Food Tips
7 Smart Tips for Efficient Meal Planning and Cooking
Food Tips
7 Smart Tips for Efficient Meal Planning and Cooking
You’re busy—like, so, so busy. Whether it’s housework, schoolwork, work-work or simply shuttling kids from one activity to the next, your schedule is packed.
But healthy eating is important for the whole family, and you don’t want to let it slide. Luckily, we have a few ways you can make the whole process a little less stressful so you don't have to sacrifice sleep (or episodes of your favourite series).
1. ORDER GROCERIES FOR DELIVERY
photo credit: Shannae Ingleton Smith
Once you have your grocery list, order it all online with Walmart Online Grocery. Not only are you taking advantage of the every day low prices on groceries, but you can also order beauty items, toys, cookware and more and have them delivered right to your door. (Available at select locations, delivery fee applies). Simply book contactless delivery from a range of timeslots that suit your schedule—some locations even offer Express Delivery so your goodies arrive in as little as two hours*—and get on with the rest of your day. The convenience of having groceries brought right to your door saves time and money to do more of what you love.
Plus, new Walmart Online Grocery customers can save money by using code 60CANADA for $15 off their first four orders of $75 or more.**
2. ROUND UP YOUR ALL-TIME FAVOURITE RECIPES
You’ve cooked hundreds of times before, but sometimes it feels like there’s nothing good to make. (It’s the equivalent of looking in your overflowing closet and feeling like you have nothing to wear.) Avoid this problem by gathering all your go-to recipes in one place. It can be a folder on your computer, a handwritten recipe book or a stash of magazine clippings.
3. MAKE MEAL PLANNING PART OF YOUR REGULAR SCHEDULE
Get into the meal-planning mindset on the same day every week (for most people that’s Saturday or Sunday). Involve the whole family so everyone can contribute and share ideas. Then, decide on all your meals for the next seven days.
4. USE A WHITE BOARD OR ONLINE SPREADSHEET
Writing down your meals in a chart makes planning easier—but it can be time consuming to have to draw out a calendar every week. Instead, create a seven-day chart on a white board and fill in your meals with an erasable marker. It’s a smart way to visualize your plan, and you can erase and start over next week. Not into white boards? Save a spreadsheet template and fill it each week.
5. KEEP A WELL-STOCKED PANTRY
You don’t need to buy rice, pasta, cereal, spices, oils, sauces and nut butters every week. Instead, stock up on the essentials that you enjoy and use regularly. That way, you only need to purchase fresh ingredients on a weekly basis, which can alleviate some of your planning stress.
6. GET STRATEGIC ABOUT HOW OFTEN YOU COOK
There are plenty of ways to cut back on cooking hours:
- Stick to “easy” breakfasts like smoothies, berries and yogurt or eggs on toast (you can even hard-boil a bunch of eggs at once to save for a few days).
- Cook in batches and freeze extra soups, stews and casseroles for future meals.
- Make larger portions! Whip up enough meat, rice or veggies for a few days and portion them into single-meal containers that you can store in your fridge.
- Let one or two nights a week be “grazing” nights, where you assemble items from the four food groups (think fruits, veggies and dips, meat and nuts, cheese and yogurt, bread and crackers) and snack when you’re hungry—no cooking required.
7. ENSURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF STORAGE CONTAINERS
Whether you choose to portion out meals into tubs or batch-cook dishes and freeze them for later, you’ll need plenty of storage. Stock up on stackable cartons so you never run out of places to stash leftovers and extra meals.
*Select locations only, delivery fee of $14.95.
**New Walmart Online Grocery customers can use code 60CANADA for $15 off their first four orders of $75 or more. The offer is only valid for new customers with a minimum spend of $75 before taxes and fees. See walmart.ca/redeem for details. Offer expires February 28 2022.
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