Susan Nicholson

The secret to great meals is in the planning. The truth is, many people think they hate to cook when they just haven’t figured out how to plan what to cook. When you plan your dinner menus ahead of time, you eat healthier, save money, reduce stress, and enjoy delicious meals.This Cheat Sheet provides a quick reference to the benefits and basics of meal planning.

A healthy dinner involves more than a piece of meat (or other form of protein) and something to wash it down with. To build a menu, begin with the main course. From there, fill in with different kinds of side dishes (starches, vegetables, and salads), and then wrap up with a dessert (everyone’s favorite part of the meal).

When you’re ready to create your own menu plans, start small and plan 14 days’ worth of meals. After you get the hang of menu planning, you can plan more weeks at once. To start, call a family meeting. When everyone is settled in, pass out notebooks and pencils. Explain the goal — to plan menus as a family for the next two weeks, taking schedules and food likes and dislikes into account.