Wednesday, April 23, 2014

ARTICLES: SEVEN SIMPLE STEPS TO MEAL PLANNING(click here to print)

SEVEN SIMPLE STEPS TO MEAL PLANNING


1. Determine your food budget.
2. Decide how often you will shop.
3. Know how many people will be eating each meal so you don't buy too much food.
4. Plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner and snacks incorporating store specials. Stay flexible so that you
    can switch meals around if your plans change at the last minute.
5. Check what's in the pantry, then make a list of ingredients that you need to purchase to           
    prepare each meal and a snack.
6. Keep the shopping list handy in the kitchen and add to it during the week.
7. Make meal planning a habit.


You should also have the right kitchen tools on hand to make cooking easier.  Tools I have on hand are
I love my pressure cooker  Cooks a meal in 30 minutes of less even a roast
good quality knives
a grill(outdoor and small indoor electric or stove top)
Non stick cookware
microwave
Slow Cooker
kitchen scale if you are measuring portions, and then there are lots of kitchen gadgets you can add on.
I have a mixer, a blender(for smoothies), small chopper, coffee grinder(which also grinds spices) nut grinder. I just love browsing in the big kitchen stores.  There seems to be a gadget for everything.
As more and more people realize how bad processed foods are for them, I think they will start eating and cooking at home more.  Browse through our recipes and make your meal plan for the day or the week.   Breakfast, Salads, sandwich or soup for lunch and a main dish.  Print out copies of the recipes and take them shopping with you, put a check next to the item as you put it in your cart. Low carb *WOE is sometimes like an experiment.  When you find a recipe you like save it in a binder.  If you make something that you did not like, learn to tweak it to your palate or cross it off your list. Learning a new *WOE is challenging at times but it also fun...make it an adventure!

*WOE: way of eating

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