There was a huge shift in the dining habits of people worldwide when home cooked meals started getting replaced by food from restaurant and then later on by pre-cooked ready-to-eat meals from the grocery stores nearby.

In the last couple of years there is a reverse shift happening . People are becoming more aware of the health issues related to eating off-the-shelf. Fresh produce, home cooked meals, meals from scratch, etc have become the new trends. In short, our eating habits have come one full circle.

The only issue in getting back to our old eating habits is that nothing else has gone back to the way it was. Ever increasing work loads, erratic work schedules, increase in commute time etc makes it difficult for some of us to make the changes that we would have loved to bring about.

The only way to make this much-required shift from eating unhealthy or eating off-the-shelf to eating a healthy, wholesome, home cooked meal, is to plan the meals in advance. There is no other short cut to ensure that the whole family eats a healthy and tasty meal throughout the week.

Healthy eating is not difficult. Here are a few very practical and easy ways in which you can shift from a confused and irritated time in the kitchen to a relaxed one.

1. Make a Meal Planning Help document: This will help you chalk out a weekly meal plan.
   1. Make a detailed list of the healthy food that you currently eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also include the snack items that you occasionally munch on.
   2. To this list, include everything that you have always wanted to be a part of your meal plan. For example; green juice, sprouts, millets, fermented food etc.
   3. You can keep adding dishes to this list. Whenever you come across a new dish that you would like to include in your menu, just add to this list.
      The printable sheet below will help you in putting down all this into paper.
2. Make a Weekly Meal Plan: Refer to the meal planning help document while doing this. You can make the weekly meal plan either before you go for your grocery shopping or after you come back from your shopping.
   Download the printable Weekly Meal Planner. 
3. Keep in mind your daily dietary requirement while working on the meal plan.
4. When you choose an item that requires some amount of preparation , make sure to do it during the weekend or check your schedule for the previous day to ensure you can take out time for the meal prep.
5. Once you have filled the sheet, put it up on the refrigerator or in a prominent place in your kitchen.

There are so many advantages of making a meal plan. I am listing down some of the differences that it has brought about it in my life:

1. A meal plan helps me to start the day on a positive note. I know exactly what has to be done and hence don’t waste time.
2. While planning the meal for the week, I tend to focus on making a nutrient rich and balanced menu for each day.
3. In the meal prep,I include soaking of lentils to make sprouts or peeling and dicing some of the veggies required for the next day’s meal. This saves me a lot of time while cooking.
4. Since the meal plan is linked to the grocery shopping that has been done, all the items that were bought find place in the menu. Hence the wastage of food ( the ones that we keep in the refrigerator and forget about) is reduced to a great extend.
5. All those dishes that I have always wanted to prepare, find a place in the meal plan and once it is on the paper, it tends to end up on the plate.
6. I eat fresh food every day.
7. It becomes easier to divide the chores among the family members. 

The type of food we eat usually depends on our location, culture, health requirements, available local produces etc. So it is important to make a meal plan that suits the needs of our family members. I would not recommend blindly following a ready made meal plan unless it has been chalked out specifically for you by a dietician.

In order to avoid repeating the same food every week, make 2-3 different meal plans and then alternate it. You can tweak it here and there depending on the availability of fruits and vegetables.

Happy Meal Planning!

Healthy Eating Is Not Difficult.

Meal Planning Help.  

Weekly Meal Planner.

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