Planning meals ahead of time makes it easier to have healthy, home-cooked meals without the stress of rushing at the last minute. Meal planning also helps reduce food waste and save money in the long run. Food Hero has gathered our best tips to help you plan ahead and make the most of your meals.
Create an inventory and grocery list
One of the best ways to maximize your grocery dollars is to take inventory of what you already have on hand. Keeping a list on your fridge or in the pantry can help you easily identify what you have and what needs to be used. Use Food Hero’s ingredient search tool to find meals that use ingredients you already have at home. Plan your week with meals that use up these ingredients.
After you have taken inventory of everything you do have, make a grocery list for any missing ingredients that you need. Think about what you use often and what pairs well with what you already have on hand. For example, if you have some leftover broccoli you need to use up, consider making Beef and Broccoli or Sesame Broccoli.
Take advantage of deals
Most grocery stores will advertise deals or sales at the beginning of the week. Take a look at what is on sale or at a reduced price. For example, if ground beef is on sale one week, that would be a good time to plan a meal such as spaghetti and meatballs. Try Food Hero’s Easy Meatballs.
Using a slow cooker
A slow cooker can be a useful tool in meal planning. Slow cookers allow you to cook meals with less active cooking time. Try getting two meals ready at the same time. While you make breakfast, chop ingredients and get the slow cooker started for dinner. Busy day coming up? Another idea is to prepare ingredients for a slow cooker meal while you cook dinner. Store the slow cooker ingredients in the fridge for up to a few days. When that busy day comes along, add your ingredients to the slow cooker and enjoy an easy, hot dinner. For more information, check out this Food Hero Monthly on Slow Cookers.
Make use of your freezer
Freezing food, such as fruits and vegetables, can help them last longer and not go to waste. This also gives you more time to make a plan to cook with them. Some produce requires a bit of prep before freezing, but the extra effort is worth it when you have a stocked freezer to pull from. For more information, check out the Food Hero Monthlies on Freezing Fruit and Freezing Vegetables.
Mix and Match Meals
Looking for inspiration or unsure what to do with the ingredients you already have? Look no further than Food Hero’s Mix and Match meals! These meals are perfect to customize with ingredients you already have on hand.
Mix and Match Vegetable Chowder
Stay tuned for a future blog post on shopping, and in the meantime check out Food Hero’s online class page.
