Discover how useful menu planning can be, to help you eat better for less. You can also save time, boost your nutrition and discover all new recipes you and your family will love.

1. The Benefits of
Menu Planning –
The Basics

2. Introduction
•There are many benefits to menu planning
•It can take time to master, but once you do,
you can eat better for less, and enjoy
healthier meals too
•Menu planning has many advantages that
will save you time in the long run
•It is better for the environment because a lot
less will go to waste
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3. 1-Get Dinner On The Table
Faster
•Menu plans mean dinner on the table faster
•You won’t have to stress about what to
make
•You won’t have to shop on the way home
•You won’t have to worry about running late
•You won’t have to worry about what will
happen if you’re not there to supervise
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4. 2-Go to The Store Less Often
•Planning ahead means you will usually have
everything on hand that you need and not
need to stop off at the store every night
once you figure out what you’re going to
have
•Imagine what life would be like if you only
had to go to the store once or twice a week
•Think how much gas and energy you’d save
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5. 3-Eat Better
•Menu planning with a view to healthier
eating means you can eat better, and often
for less money than you might think
•Menu planning means you can organized
balanced meals every day
•Menu planning means you can also cater for
special diets, such as for weight loss,
planning out exactly what you need to eat to
lose the weight you want
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6. 4-Save Money
•Menu planning helps you make the most of the
food you buy
•No leftovers will go to waste
•You can shop the sales and menu plan around
your store’s sales flyer
•Buy cheaper cuts of meat, and put into stews
•Cook in bulk and freeze, for ready to eat meals
far cheaper than the TV dinners in the store
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7. 5-Save Time
•Menu planning takes the guesswork out of
what to eat and when
•Bulk cooking means you only have to cook
once or twice a week
•Freezing leftovers means a freezer full of
healthy and delicious meals for you and the
family so you never have to worry about
what to eat
•Just heat and eat
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8. 6-Enjoy Quality Family Time
•Studies have shown that families who eat
together around the table at least 3 times a
weeks are a lot closer and more bonded
•The kids do better at school and are much
less likely to engage in negative behaviors,
such as smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol,
and engaging in under-age sex
•Cooking and clean up can be a lot more fun
when you all do it together as a team
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9. 7-It's fun
•Exploring new recipes is always fun-just don’t
spend too much time on Pinterest!
•Healthy eating doesn’t have to be dull
•Try eating a rainbow
•Try a new food every day
•Try a new recipe at least a couple of times a
week
•Invest in some good cookbooks
•Learn how to make your favorites from scratch
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10. 8-It's interesting
•There are many cuisines all over the world you
can explore:
•Italian
•Mediterranean diet
•Chinese
•Indian
•Thai
•Mexican
•Use fresh, wholesome ingredients
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11. 9-Menu Plan Options
•There are 3 main plan options
•The traditional 3 meal a day plan
•A 6 smaller meals a day plan
•3 meals plus structured snacks and desserts is
sort of like a 6 smaller meals plan
•A 6 smaller meals plan means eating every 3 or
so hours when you are awake
•It lends itself to a wide range of foods and
eating lifestyles but needs a lot of planning
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12. 10-3 Meals a day
•Breakfast
•Lunch/Brunch
•Dinner/Supper
•Structured Snacks
•Dessert (a small sweet treat)
•Aim for a calorie count. 2,000 for women,
2,500 for men, but if you are dieting, shave
off 400 calories per day
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13. 11-Breakfast
•This is the most important meal of the day
•It can be tough if people aren’t hungry first
thing in the morning
•It is also hard if you all have to head off for
school and work
•Either get it ready the night before
•Make it easy, like cereal
•Create heat and eat breakfast burritos and so
on that you can take with you
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14. 12-Lunch/Brunch
•Lunch will keep you fueled and also help you
avoid unhealthy snacking throughout the
day
•Lunch can be tricky because of brown
bagging it
•The food has to stay fresh and hold up
during travel
•It also needs to stay fresh without
refrigeration
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15. 13-Dinner/Supper
•Some people eat a large lunch and have a light
supper
•Some families enjoy dinner as their largest meal
of the day, with the most calories consumed in
one sitting
•If you are dieting, start with a clear soup and
salad with no creamy dressing
•These will fill you up so you won’t overeat no
matter how famished you feel when you get
home
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16. 14-Dessert
•Desserts should be portioned carefully
•Use fresh fruit to make the most of their
natural sweetness
•Avoid stuff from the store shelves-they are
full of transfats and other unhealthy items
•It’s easy to bake at home
•It’s a lot cheaper to make things from
scratch than buy in a bakery, and fun too
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17. 15-Structured Snacks
•If your kids are out of the house for many
hours of the day with school and extra-
curricular activities, pack healthy structured
snacks to keep them powered throughout
the day
•Try to make your own sweet potato chips
and other vegetable snacks
•Think peanut butter crackers, string cheese
and other easy to eat and portable snacks
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18. 16-6 Small meals a day
•The 6 smaller meals a day eating can consist
of anything you wish. You can stick to the
typical foods you and your family would
normally enjoy for breakfast, lunch and
dinner
•You could opt for brunch, or what the
English refer to as tea
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19. Conclusion
•Menu planning is a must, especially if you have
a growing family, a tight budget, and a busy
timetable
•It can take a bit of time and effort to get
started, but once you’ve created 4 weeks of
meal plans, you can use them over and over
again
•Swap in new recipes as needed to keep things
interesting and festive and you will soon have
an entire year’s worth of menus
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20. Further Reading
•To sign up for your free menu planning
ecourse, please visit:
•http://tinyurl.com/MenuPlanningCourse
•Here’s to your best health, and living better
for less!
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