| |
| |
|
Nutrition Information |
|
|
|
Meal Planning: Your Ticket to Freedom
It's 5:30 p.m. and you're heading home after a long, full day. All of a sudden your mind turns to the daily question, "What's for dinner?" Whether it's just you or whether you're preparing a meal for a whole gang, it's not an energizing prospect to imagine planning, shopping for or cooking a meal from scratch at the end of a long day. That's probably why the fast food businesses are booming and why our health is suffering from the effects of these "easy" foods. If you think meal planning is an unnecessary step, or that it would create a strict regimen that you'd be trapped by, read on about how meal planning can free you from worry and improve your health and well being. REASONS FOR MEAL PLANNING Less time and money spent at the grocery store When you plan your meals out a week at a time, your trips to the grocery store become much more manageable. You know exactly what you'll need and you'll be less susceptible to "impulse" buying. Sometimes, when I'm feeling REALLY efficient, I even write my list in order of where I'll find it in the grocery store. Plus, buying the ingredients to cook a meal from scratch usually costs much less than the ready-made version. Healthier meals = healthier you and your loved ones When you're planning ahead, you'll have much more control over what you eat, and you can consciously choose to improve the health of your meals. Better-timed meals If you BEGIN planning and cooking dinner when you get home, it could be quite late before you're sitting down to eat it. The closer to bedtime it is when you finish dinner, the less likely you'll have time to properly digest and for your body to absorb what you've eaten. For breakfast and lunch, having the meals planned out can help remind you to STOP and EAT them. Variety When we choose our meals in the moment, based on what's fast, easy and enjoyable, we tend to stick to a few standby's and don't branch out very much. Nutritionally, this leaves us lacking. We also risk getting bored with our food and looking to fast food or unhealthier options for "excitement". HOW TO PLAN YOUR MEALS FOR THE WEEK 1. Keep some spontaneity. You could just plan one part of the meal. For instance, if you know that you always have plenty of fresh of frozen vegetables that you can choose from, then simply plan "chicken, potatoes and vegetables". Then you can still have some spontaneity in your meal. 2. When you have time, make "frozen dinners". Make a double or triple recipe; package the leftovers in single (or family-size) servings and freeze. 3. Factor in schedule changes. Maybe the night after the big meeting or the night of the soccer tournament aren't the best nights to cook a meal from scratch. Plan a quick meal, take-out or your own "frozen dinner" for those nights. 4. Aim for balance. With the week spread out before you, look for balance between heavy and light meals, vegetarian and meat-based meals, and a variety of different-coloured fruits and vegetables. 5. Plan while you're in the kitchen. That way you can easily check for the ingredients of the dishes you're planning. If they're not there, add them to your grocery list immediately. 6. Keep an active grocery list through the week. That way, when staples run out you can add them to list. 7. Grow your recipe collection. Use the Internet, the cookbooks of your friends and family, magazines, etc. and find new things to try. One new recipe a week will keep things exciting! 8. Get some expert advice. Consult a trusted source such as Canada's Food Guide, or better still get individualized meal and nutrition suggestions from a registered dietician or a holistic nutritionist. 9. Make it a team effort. If you're feeding others as well as yourself, make the planning a team effort so that everyone gets some of their favourites through the week. 10. Always follow your plan, except when you don't. There are going to be things that come up, days that you just don't feel like eating what you've planned, or days when you've forgotten to do your nightly prep. Create a list of healthy stand-by's that you can throw together with the staples in your own kitchen. If you're on the go, be prepared by having a list of healthy choices at your favourite restaurants. A meal plan is not a rigid "diet" or set of orders. The meal plan serves you, not the other way around. Start now with tomorrow's meals. What can you defrost or partly prepare tonight to make tomorrow's meals easier and healthier? (c) Copyright Linda Dessau, 2005. Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, is the author of "The Everyday Self-Care Workbook". For free resources, including your own Meal Planning Worksheet, visit http://www.genuinecoaching.com/resources.html
MORE RESOURCES:
Nutrition - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
