Meal planning is an ideal way to manage a budget and health conscience lifestyle. Preparing nutritious meals in advance can save you time and money but still leaves flexibility for dinner out with friends. Here are some nutritious meal planning tips for retirees!
Keep it simple: Simplicity is often overlooked. For breakfast, meals like a bowl of oatmeal and berries or eggs and spinach are excellent choices both health and budget-wise. Versatile meals like a cooked rotisserie chicken dinner can be made into many different meals such as on its own or in sandwiches, and leftovers can be used
for another meal.
Investigate helpful shortcuts and kitchen tools: There are many tools and shortcuts you can use in the kitchen to help make meal planning easier for you. For example, you can chop all your vegetables at once so they’re ready for cooking and quick snacking. Helpful kitchen appliances such as microwave steamers or the classic time-saving crockpot is great for meal planning. Also explore apps on your phone that can help you make a shopping list, suggest healthy alternatives, or help you find out nutritional information about your food, the resources are endless!
Meal plan with a friend: Getting one or more friends involved can be a great way to make nutritional meal planning more fun, plus you might discover delicious new meals at the same time! Whether you swap meals, or cook together, you may be surprised with what you can come up with!
Batch cook and freeze: Maximize your time by having delicious meals ready in your freezer. This will give you a nutritious meal when hunger strikes. Some healthy ideas for batch cooking include soup/stews, lasagna, crockpot chili, quesadillas, quiche, and stir-fry. Store the meals in individual serving-size containers for quick and easy reheating.
Meal planning is an excellent way to ensure that you have deliciously healthy meals without adding more stress on your schedule or budget while achieving
your nutritional goals!
