How to Plan a Week of Healthy Meals

Planning healthy meals for the entire week can be a great way to maintain a balanced diet while also saving you the aggravation of hearing "what's for dinner?" Although it may take a few weeks to really get the hang of planning an entire weekly menu at once, over time it will become second nature. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Evaluate what is on hand and needs to be used. Go through the fridge and freezer, making a list of meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables that need to be used first.

2

Plan the first healthy meal of your week using items that are available and need to be used before they go bad. Plan each subsequent meal with the idea that you do not want to be wasteful.

3

Choose at least one meat dish each week that can easily be used twice; broiled steak and grilled chicken both work well for this. On the first night it can be served hot, and on the busiest night of the week it can easily be cut up and placed on a salad.

4

Plan to cook fish or seafood on the day you regularly go food shopping, so that you are always eating it fresh that evening.

5

Mix up your fruits and vegetables so that over the course of the week you are getting an assortment of vitamins and nutrients from them.

6

Keep salad ingredients available at all times. A salad can be a great addition to any meal, but you can also use the different ingredients like peppers or mushrooms to bulk up a tomato sauce or other dish if needed.

7

Purchase only healthy foods, like multi-grain bread and pasta, lean meats and produce, so that when you plan your menus you aren't tempted to add other dishes into your repertoire.