Family Meal Planning Basics

When feeding a family rather than just yourself there a few things to take into consideration.

You can buy in bulk:

The bigger your family, the bigger bulk purchases you can make. Places like Costco can

become appealing if you are able to buy meats especially in bulk sizes as well as cooking

basics such as grains and flours etc. Buying lots of canned foods can potentially save you

money when fresh produce spikes and can be stored for future use.

It may feel like you are spending a lot more than singles or couples when you go to the

grocery store, but when you start to work out meal costs, sometimes it can work a lot

cheaper per meal or serving size when there are more people. If you cook a spaghetti,

casserole or stir fry then it can feed a lot of people for a little amount. Something you are

less likely to make as a single person as it makes such a big volume of food, which is what

you want as a family.

Maybe you have a toddler, they are going to need different foods than a teenager who does

a few different sports, or a parent who is managing diabetes or obesity. It’s actually important

to find a way to meet everyone’s needs without having to cook 10 different meals each night.

When meal planning find a way to be able to adjust the recipe – so for a toddler it could

simply be a small serving size, and the teen may need extra meat or carbs added to theirs

and eating diabetes friendly meals could work for the whole family or you might need to

make meals that are ‘self serve’ like burgers or burritos where everyone chooses
what they have in their meal.

No sooner have you found a meal that is everyone’s favourite, then the next time you make

it someone decides they’ve never ever liked it! Children especially can change their tastes

frequently and I’ve found the easiest way to deal with this has been to have back up ‘salad’

option. If the meal has already been made and there is refusal then I quickly can make a

salad of their choosing, so they still feel they have control and they are getting essential

nutrients. Sometimes compromise is easier than starting a war over food.

The Mediterranean diet and more recent studies are starting to show just how important the

element of food within a community is. A place to share not only produce, but to connect with

one another, share stories and feel connected. We are tribal at our core and we love the

social aspect of living, it is necessary for our health. If we can inspire a love of cooking and

eating together from a young age, then hopefully our children will continue it on with the next

generations as well.

CHMP (Cheap Healthy Meal Plans)