Meal planning is the advanced planning of the menu for the next few days, or even the entire month. Complete meal planning involves planning the meals to be prepared, as well as the items needed to be purchased to prepare them.When meals are well planned in advance, the household is able to eat nutritious, low cost meals. Planning in advance allows the use of food coupons, buying food items when they are on sale, as well as planning how to utilize left overs.

1. Meal Planning
Planning a meal is like planning a major event, except in a smaller scale, as there’s only
one aspect involved, which is the food to prepare. Usually in gatherings such as
annual Christmas dinners, Thanksgiving dinners, or weddings, the main event is usually
the food served, as that is always the one being remembered. Let’s face it, we all love
to eat, even those with special diets have a favorite food or two (and these days, may
sometimes, more often than not be referred to as “cheat” days to indulge).
Christmas dinners usually are the
most special of all, the dinner
table turning into a showcase of
foods to enjoy. Of course, the
menu should be carefully
planned. If the dinner would be
potluck, there should be people
designated who would bring
dessert, appetizer, main course,
etc. Or else, the dinner table
would look like people just
brought in whatever they
wanted, and it might end up, say,
like a table full of desserts with
no main course. Those with
special diets should also be considered in planning events, as well as certain allergies,
if there are guests with certain sensitivities.
Going back to school means making sure children get the best nutrition they need
when they are away from home. Recipes online have easy-to-prepare meals parents
can prepare beforehand. Healthy meals can be made attractive also to children, such
as having creative ways to make sandwiches or arranging food in an attractive way.
Some schools already regulate what is usually served in school cafeterias to make sure
children get good nutrition early.
For special diets, such as vegetarian diets or low-cholesterol or low-salt, recipes online
as well as books give suggestions and recipes to make food in a diet program more
interesting. Recipes and combinations and a dash of creativity make diet not a chore.
The Internet is a limitless
place for sources! Vegetarian
diets, for one thing have
gone beyond salads. Tofu,
nuts, acai berries (tossed in
yogurt or salad), and beans
provide excellent protein
sources so vegans get their
protein source from non-
meat products. Indian
cuisine provides tasty
vegetarian dishes that are far
from bland.

2. Meal planning may be a
tedious task since it means
to sit down and carefully
draw out a plan. It’s a way
of creating meals and
combinations to fit a
budget, so you don’t end
up spending too much. It
may take a bit of time, but
if you love food and a bit of
adventure, not only will
you discover new dishes to
try but who knows, save a
bit of money as well.