Why planning family meals is a great idea.
Not sure what to cook tonight? Or tomorrow? Or the next day? Sometimes cooking for your family can seem like a chore for which you have no inspiration. The solution? Meal planning! While planning out your family meals might seem tedious, the benefits are many and varied – just like a great dish!
Top reasons to plan your family meals:
1. Better planning = better health. By planning ahead of time, you can prepare nutritionally healthy, well-balanced meals with the right amount of variety. And you’ll have all the ingredients to do it rather than just grabbing what happens to be in the fridge.
2. Meals the whole family can enjoy. If you or one of your family members has specific dietary requirements (we’re looking at you, vegetarians), planning will help ensure you can fulfil these needs while still offering a full spread to the rest of your clan.
3. Smart savings. Planning ahead means you will use the ingredients you buy and have rather than throwing away leftovers or expired ingredients because you haven’t been able to use them. This way you can budget properly and buy what you need according to your plan while avoiding buying unnecessary items on a whim.
4. Save precious time. Life is busy and we all have long to-do lists, especially during the week. If you have a meal plan in place, you won’t waste time wandering around the shops trying to decide what to get. Plus, you can make and freeze meals over the weekend (here’s how) so they’re all ready for the work week ahead. Want to slot some high-quality ready-made meals into your plan? Try our FOMO range!
5. Dial down the stress. Cooking for and sharing food with your family should be a satisfying and enjoyable experience. But if you’re rushing around minutes before a meal with no idea of what to make and hungry kids around you, it most certainly will not be. A thoughtful and creative menu mapped out ahead of time will take the pressure off while ensuring the whole family is fed and happy.
Making a number of different meals in one sitting, splitting meals and using frozen meals can make meal planning so much easier and simpler. If you’re looking for ready-made meals that are both healthy and delicious, look no further than the Food Matters kitchen – simply order from our menu and take home to your freezer or your table. We promise – its convenience food at its finest!