for inspiration and meal ideas. There are many websites that have recipes listed that you can download and add to your collection. There are Apps to help you plan meals and give you recipes. If you still find you are stuck go to www.teressatodd.com/resources to download my 7-day meal plan. It has 21 main meals and snacks for each day of the week. The majority of the recipes are quick to make and take less than half an hour.
Creating a Game Plan and planning your meals will save you time, money and nourish you to help reduce your fatigue. Go, Plan your meals now and reap the rewards!
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Have a fabulous day!
