Our society is set up to regard meat eating as the ‘norm’. Those people who choose a vegetarian diet are often thought of as difficut, ‘trying to be different’ or just odd. A common nutritional fallacy is that meat and animal products must be consumed in order to maintain a well-balanced, healthy diet.

Many people these days are finding out the many health benefits of a vegetarian diet. Additionally, many physicians and nutritionalists are prescribing and endorsing plant-based meals in order to promote health, prevent and treat certain diseases, and even to reduce weight. There are many products now becoming available in shops and supermarkets that contain health enhancing plant extracts.These are mixed in yoghurts,spreads and cheeses, to specifically lower cholesterol levels, reduce blood pressure, enhance energy levels and boost immune systems. Who knows what other benefits are just around the corner in plant extracts.

Although vegetarianism may seem like a modern idea, in reality, its health benefits have been known for many years in cultures around the world. India and the far east make up the largest percentage of the world’s vegetarians, both for health and spiritual reasons. One group of people, the Hunza, who live near the Himalaya’s have a diet which is exclusively vegetarian. Members of their community reportedly often live to be over 100 years of age.

The American Dietetic Association say that the benefits of a vegetarian diet can include;

Lower cholesterol levels
Lower levels of saturated fats
Lower body fat
Reduced rates of heart disease
Lower blood pressure
Lower incidence of type-2 diabetes
Lower instances of certain cancers
Higher levels of important minerals and antioxidant vitamins

Obesity is one of the major health concerns in the western world. It can be addressed with a vegetarian diet, one that eliminates excess protein and animal fat consumption, and increases fiber in the form of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Those who consume a vegetarian diet tend to maintain a lower body mass index (BMI), which significantly aids in the treatment and management of other chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. A lower BMI is an aim of anyone looking to improve their general health, whether by diet, exercise, or preferably both.

One question often asked by those considering a vegetarian diet is; “Will I get enough protein? This is certainly a valid question, as protein is necessary for the building, maintenance and function of all body cells. In fact, a varied and well-balanced vegetarian diet actually provides all the protein the body needs, obtained by eating such things as whole grains, beans, nuts and soy products.

In fact, meat-based diets typically provide an excess of protein, which may actually be harmful. High protein levels can put more strain on the kidneys. A leading gerontological journal reports that too much protein can cause a person to lose about 30% of their kidney function by the time they reach old age. It can also cause systemic acidity, which the body attempts to counter by leeching calcium out of the bones, which can lead to osteoporosis.

Becoming a vegetarian does not mean you are limited to eating carrots, fruit and nuts. There are many types of vegetarians that eat meatless diets in a variety of combinations. Some of the more common types include;

Lacto vegetarians, who do not eat meat or eggs, but do eat dairy products such as milk and cheese.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians do not eat meat, but will eat dairy products and eggs.

Ovo vegetarians do not eat meat or dairy products, but will eat eggs.

Vegans do not eat meat, dairy products, eggs, or any animal products at all.

There are many medical and health organizations that promote, endorse, and support people on a path toward changing their dietary lifestyle to one that includes more plant-based foods. There is a lot of information on the internet, as well as through medical providers and vegetarian organizations. Numerous books and articles are easily found.

Many restaurants, grocery stores and supermarkets now provide meals and products to vegetarians, making it simpler to choose this healthy lifestyle.

Remember that at the end of the day it is your decision. If you want to simply keep eating a little meat, while exploring deeper into the vegetarian side, then do that. Don’t worry about the ‘purists’. There is no law to say you cannot eat a little meat, fish or chicken along the way - it’s your life and your choice. Once you start eating more vegetarian food though, many people find they start to lose their taste for meat. The main thing is to enjoy the food and feel healthier by doing so.

On a final note, consider using either all organic vegetables and fruit, or at least as much as you can source. Organic produce really makes a great deal of difference to the taste and texture, and you have the security of mind that what you are eating is free of pesticides and other chemicals. More information on this will be found in the next article, or on our web site.

More articles from this pro: <http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Michael Aldridge>

Why is eating a good breakfast so important? Let’s find out. What did you have for breakfast? Nothing? Sweet roll and juice, donuts and coffee. Or bacon, eggs, toast with jam, juice, milk?

What you eat for breakfast determines how you feel most of the day. The body produces energy from the amount of sugar in your blood from breakfast. Eating only carbohydrates products (donuts, sweet rolls, juice) are nothing but sugar and is quickly used. If you eat some protein and fat along with it, it will be digested more slowly, keeping your energy high longer.

