It’s no secret that meal planning is key to keeping on budget and staying healthy. Here’s what you need to organize your menu, make and store ingredients and set yourself up for success all week long! (Use our top tricks to start meal planning right now!)
Weekly Meal Plan Dry Erase Board
This handy weekly meal planner dry erase board ($20) is the ideal tool for helping you stay on track! Answer the age-old question—”What’s for dinner?”—once and for all by filling this out in the beginning of the week and placing it front and center on the refrigerator.
Refrigerator Organizers
An organized fridge is essential for accurate meal planning. These stackable refrigerator organizers ($29 for a 6-piece set) help maximize fridge space and make it easy to see exactly what you have on hand. They’re easy to clean, BPA-free and will assure you know exactly where everything is.
Clear Canisters
To keep an accurate inventory of your pantry staples, consider using this set of clear canisters ($29). Clear canisters make it easy to exactly how much you have on hand, so you can make grocery shopping easy. We love this set because it comes with chalkboard labels to help keep every grain in its place!
A Cute Lunchbox
Ditch the brown bag in favor of this stylish lunch tote ($17). Plan to make one of these delicious lunches, throw it in this cute bag and rest easy knowing the double-insulated design will keep it cool for 6 to 8 hours.
A Reliable Countertop Cooker
Slow cooker dinners reign supreme when it comes to make-ahead meals. It’s smart to work some slow cooker dishes into your meal plan to help you save time through the week. Our Test Kitchen recently named the Chefman slow cooker ($38) as our Best Loved Brand. Find out why we love it.
This Printable Meal Planner
Create a grab-and-go grocery list with our handy (and free!) meal planning printables. Print out 52 of them, pop them in a binder, and you’ll have a year’s worth of organized meals at your fingertips. Then cut out the grocery list when you’re headed to the supermarket. Here’s how to save big bucks on your grocery bill.
A Food Scale
This digital food scale ($15) is a must for anyone who is trying to plan meals with accurate portion control. This scale will help you portion out the correct amount for each serving. (Clueless when it comes to portion sizes? We’ve got you covered with this handy guide.)
Dissolvable Food Labels
These dissolvable food labels ($13) will ensure you know exactly what’s in the fridge and when it got there. The labels will come off in your warm dishwater after 30 seconds, so they are perfect for reusable containers. If you’re concerned about food safety or want to keep your fridge a little more organized, these are a must!
Snack Containers
When you’re planning meals, it only makes sense to plan your snacks, too. These color-coded containers ($11) come with a simple portion control guide so you can be sure you’re not overdoing it on your favorite snacks throughout the day. Keep containers packed with snack mix, fresh fruit and vegetables and other bites handy.
Daily Food and Exercise Journal
If you’re meal planning with health goals in mind, this Daily Food and Exercise Journal ($10) will help you stay on track with healthy eating. It has space to outline your goals, plan your healthy meals for the week and keep you accountable with exercise.
Glass Meal Prep Containers
After you prep a deliciously healthy meal, you’ll want a set of glass containers to store things in! Glass is safe, easy to clean and keeps your meals tasting their best. This set ($30) is microwave, dishwasher and freezer safe, too.
The post 10 Products That Make Meal Planning Easy (Plus a Free Printable!) appeared first on Taste of Home.
Christina Rivera