By Janice Simon

What’s for dinner, Auntie? Or breakfast or lunch?

Organizing your meal planning for the week will help you save money, calories, and time. It doesn’t matter if you cook or not!

If you have older nieces and nephews moving out on their own, you can also help them learn how to effectively shop for food and plan their meals. After all, they can’t live on Ramen noodles alone.

What Are You Eating?

Make a weekly plan for what you want to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. There’s nothing wrong with having the same meal for breakfast or lunch a couple of days in a row. Post the plan on your refrigerator as a reminder.

If you want to cook, generate a few of your favorite recipes. Store them on the cloud, such as Dropbox or Evernote for easy access. If you’re not a cook, plan your meals with items you know you can work with. 

Keep a stash of healthy snacks in your desk and pantry so you won’t be tempted as much by vending machines. If you’re trying to watch calories, use apps such as Fitness Pal or Lose It to track your meals and exercise. Members of Weight Watchers have apps available, as well.
Most take-out meals have huge portions. When you arrive home, put a portion on a plate to eat and put the rest away in the refrigerator for the next day.

Make a Shopping List. Shopping without a list can lead to extra purchases. Before you hit the store, check out the store ads and coupons if you want to save some money. Local farmer’s markets are also a great way to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables. To check what’s in season, check out this seasonal food guide.

Prepare Meals Ahead. When you get home from the grocery store, clean and chop whatever vegetables and fruit you can so they’re ready to go. You can prepare certain dishes and meats ahead and separate them into smaller “grab and go” containers to get you out of the door earlier.
Other meals can be prepped for the freezer until you’re ready to toss them into the oven or a crockpot. If you want ideas for crockpot recipes, search on Pinterest or visit recipe websites, such as Food.com and AllRecipes.com.

With a little planning, preparing your meals will be a snap. Eat up, Auntie.

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Published: February 17, 2015