When your blood sugar is low, you feel hungry and weak. Lack of sugar affects the nerves and brain, thus your thinking becomes slow, confused, and you’re grouchy, irritable, and moody.

If your blood sugar level is high, you feel good and function better. You have no desire to eat. Your sweet tooth is satisfied.

Protein, carbohydrates, and fats have to be combined to give you that high sugar level.

Milk, bacon, and eggs are good sources for your breakfast protein. Orange juice, bread, and jam are good carbohydrates. Butter, bacon, and eggs are also fat sources.

Too many carbohydrates (sugar) forces the body to produce too much insulin from the pancreas. This causes the liver and muscles to withdraw sugar and store it as starch or fat.

So too much sugar defeats the purpose for which it is intended-to produce energy. Fatigue then sets in.

Remember, children have the same requirements. They need a good breakfast to function best in school.

For all above ,and much more one can visit www.indomunch.com and experience the real Indo-Chinese Fusion Food.

More articles from this pro: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Sanjeevkumar

While cooking can seem like a time consuming chore to many people it certainly does not need to be that way. If you are searching for ways to make the time you spend in the kitchen a whole lot less stressful then read on for some great time saving tips. The first thing that you can do to lessen the amount of time that you spend in the kitchen is take stock over what you are cooking. Do you find that you are preparing a certain food over and over again? If this happens to be the case why not cook extra portions and store some in a freezer for a future meal? If you are completely bored with your current menu then by all means try something new. Ask friends and family for a copy of their favorite recipes or check out recipe websites online. Who knows you might just run across your family’s new favorite meal. Get your kitchen whipped into shape. Make sure items like dinnerware, baking utensils and meal preparation items are well organized and grouped together. If everything is super easier to find and use you are sure to find that cooking is much less of a bothersome chore. You should really make the most of your time in the kitchen. If the meal you are making can be easily made in large portions then do just that. Keep enough out for one family meal and put the rest away for another meal. There are many people who faithfully follow this process and only spend a day of two preparing everything. The rest of the month is spent quickly preparing the frozen meals and then getting on to something they find to be more fun. Like enjoying sitting down to a family dinner without feeling rushed. Do not be afraid to ask for some help in the kitchen if cooking has become an overwhelming task for you. You are likely to find a great number of handy tips by searching online or by reading books available at the library. Additionally if you are close to someone who is an excellent cook then you should definitely ask them if there are any tips that they could give you to in order to make cooking for yourself and your family a much more simple process.  Cooking does not have to be a difficult task. In fact if you have found food preparation techniques that work well for you it is highly likely that you are going to begin to enjoy cooking a lot more then you thought you ever would.

The Truth About Turkey

By Janice Wee

All along, turkey has been associated to once a year family feasts. You know,
the Thanksgiving turkey. The Christmas turkey. Roast turkey stuffed with some
yummy stuffing, eaten with gravy or cranberry sauce is a must for the end of the
year celebrations.

The fact is, turkey is such a healthy meat, it should not be reserved ONLY
for Christmas and Thanksgiving. You should have turkey as part of your daily
diet. Especially the breast meat of the turkey, without the skin.

Why?

3 reasons.
1. Turkey meat has a very high protein content
2. Turkey meat itself has low fat content.
3. Turkey can be really delicious. My mom cooks a fantastic roast turkey.

Here are 2 of her roast turkey
recipes. http://www.allkitchen.info/turkey.htm .

Protein.

Ok, so we can get lots of protein from meat, fish and soya beans. Sure, beef
packs plenty of protein that you body needs, but red meats are high in
cholesterol.

For example, 1 oz of turkey contains between 15 mg and 24 mg cholesterol
while 1 oz of beef contains 20 and 30mg of cholesterol. It all adds up to a
large difference in artery clogging cholesterol between beef and turkey. That
means if you have heart disease or high blood pressure, switching from beef to
turkey can make a big difference.

As for protein, USA Poultry and Egg Export Council billed turkey as the
perfect protein. It has more protein than chicken, or even a top loin beef
steak.

That makes turkey the ideal food for growing children, athletes and anyone
who wants lean muscle.

Fat.

Most of the fat in poultry is found in the skin. That means, by trimming off
the skin in chicken or turkey, you remove most of the fat. Beef, pork and lamb
on the other hand have the fat embedded in the meat itself. So just by switching
to poultry alone, and removing the skin, you effectively remove most of the fat.
In fact, 3 ounces of skinless, boneless turkey breast contains a mere 1g of
fat and no saturated fat. That is a weight watcher’s dream. This is about as
healthy as you get.

