Planning Ahead

Do you find yourself stressed out when it's time for dinner? A lot of stress regarding dinner we bring upon our self because of poor planning. It's important to sit down with your calendar and plan out meals. Not only will planning out meals make your life a little less hectic but it will also save money on your next grocery bill. Planning your meals ahead of time based on your weekly schedule will offer you the convenience of making simple, no fuss meals on a busy night and making a nicer meal on a night you aren't so busy.

This morning as I was planning out my meals for the week, I used my special addition Oxygen Quick & Easy Summer Meals book; this book has many quick recipes for grilling. Once I've made my meal plan, I began putting together a list of grocery items, clipped coupons, and out the door I went. Shopping today is extremely expensive and in our current economy people seem to be living on a tight budget. Some of the local food stores have saving cards, now you can load your savings cards with coupons via each grocery's website. Try this if you are looking for ways to save money on your next grocery bill.

After purchasing my vegetables and necessary items for my meals; I chop, dice, and prepare the vegetables according to each recipe. I place the vegetables in individual zip lock bags and then place all the vegetables for each recipe in a larger freezer size bag labeled for the meal they are designated. A few of the meals are grilled, topped portabella caps, beef stir-fry, and a wild rice salad. Preparing all of the vegetables ahead of time saves time; find a day during the week that you can devote a few hours to preparing lists, grocery shopping, and preparing meals ahead of time. I found this to be very helpful during the school year because my children have several activities after school and my busy school schedule, attending college full-time while helping my Skinny Mom's doesn't allow me to waste time preparing meals each evening.

A healthy family must be prepared and to do this everyone needs to be involved in planning meals. Try to ask your children what type of foods they would like to have for dinner. You can find several Clean recipes for just about any favorite meal. Instead of hitting the fast food chains work on organizing your week. You will notice greater weight loss success and a healthier family.