If you regularly find yourself wondering ‘what am I going to cook for dinner?’, we know the feeling. While it might seem easier to get a takeaway meal instead, the costs can quickly add up.

Even if you’re a complete cooking novice, there are easy ways to prepare delicious home cooked meals. Plus, you can save a lot of time, money and reduce food waste just by planning ahead, too.

Let’s run you through what meal planning is, why you’re going to love it and five practical tips to get the most out of your meal planning.

What is meal planning?

As the name suggests, meal planning is all about getting ahead and deciding what meals you’re going to cook at the start of every week (or month). It involves being proactive and figuring out what dishes you want to eat for every meal of the day and using a planner to map these out in advance.

Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your family or working with a carer, planning out what you’d like to eat is a great way to take the ‘ugh’ out of deciding what to cook each day.

Usually, meal planning involves a few key steps:

• Picking your recipes: whether you’ve got a few favourites in your kitchen or you find delicious recipes online, the best way to meal plan is to follow a recipe.
  
  

• Shopping for ingredients: with a clear list of ingredients ready, you’ll whizz through the aisles and be through the checkout in no time.
  
  

• Preparing your meals: whether you prep a bunch of meals in advance (and freeze for later) or you cook a quick dish each night, decide what works best for you.

Obviously there’s a little bit of work involved in meal planning. That’s why we also recommend you plan your meals in-line with how often you want to go grocery shopping (whether that’s weekly, fortnightly or even once a month).

How meal planning can take the guesswork out of home cooking

If you’ve ever found yourself staring into any empty fridge not knowing what to cook, you’re not alone. When we’re already hungry and at a loss for what to cook, ordering takeaway or reheating a frozen meal can feel like our only option.

But, we know the most nutritious, delicious food is made when we cook it ourselves. With meal planning, you’ll never have to guess what you’re having for dinner or whether you’ve got the right ingredients in your pantry.

Still not convinced? Here’s a few reasons why you’re going to love meal planning:

• It saves time: by spending a bit of time at the beginning of the week mapping out each meal, you’ll never let a busy day throw you off schedule. Plus, if you cook your meals in batches you’ll have a few dishes ready to reheat when you need them.
  
  

• It reduces food waste: we’ve all thrown out bags on uneaten spinach or tubs of yogurt that have gone past their use by date. Instead, meal planning ensures you’re only buying the exact ingredients you need for each dish you’re going to cook. Pretty smart, huh?

• It lowers the cost of grocery shopping: not only does meal planning lower your environmental footprint, but it’ll save you stacks of money, too. By shopping only for the ingredients you need, you’ll never overspend on food you won’t eat. Plus, home cooking ditches the need for last-minute takeaway meals that can blow out your food budget.

Five tips to master meal planning at home

Ready to get started with meal planning? We’ve rounded up a few of our tips and tricks to make your life a little easier.

Tip 1. Pick recipes that give you leftovers

We love leftovers for so many reasons. Not only does it mean less time spent cooking but prepping meals in bulk can help you save a lot of money, too. Keep an eye out for hearty soups, lasagnes, and curries that give you great bang for your buck.

Tip 2. Add a mix of recipes you love and new recipes

Trying a new recipe for the first time can be a bit of a learning curve. So, don’t overwhelm yourself with too many new recipes in one week. Stick to a bunch of recipes you’re really familiar with and add in one or two new options to keep your menu fresh each week.

Tip 3. Look for quick, beginner-friendly dishes

Cooking should be fun and enjoyable, not a chore you dread. So, if you’re just getting a handle of home cooking, start off with simple, easy recipes. Look for dishes that only have a few steps and take less than 30 minutes to prepare.

Tip 4. Always make a grocery list

Ever walked into a grocery store with no idea what you need? Yep, we’ve been there too! Instead, we always make sure to write down a clear list of every ingredient we need for the week ahead. Plus, you can always try grocery delivery or click-and-collect services to save you a lot of time wandering the aisles.

Tip 5. Try SmithKit’s digital meal planner

Obviously we’re a bit biased, but we reckon our digital meal planner is one of the best ways to get started with meal planning. We’ve built an easy-to-use digital platform packed with thousands of easy, delicious recipes to suit exactly what you’re craving.

From sweet treats to easy lunches and even nourishing dinners, Smithkit’s digital meal planner can be customised to your taste and comes packed with downloadable shopping lists so you never forget an ingredient again.

But don’t take our word for it. Get started with Smithkit in just a few minutes and sign up today.