1. Include a vegetable
To my mind, any meal that includes at least one vegetable is on the right track. Bonus points for 2 or more veg and even more bonus points if the veg are different colours.
2. Include some protein
Protein can come from many sources, so think beyond the meat, fish and poultry sphere. There’s legumes, nuts, beans, tofu, eggs. Although that being said, meat fish and poultry can be fun to explore as well.
3. Relax. The rest will take care of itself
The fact that you’re even going to the trouble to think about the meal ahead of time gets you massive bonus points. It’s already going to be much better for you than the last-minute-pizza-dialing option.
4. Think about colour
Apart from artificially colourful sweets and sugary cereals, most naturally colourful food tends to be vegetable based. And also generally loaded with vitamins and other beneficial nutrients. My rule of thumb for menu planning is to have at least 2 colours featured on the plate. I may not always get there, but I find just having this goal in mind helps.
5. Think about texture.
I went to a talk last year by chef Alex Stupak who was at the time dessert chef at the fabulous wd~50 in New York. In speaking about his creative process when planning a new dish, he said for him, it was all about texture. He didn’t ask himself whether he should incorporate different textures in a dessert. It was HOW MANY textures he could include.
We home cooks, myself included, often forget to think about how the meal is going to feel in our mouths. But you’s be amazed at the difference a few crunchy roast nuts, or crisp raw veg can make to an otherwise smooth and soft meal.
6. Don’t try and please all the people all of the time.
By all means, take into consideration the preferences and peccadilloes of your household. But don’t fall into the trap of cooking a different meal for each person. It’s a sure-fired way to turn the task of menu planning into mission impossible.
7. Involve your household in the menu planning.
My Irishman and I are always discussing and planning our next meal(s). Which is great fun. But I’ve found that since he has started cooking at least one night a week, and choosing what he cooks, he’s been even more excited and involved than before.
And even better, he’s taking the time to plan healthy meals, not just potatoes, potatoes, potatoes. Win win!
8. Be in season
Now I’m not saying you need to become a hard-core farmers market junkie who only buys local, organic, seasonal.. blah blah blah… But changing your food with the weather can make for more fun. And as a happy side effect, you might just also be eating more seasonally and healthily.
It’s winter here now so I’m finding myself leaning towards more slow cooked dishes including stews, curries and tajines. And my sides are more about steamed broccoli or wilted greens. But back in the Summer I was all about the BBQ and playing with as many different salads as possible.
9. Add a veggie side dish.
Since I’ve been trying to eat 6 serves of veg a day this month, I’ve found the easiest way to add more veg into a meal is to add another side. Sometimes it’s a salad. Other times its steamed veg. Helps when you’re eating out too!
10. Start with a theme in mind
Even for a simple mid week meal, I generally need to come up with a theme or an idea on which to base the meal first.
It might be I feel like a curry, or pizza night or maybe it’s a type of cuisine that’s my starting point. Like Thai or Italian. Sometimes it’s a cooking technique that will drive my decision making, like BBQing or slow cooking.
Or more often than not, I’ll have an ingredient in mind and will build my meal around that. Maybe it’s mushrooms or I have some wonderful kale that needs eating up. Or a lovely piece of fish. I then use that as a starting guide and build on it from there.
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