The other way to save time is to make large batches of freezer friendly recipes whenever you’re making them. You might decide to prepare some of your meals when you have more time. You don’t have to prepare meals in advance, but many people find this a great way to plan and stick to it. You can even drag and drop items into the right order, speeding up your shopping time. Many recipe websites are set up so you can add ingredients straight from the site to the app. You can change the default settings to more vegan friendly categories. This is really handy if several of you want to add to the list. If you have a smart speaker this can be an easy way to create a shopping list using an app, such as AnyList among others. Do not use without permission You can try a range of new foods as well as old favorites How tech can help You could decide that most of your food will be your familiar favourites and you’ll try one new meal each week. So you don’t feel overwhelmed you could start by planning your main meal of the day, or a few days at a time. If the thought of planning your meals feels a bit overwhelming – start simple. Or you may prefer to scan the internet and be inspired to try something new. Having a scan through some recipe books you may not have used for ages can really help to spark some enthusiasm. By considering how much time you have you can plan what you’re eating.ĭo you need to plan something quick like a tofu stir fry one night? Is there a new recipe you’ve seen you fancy trying when you have a bit more time at the weekend? Be inspired Even though things are very different right now you may find you have as much going on as before, it just happens to be online. It’s a good idea to check what you’ve already got in the fridge, freezer and cupboards – no more doubling up on stuff or finding there’s no room in the freezer (I’ve been guilty of this many times)!Īs part of your planning process think about your commitments for the week. You may find it helpful to pick a day you’re going to do your plan and go shopping. It can also be really helpful if you’re aiming to lose weight or just eat healthier. For good health it’s important to get a variety of foods and for these to be real whole foods as much as possible. Planning your meals can help to introduce new foods into your diet. It’s a lot less exhausting not having to decide every day what you’re going to eat! In the UK alone we throw away around 6 million tonnes of food a year. Meal planning is also great news for reducing food waste, which is a major contributor of landfill and greenhouse gas emissions. By planning what you’re eating you can reduce your reliance on packaged food and you’re less likely to impulse buy or get more than you need. It may sound like a big hassle, but if you plan several days in advance, you’ll save time by not having to decide everyday what you’re going to eat. And that’s meal planning! How meal planning can help you Then there’s one simple thing you can do to help with this which will save you time, money, and a lot of stress. Do you often wonder what food you’re going to eat today? Then meal planning may help.įind yourself wandering up and down the supermarket aisles, looking for inspiration? Have you thrown out food because it went bad before you used it?