When you first come across weekly meal planning, you may wonder why people even bother. After all, the idea of sitting down once a week to figure out what you are going to cook, making a list of everything you need and then running to the store doesn’t seem like much fun at all. However, weekly meal planning must have benefits, since it is becoming increasingly popular with both families and childless couples. In fact, planning your weekly menu in advance has three major benefits. You save time, save money, and eat healthier meals.

The main benefit of meal planning is that it saves you time. You don’t have to run to the grocery store several times a week, park your car, wander around, wait in the checkout line.... You plan for what you need first, and then go shopping once. You also have everything you need to prepare every single meal for the week on your list, saving you from aimlessly wondering around the store looking for something to fix for dinner. Not only that, but meal planning saves you time when it comes to cooking. You don’t have to dig around your pantry and fridge to figure out what you could fix. Your daily meal, along with a recipe is right there in front of you. It’s so simple, even your spouse will “get it” and may just start preparing dinner if you are running late.

Weekly meal planning also saves you money. How much money does your family spend on take-out and fast food in a given month? Oftentimes, because there’s no food to prepare when you get home from work, you end up calling for pizza delivery, or you pick up a bucket of fried chicken on the way home. Add up how much money you spend on take-out each month. Even if you only resort to this once a week, it can quickly add up and destroy your monthly food budget. But there’s another reason why weekly meal planning saves you money. Because you will know exactly what you need when you go to the store, you avoid buying groceries that you don’t really need. You also don’t buy food each week just to watch it go bad in your fridge, because you know ahead of time what you need to prepare each meal.

The third major benefit of meal planning is that you eat healthier. Simply cutting out the fast food is a major health benefit, of course, but menu planning helps you to plan more balanced meals each week. You are more likely to cook baked chicken with brown rice, steamed veggies and a side salad when you plan for it than if you're on a last-minute search for food. Without a menu plan, you might end up heating up a frozen meal or fixing chicken nuggets and tator tots, which ends up not being much healthier than fast food. By planning your menu, you can make sure to include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables along with lean meats and fish into your family’s diet.

As you can see, the benefits of weekly menu planning are definitely priorities for most people. Who doesn't want more time, more money, and better health? Fortunately, there are menu planning services that will handle the “boring” part of finding recipes and making your shopping list for you, and they are quite affordable. So, if you think you'd benefit from weekly menu planning, give it a try on your own, or try a menu planning service. Enjoy your additional time, money and health.

Reprinted with permission.