Whether you’re looking for help shifting towards a “cleaner” whole-foods diet, or if you are determined to get fit and get “tight”, there are countless how-to’s available on the internet...many of which are even free.

If you look closely though, there is a clear underlying pattern in all of the guidance.

The answer? Meal planning.

Take this Esquire article by Will Hersey: “9 Food Rules to Help You Lose That Belly Before Summer”. Yes, the food itself is important, but it’s the PLANNING that is the key to success.

As our Meal Garden community continues to grow, we’re noticing that more and more people are using the platform with the goal of losing weight. Specifically, they are looking for a tool to help them develop healthier eating regimes so that eating right and looking great doesn’t have to be such a chore!

Kristen Jakobitz is a holistic health coach that specializes in just this! Her mission is creating happy, healthy lives in a way that is fun, flexible, and full of deliciously healthy food. We got her help in creating a quick and easy guide for you to follow so that you can shed those extra pounds quickly – in a healthy and efficient way - using Meal Garden.

WHEN AND HOW TO MEAL PLAN

When it comes to eating well, I find meal planning is one of the easiest things you can do to set yourself up for success. One of the concerns I hear most often from my clients is that meal planning seems intimidating and tedious – I assure you it’s really quite simple ☺. The best part is you can customize what you’re eating to fit your lifestyle, so there is really no wrong way to do it!

The key is just to start, and to set aside a little bit of time each week to do it. Saturdays or Sundays work really well for meal planning because it gets you prepared for the week ahead, so no meals are left to chance. There are so many ways to approach meal planning that, after practicing just once or twice, you’ll begin to find what works best for you and your family. My clients and I personally love the Meal Garden tool. It’s super simple to use which means less headaches trying to figure out what to plan for meals and more quality time to spend with family.

So how exactly do you meal plan? Here are four easy steps that will get you to Expert Meal Planner status in no time:

Assess how many meals you need – Eating situations can vary greatly from week to week depending on work schedules, kids’ after school activities, evening commitments, etc. Take a quick inventory of everyone’s plans to give you a rough idea of how many meals you’ll need to get through the week, and how many potential meals you can get from each recipe.

Collect recipes with overlapping ingredients – Selecting recipes that have similar ingredients will help you minimize what you need to buy at the grocery store. Meal Garden makes this a breeze by allowing you to search for recipes by ingredient(s).

Keep an eye on nutrition – Choose recipes that will help you meet your goals. It helps to have a breakdown of the nutritional information for each recipe, and Meal Garden is a life-saver in that aspect. Each recipe has a complete list of nutrition details and a health rating so you have peace of mind knowing you’re feeding your family nutritious and delicious meals. You can even tweak your meal plan as needed.

Use the serving size to your advantage – Take note of how many servings you get from each recipe – especially if you are feeding a family. Choose recipes that make larger quantities so you can utilize the leftovers for more than one meal. I’m a big fan of the cook once, eat 2-3 times approach! Meal Garden has a great feature that automatically calculates this for you, ensuring you buy the proper amount of ingredients every time.

By taking just a little bit of time to meal plan, you can ensure that you always have healthy food choices at your fingertips instead of being tempted to give in to those quick, convenient, not-so-healthy options.

PRACTICE MEAL

Looking for a delicious hearty meal you can prepare in under 20 minutes to get your meal plan started? This Mexican Turkey and Black Bean Salad is one of my favourite protein-packed recipes that will keep you energized through even your toughest day. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner and only takes 10-minutes to make!

LIMITED TIME OFFER!

Are you and your family tired of eating the same meals day after day? Do you dread the thought of having to pull recipes and make out a grocery list every week? Do you want to simplify your life and have a week’s worth of simple, healthy recipes at your fingertips?

For a limited time only you can grab my 7-Day Clean Eating Meal Plan for just $5! You save more than 50% off the regular price of $14.99…but you must act fast because this offer won’t last. Click here to learn more and take advantage of this delicious offer TODAY!

‍