Weekend: Cook up healthy meal strategies

It’s that time of year again. School is in full throttle, which usually means rushed mornings, running kids to and from extracurricular activities, and urging homework to be finished. Don’t forget to add a long day of work into the equation.

Whatever your day-to-day balancing act may be, it’s likely that the last thing you want to think about when you walk through the door in the evening is, “What am I going to make for dinner?”

Well, the good news is you do not have to waste any more time contemplating this dreaded question. With a little planning, you can enjoy healthful meals while saving time, energy and money as well.


When beginning your meal plan for the week, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and you may not know where to start. First, set aside a time when you can plan a week’s worth of meals, or at least a couple of days, in advance.

Try starting with the ingredients first and let the recipes follow. See what you already have for ingredients at home in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer.

In particular, look for the ingredients that need to be used up first. This can give you some inspiration for what types of meals you want to create throughout the week.

Also, consider which ingredients you can incorporate into more than one meal, because this will help you use up food items fully and prevent waste.

Another technique used to gather inspiration for your meal plan and prevent food waste is to plan for leftovers.

This can be very useful to place on a day that is busy, because you do not have to spend time making a meal and you can use up leftovers before they spoil. Keep in mind that most leftovers remain safe in the refrigerator for three to four days.

Related to this technique is the “cook once, eat twice” approach. This is where you make a meal that is double the amount of what your family will eat in one sitting, storing the remaining portion in the freezer.

A final meal planning strategy is to utilize grocery store ads and coupons. You can save money by incorporating sale items into your weekly meal plan.

Also, don’t be afraid to buy something in bulk when it’s on sale, especially when you have the space at home to safely store it.

If you come to realize that none of these strategies work out for you and meal planning is just not your thing, there are online services that can help you get healthy food to the table. Most of these services do have fees, but some of them offer a week or two of free trial.

Some examples include Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, eMeals, eat at HOME, and Gatheredtable. A few of these services can also save you from having to make a trip to the grocery store. Plus, you can order what you want from the comfort of your computer or smartphone.