3 P's For Cooking Success: Planning

Planning is one of the ingredients for cooking success. By planning to cook at home you can impact your budget, free time, control or lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle. These are 4 great benefits our family has discovered.



We've not found a magic formula for meal planning. It's just plain and simple self-discipline, a routine habit that saves money, frees time, impacts weight and encourages healthy eating habits. Here's a suggested approach.



Make a menu for all the meals you'll share for the next week. We usually do it on Saturday or Sunday. Don't forget to include a left over time or two. Include all the major entree groups like fish, beef, pork, chicken and vegetables. Make a list of all the items you'll need at the store. The idea is to shop once a week; this increases efficiency and effectiveness. These are 2 great benefits and time savers too,



Shopping with a list that you stick too helps with the budget. It helps control impulse buying. We've been trying to use coupons more and have found this can really add up the savings. Using a list will shorten your shopping time too because you know what you want and where to find it.


I've already mentioned some benefits, but here's a few more. Eating home cooked meals usually results in less fried foods and soft drinks. Hopefully, you'll eat more vegetables and fruits. Cooking meals at home are healthier than restaurant meals. They're higher in fiber, calcium, folate, iron B vitamins, C and E vitamins. Those bad saturated and trans fats are usually quite a bit less. You'll spend more time with your family, feel better about yourself and enjoy meals like you haven't in a long time. Just think all this just from cooking home meals, WOW!


I've heard it said planning is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up. That's true, but when it comes to cooking, let's mix it up!