REAL Summer Foods Fire ElementAccording to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) there are five elements that contribute to all activities: TREE / WOOD, FIRE, SOIL / EARTH, METAL and WATER.Fire is the element of summer ? so how can this help to put more of YOU in summer? The more you use EnergyRich Seasonal Foods (rather than associational season foods - a-hem like, maybe, ice-cream?), the more energy you have available for fun!Fire Foods - to Keep You Cool1. Healthy Eating for Executives on the Run For the executive, maintaining the much-needed balance between career, family, and health can often be a challenge and yet without this balance in our lives it is impossible to become focused and efficient during the work day. The one area that seems to be the quickest to fall out of balance is our health. Fruits for Summer: Summer Skin Care Summer is the time when we sweat highly and beating the heat is always high on our agenda. So, we move on to aerated drinks or other beverages. Combat High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol with Soybeans You may have heard of the "Portfolio Diet" wherein it has been clinically accepted that increasing the intake of soy based foods can reduce levels of LDL cholesterol as much as some statin drugs.Well, now it seems that soybeans have another health-giving quality: they also reduce blood pressure. The Best Way to Consume Vitamin C Eating orange mean absorbing vitamin C to our body, is that right? Probably yes because orange is rich with this nutrient. Vitamin C is a very essential nutrient for human body because its play a great role as a powerful antioxidant. Good Fat Diet or How to Choose the Best Foods for Your Family? Some fats are good for you. Your body can't function without them. An Open Letter to Mankind In the last twenty years, a huge and growing body of research has been carried out into the role of the sugars that are an essential part of glycoproteins. These sugar-protein complexes are the building blocks of our immune system, and are the method by which cells "talk" to each other. Is Dr. Arthur Agatston Fearing the Loss of Popularity of South Beach Diet? Dr. Arthur Agatston, the cardiologist who developed South Beach Diet has stated in a recent interview that the diet is not low-carb, as everybody labels it. Fruit for Breakfast - The Secret to a Healthy Life Do you want more energy? How about more of the vitamins, minerals and enzymes that your body craves? Try eating fruit for breakfast! Fresh fruit - apples, grapefruit, strawberries, cherries, oranges, kiwi, melon, and grapes all count. In fact, any fruit works - and there are so many to choose from. Busy Mums Guide to Losing Weight Hormonal changes during pregnancy, and quite normal fat gain often makes many women feel unattractive and sometimes quite depressed. Many women still believe that "eating for two" is the way to go during pregnancy. Building Better Bones "It is a bone-deep change you are going into, my beloved," counsels Grandmother Growth. "You must open to your very marrow for this transformation. Nutrition Know-how: Seven Simple Ways to Eat Healthier (with Strawberry Orange Sorbet Recipe) The key to better health is learning the difference between healthy and unhealthy nutrients. The choices we make greatly affect our health. Six Ways Soy Benefits Your Health Soy, and most soy-based products, are nutritional powerhouses. Soybeans are the only plant food that has all of the essential amino acids our body requires, making it a complete protein. Natural Foods Defined With so many people concerned about natural and organic foods these days, it's useful to stop and really take a look at what "natural" and "organic" foods really are. We all know that natural and organic foods are better for us than highly processed or artificial foods, but do we really know which foods are natural and organic? When you buy food that is labeled "natural," what does that really mean? What about "organic"?It turns out that the term "natural" doesn't mean all that much. Death, Aging, Rejuvenation (Part 1) I would like to raise a question: Is Rejuvenation possible and how to approach it? This is just my own opinion about possible procedures. I used certain techniques based on a theory. Cherries - A Natural Joint Pain Killer Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry capsules are a nutritious, all-natural alternative for the more than 70 million people in the U.S. Autism and Nutritional Supplements Unfortunately, it has been proved beyond doubt that a large percentage of the United States population suffers from nutritional deficiency. Studies show, 30% of the general population has a marginal level of Vitamin C and 15% are Vitamin C deficient. What Would You Do For a Klondike Bar? Unfortunately, the words "diet" and "cheating" go hand in hand. When you say, "I'm on a DIET", it usually means you are depriving yourself of something. The New Food Pyramid: Another Attempt At Providing Easy Answers The Food Pyramid, first introduced to the US in 1992, just experienced a major overhaul. Why? Perhaps proper education about nutrition isn't as easy as picking out food from a colorful chart. Death, Aging, Rejuvenation (Part 3) AgingHow did aging appeared?If mechanism of Death was chosen by evolution, how was aging chosen?Why for example at certain age animals do not die instantly and just give the room for the next generation. Nurturing is one explanation at least for human society.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
