[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #71CCD5;”] I[/dropcap]f you’ve already taken the 7-Day Meal Planning Kickstarter training, well done!
Today you get to rest.
BUT if you haven’t embedded the habits of meal planning and shopping…
It’s OK.
Just keep reading 🙂
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN TODAY:
- Why planning + shopping are so important
- How to develop the meal planning habit
Why meal planning + shopping are so important
Without a doubt, planning and shopping are the two most important habits for eating well.
Why?
Because planning your meals makes life so much easier.
You aren’t always thinking of what’s for dinner.
You take better care of yourself with healthy home cooked meals.
You enjoy the benefits of better decisions.
You save time.
You feel organized.
You improve your health.
You can even enjoy preparing dinner!
What’s not to love about that?
How to develop the meal planning habit
1. Decide when.
Just look at your schedule and choose a time each week to sit down and do / review your meal plan.
And another time(s) to do the shopping.
Actually having time set aside will make the difference between you doing it. And not.
Do this now.
I’ll wait 🙂
2. Choose you reward.
If you remember from yesterday, rewards are an essential component of habit change.
If you’re going to get into the habit of planning and shopping, you need to make it fun for yourself.
For me taking the time to review my meal plan each week is a fun break from work. So it’s a reward in itself.
But if you need an extra reward, go for it!
Maybe you treat yourself to a coffee or tea while you’re doing your plan.
Just choose something to make it fun.
3. Choose your process
There are two options…
a. DIY.
If you like to do things yourself, then plan some time to collect at least 10 of your favourite simple meals to use. Then either print them out or save them in a place on your computer or online where they’re all together.
Then when you sit down to do your plan you just need to decide how many meals you need to make, choose the meals and write your shopping list.
b. Outsource
If you’d rather have me do the meal planning for you, that’s even better. You just need to decide on whether you’re going to print the pdf, use the plan straight from the weekly meal plan email (like I do) or access it online over here.
Too easy.
SUMMARY:
Here’s what we covered today:
- Why planning + shopping are so important
- How to develop the meal planning habit
ACTIVITY
If you haven’t already, follow the 3 steps above to start embedding the planning and shopping habit.
LEARN MORE
To go even deeper, check out the 7-Day Meal Planning Kick Starter Training.
Have fun in the kitchen!
With love,
Jules x
ps. Are you a meal planning fan? Or need some help to get excited about this foundational habit? Let me know on the Ask Jules page. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
I am enjoying your meal plans. My grocery bill is lower as I am not trying to think of meals to cook whilst shopping. My partner thinks it’s great not going down every aisle. I do like to keep my pantry cupboard stocked at this time of the year with cyclones and floods around. There is nothing in the supermarkets here (central Queensland) to buy at the moment so next week might have to be pantry meals. I will check out the markets on the weekend for veggies.
Love it Leonie!