Meal Planning: National Nutrition Month

The month of March is National Nutrition Month. How can you improve your nutrition this month or possibly help educate someone else in your life? Good nutrition is an essential part of living a healthy lifestyle. A helpful part of good nutrition can be meal planning. Meal planning is choosing meals and foods that are right for your nutritional needs. It can involve knowing how much of a food you will be eating and is a great way to plan ahead for a week of eating. Here are a few tips for successful meal planning:
◦ Start with counting how many meals you will need for the week and if you are feeding any other people.
◦ Consider what foods you want to eat. Are you trying to eat healthy or add more of a certain food group into your diet? Now is the time to make these types of considerations.
◦ Build a menu based on familiar recipes or perhaps branching out into some new ones. Be realistic with your expectations.
◦ Check what supplies you already have on hand. Look through your pantry, refrigerator and freezer to use up what you have.
◦ Portion out your meals. Designate a certain amount of food for each day and each meal. This will help you to eat the right healthy amount for yourself.
◦ Save any leftovers for another day or meal. You can also freeze leftovers if you have too many or won’t eat them before they go bad.
Take charge of your nutrition and start meal planning this week. If you’re already an experienced meal planner, share your tips and tricks with friends and family!