As prices continue to inflate and grow, it’s easy to become stressed about the amount your household spends on groceries weekly. This can bleed into other parts of your life, especially if making dinner is already a stressful experience for you.
Limiting the amount of stress around cooking is incredibly important. No one should have to force tension on themselves just to eat. You may think eating out is a good solution, but that will either cost you even more or your health and well-being. The best way to reduce stress in the kitchen while saving you a lot of money is with meal planning.
We’ve outlined a simple, fantastic method for meal planning that will help relieve a lot of stress. This way, you don’t have to spend as much time in the kitchen before a meal just trying to figure out what food you want.
Before you start thinking about meals, you need to examine the needs of your house. You, your spouse, and your kids have different needs, likes, and schedules. Starting this process by sitting down and asking yourself a few honest questions about your lifestyle can save you many headaches. Some of the most important questions include:
After you’ve answered these questions honestly, you’ll have a realistic picture of your needs, wants, and what you need to work around. If you don’t know how to cook or just hate doing it, there are luckily many quick and easy recipes online that don’t require a lot of technical knowledge and still taste delicious.
Planning meals is great, but if you plan a meal that takes a long time to cook the night your kids are in a play, you’ll likely end up making something quick and wasting the ingredients for the other dish. The best way to mitigate this is by having your calendar open and ready while planning your dinners for the week. Doing this lets you see which days need something super quick and which you could get away with a complex recipe.
Knowing the schedules of the people in your house can also help you see which days certain members of your family are free. This way, you can decide which days you can have help with cooking or cleaning. Diverting the work will help reduce the stress of housekeeping.
There are several different ways to do this step, depending on what works best for you and your family’s lifestyle. You and your family could sit down and have a brainstorming session where everyone can share dinner ideas, or you could treat it more as a solo activity and work through it yourself. By the end, you should have around seven meals ready.
By figuring out what recipes you’re cooking throughout the week, you can get a picture of what you need from the store. Go through each meal and write a shopping list based on them. You should ensure you have all the ingredients, spices, and tools ready for each meal. You should also double-check that you don’t have any of the ingredients in your cabinet. By taking these steps, you’ll get a clear vision of exactly what you need for each meal, and sticking to that can help you save a lot of money.
Eating well is one of the best things you can do to improve your health, but never forget how much the stress around cooking can affect your week. Your mental well-being is just as crucial as your diet, so planning meals can help your health journey in more ways than one.
An Optimal You is an incredible holistic health center in southern California. Our incredible staff is ready to help you improve your life in every way possible, from diet to mental health to your quality of sleep. That way, you feel the absolute best you possibly can and can lead the most fulfilling life possible! Call our office today to set up your appointment!