How to Plan Easy, Healthy Meals

Not planning your meals can be detrimental to your health.

The deadliest shopping mistake you can make is failing to plan what you will eat. While shopping in the grocery stores, we are bombarded with thousands of choices. The mundane task of food shopping, at times, can seem overwhelming. Remember that the food choices you select can establish lifelong habits with your family members and children. Many of us eat traditional foods in our homes. The way we learned to eat as children may not be the best thing for overall health. What is your plan of attack for the grocery store?

Menus

Know what you will be eating during the week. Plan the menu around the foods that your family already enjoys. If your family is used to eating out, or having deep fried foods, you will need a cookbook.

Having a cookbook on hand with recipes that actually are restaurant quality will give you confidence in what you are serving.

Are your traditional family recipes nutritionally doomed from the start? How much nutrition is really, in that deep fried chicken fried steak? Do not pick meals that require deep frying often. Meat does not need to be the largest portion of food served at each meal. A popular unhealthy American trend is having large portions of meat at every meal. Raw produce and cooked vegetables should be the majority of food on your plate.

Good cookbooks with visuals with ideas on how to lighten up the calories on traditional dishes are;

www.weightwatchers.com

www.cookinglight.com

Paying attention to the beverage choices, can keep excess refined sugar out of your diet. Bottled juices and fruit drinks that contain corn syrup are not the best nutritional choices. Recipes for drinks can be found at;

http://www.cooksrecipes.com/diabetic-recipes/diabetic-beverage-recipes.html

List

While writing your shopping list, concentrate on whole foods. Whole foods include anything that is unprocessed. Produce, meats, grains, and frozen whole foods. Shop for in season produce, and look in the freezer section for out of season frozen foods.

For step by step instructions and more details about menu planning; visit.

http://organizedhome.com/menu-planning-save-time-kitchen

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/menuplanning.htm

http://diabeticgourmet.com/Food_and_Dining/Meal_Planning/

Shopping.

The outer aisles in the grocery stores contain the best nutrition choices. While shopping in the inner aisles of the store look on the top and bottom of shelves for the best prices. Avoid buying the first thing that you see at eye level. Do not bring awful food temptations into your home. If you must have that donut, go to the donut shop, do some brisk exercise that day and have just one donut.

By planning your meals, snacks, and beverage choices, you will be healthier. Limit the number of trips that you make to the grocery store. Plan to be healthier; giving your body consistent healthful foods does not happen by accident. Making the choice to plan your menus and trips to the store can save you thousands of dollars in impulse purchases.