Planning your meals ahead of time not only helps you save money, but it’ll also prevent food wastage!

Meal planning also helps you stay organized by tracking what foods already reside in your fridge and pantry. Doing this prevents you from purchasing unnecessary items.

1. You’ll Spend Less

Meal planning will save you money at the grocery store, since you know exactly what needs to be purchased and won’t waste money on items not on your list.

Meal planning also helps you avoid impulse buying and other costly food shopping errors that can add up quickly. By planning ahead for each week’s meals, you’ll be much less likely to buy the wrong foods for your diet and more likely to stick to your calorie goals.

Another way to save money when planning meals is by shopping for items on sale or during season. Not only will this make planning meals more affordable, but they’ll also be delicious and nutritious!

It’s essential to make use of ingredients you already have in your pantry, fridge or freezer. Choose recipes that utilize items like half bags of pasta or cans of chickpeas that have been forgotten at the back of the cupboard.

2. You’ll Avoid Waste

Menu planning helps you buy only what you need, preventing food from spoiling in your fridge. It also prevents you from discarding food that is no longer used – an issue of great environmental importance.

Meal planning on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis can help you save money on groceries. By buying fewer items and only purchasing what you actually need, rather than overbuying or throwing away excess food items, you are purchasing less items and saving yourself the hassle of having to return them later on.

Another way to reduce waste is by adding an extra serving of your 7-a-day into each meal. This will provide variety in your diet and ensure you get all the essential nutrients required.

To reduce food waste, start by taking inventory of what ingredients already reside in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. After this has been done, start searching for ways to incorporate those items into upcoming meals.

3. You’ll Eat Healthier

Once you have a meal plan in place, it becomes easier to be intentional about choosing foods that promote a healthy lifestyle. This includes including plenty of fresh produce like vegetables, fruits and whole grains into your meals on a regular basis.

Meal planning also helps you avoid buying unnecessary food items. Being hungry makes one more likely to overeat, so having meals prepared ahead of time will reduce this temptation.

Establishing the habit of meal planning can be intimidating at first, but eventually it will become an essential part of your lifestyle. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take it slow and enlist the assistance of those close to you in helping with meal preparation.

4. You’ll Be More Organized

Planning your meals ahead of time can be a great way to save money and reduce food waste. Additionally, it will keep you organized by knowing what food items are in the fridge, freezer and pantry.

It’s easy for things to get forgotten in the back of your fridge or pantry and then sit there until you decide to use them up. Meal planning helps you identify any random items that need using up, helping you avoid throwing them away.

Meal planning also has the added bonus of helping you eat healthier. When we are hungry and in a hurry, it can be tempting to reach for fast food or other less healthy options in an effort to satisfy our hunger. With meal planning in place, however, this becomes much less of a temptation.

Meal planning helps you understand exactly what ingredients you have on hand in your pantry and fridge, as well as what needs to be cooked during the week. Doing this helps you avoid buying more than necessary and wasting food. Furthermore, seasonal produce tends to be healthier and usually cheaper than out-of-season produce that must travel a long way to reach you.