Meal planning is the first step towards eating healthy.

Meal planning is the key to making your meals hassle-free and efficient. No matter what diet you follow, you need a meal plan. Especially for diabetic patients as food directly impacts their glucose levels. Meal planning also helps in reducing mindless eating and saves you from the biggest question there is “What should I make today?”

If you don't have a meal plan, these tips will help you,

Set a time to plan meals:

Meal planning does require some time. Try to give yourself 45 minutes one time a week to think about what meals you want to have for the rest of your week. Go through your kitchen and pantry and figure out what all needs to get completed and how you can do that.

Plan meals around the vegetable:

Planning for meals ahead of time might seem a little overwhelming so start with planning one meal - for example, lunch. Instead of 7 meals, think about cooking 3-4 meals and planning for some leftovers. Plan your meals around vegetables. Try a method that includes all the food groups in a healthy portion and in a controlled way. When you look at your plate, ½ should be non-starchy vegetables for lunch and dinner. This helps to keep the carbs intake lower and increases the fiber, vitamin and mineral intake. Once you have one meal planned, think about other ideas for example - dinner and breakfast.

Think creatively:

Too often we keep cooking the same foods and we get bored. Make cooking exciting by trying some new things. Such as - look up for recipes online or in a magazine. Make something you haven’t tried before or made before. Upgrade to some nice kitchen tools and gadgets to make your work easier and fun.

Be creative with recipes and swap foods according to your likes or alternate them with healthier choices. Look for a list of healthy substitutions. Start with simple ones first so it doesn’t seem daunting.

Grocery list:

Now you know what to cook, so make a list of what you need. Write down only those things that you know you will be required and control shopping for anything else. This way you’ll not just save time but also spend your money efficiently and no unwanted groceries will go to waste.

Food prepping:

Make time to prep foods so they are ready to eat. Cook large batches so you have leftovers. Keep innovating the leftovers into a different meal by adding some other ingredients. Planning for healthy meals ahead of time is worth it.

So, this was everything we could help you with regarding meal plans. Do let us know your thoughts on meal planning!