Gone are the days where you have to cook every night of the week in order to eat healthy. Meal planning makes it easy to plan your food out for the week and even get a head start on the prep work, so you have healthy meals ready to enjoy when you’re just too busy to cook. Plus, not only does having a weekly meal plan make it easier to make healthier food choices, but the benefits of meal planning include saving you both time and money (win, win!)
Ahead, we’re showing you how healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated, and that yes, meal planning is totally doable even with the busiest schedule.
The Top 4 Benefits of Meal Planning
#1 Saves You Time
There’s no doubt about it — meal planning saves you time. Select your meals for the week and dedicate a few hours one to two days per week to meal prep. The number of hours you’ll save during the busy week will be oh so worth it.
#2 Saves You Money
Another one of the biggest benefits of meal planning has to do with money because if we’re being honest, eating healthy can seem expensive, right? All of those fresh fruits and veggies can certainly add up. But, when you meal prep, you may find yourself actually saving more money on your weekly grocery bill.
Here’s why:
You Can Make The Most of Batch Cooking
When you meal plan, you can select recipes that have similar ingredients to batch cook during the week, meaning less money spent on endless ingredients.
Less Wasted Food
Meal planning also often leads to far less wasted food since you’ll plan ahead and buy what you need. With meal planning, you can also map out portion sizes on meal prep days, dividing each portion into single-serve meals, which also helps reduce how much food we end up wasting. And, with less wasted food, you’ll keep more money in your pocket.
Take Advantage of Sales
When you prep your meal plan for the week or even the month, you can also select ingredients that match up to what’s on sale at your local grocery store.
Psst… many grocery stores now have apps that also offer coupons, and coupons are basically like free money. Meal planning plus searching for deals is a recipe for some serious grocery savings.
Less Takeout
Lastly, when you plan ahead, and you know what you’ll be cooking throughout the week, there’s less of a chance you’ll be grabbing takeout for dinner. This not only saves you money, but it helps make those healthier (but still delicious) food choices so much easier.
#3 Makes Eating Healthy Easier
Benefit of meal planning number three — plain and simple, when we plan out our meals for the week, it becomes so much easier to make healthier food choices. It takes the guesswork out of figuring out what’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When we know what we’re going to be eating, we are far more likely to stay on track.
#4 Meal Planning Makes it Easy to Add Variety to Your Diet
In addition to meal planning being a great way to help us eat healthier, it’s also a great way to add variety to your diet. Challenge yourself to branch out and try something new once a week. Who knows, you may just find a new favorite recipe.
Make Meal Planning a Part of Your Wellness Routine
Meal planning simplifies healthy eating and if you’re ready to reap all the benefits planning your meals for the week has to offer, consider trying FitOn PRO, which simplifies how you meal prep.
No more searching the internet for hours trying to find the most delicious and nourishing recipes. FitOn PRO offers Nutritionist-developed, nourishing recipes, plus customized meal plans, so you can reach your goals faster without counting calories.
Get started on your meal planning journey and see just how easy and delicious healthy eating can be.