This makes turkey the ideal meat for anyone who wants to stay slim, yet eat
to his or her heart’s content, without consuming much fat. Still even if
you do switch to turkey, watch your portion size. Double the amount you eat and
you will still gain weight.

The flip side is the lack of fat in turkey meat compromises the taste. After
all, the yummiest food contain fat. Fat flavors food.
Then again, with the right seasoning, gravy and all, turkey can be delicious.
Just try my mom’s recipes like her roast
turkey with rice stuffing http://www.allkitchen.info/turkey-rice-recipe.php or the roast
turkey with bread crumb stuffing http://www.allkitchen.info/turkey-breadcrumb-recipe.php .
It is time to switch to something
healthy and yummy.. like turkey.

About the author:
The writer is the webmaster of http://www.allkitchen.info/which helps you find your kitchen essentials online, easily.
My Mom’s recipes are http://www.allkitchen.info/turkey-rice-recipe.phpand http://www.allkitchen.info/turkey-breadcrumb-recipe.phpwhich is more traditional

Fun Halloween Party Themes and Ideas

By John Lenaghan

Halloween is the day of the year that has the most parties thrown in its honor. Everyone loves to dress up and attend Halloween parties with their friends. Most people end up getting several invitations to different Halloween parties that are often on the same night. If you are planning to throw your own Halloween party, how can you get all your friends to head to your shindig and not someone else’s? You need to come up with some unique and fun ideas that will get everyone on your list so excited about your party they won’t even consider going anywhere else.

Not Just Any Old Theme

Many people don’t bother thinking of a theme for their Halloween party since it seems to be somewhat of a theme already. But rather than just putting up some Happy Halloween banners and fake cobwebs, why not come up with a great theme party idea? You can do anything from a haunted house or graveyard to a monster mash or horror movie bash. Once you’ve chosen your theme apply it to everything from your invitations to your party food. Guests will love some guidance on what to dress up as, especially if you do something a little different.

Your Halloween party invitations are one of the most important aspects of your party. Invitations are the best way to get your guests excited about your party. Many people don’t even send invitations anymore so even sending out simple ones will help your party stick in people’s minds. Be sure to apply your party theme to your invitations. If you can’t find any invitations at your local party store that go with your theme you can always use invitation templates that you can download for free from the Internet.

You can totally customize invitation templates and add colorful pictures as well. Guests will love to receive these fun invitations in the mail. You should send your invitations out approximately three to four weeks before your party to give everyone time to make plans to attend. If you’re running short of time sending electronic invitations is a great idea too. You can add animation and sound to e-invitations and even check guest’s responses online. Be sure to contact anyone who doesn’t respond via telephone since not everyone checks their email often.

Spooky Decorations

Everyone will expect to see your house decorated to the nines on Halloween so be sure not to disappoint. Your decorations should match your theme, so give them plenty of thought. For instance, a haunted house theme should be complete with low lighting, smoke, a spooky soundtrack, and even live ghouls to jump out and scare the guests as they arrive. A horror movie bash might include retro horror B-movie posters stuck on the walls which you can find on the Internet and print off at home.

Decorations can be found just about anywhere in the months leading up to Halloween. Even grocery stores carry a wide selection. Start shopping early so you can get the best selection possible and take advantage of any sales. If you can’t find just what you’re looking for you can always rent decorations from a local party supply shop or even purchase decorations from the Internet. The Internet has an almost endless selection and you can find just about any party supplies or decorations you’ll need.

Music is an important aspect of any party as well. While some spooky tunes are fun at first, you’ll want to switch over to some more upbeat music once the party gets going. People love to dance so have plenty of high energy songs ready to go. If you are inviting a variety of different people have several different types of music so no ones gets bored.

Tasty Halloween Treats

Food is an important part of any party. While you don’t need to provide a full meal, some creative and tasty snacks and treats will help keep your guests fueled for the night’s festivities. Turning simple party food into ghoulish culinary delights will surprise and please your guests. Try making some bewitching cupcakes, and put out snacks such as gummy worms and other Halloween candy treats.

Costumes are a given, since this is Halloween after all. If you are having a Halloween theme of some sort, let your guests know on your invitations that they should dress to fit the theme. For instance, if you’re throwing a horror movie bash, you can simply say, “come as your favorite horror movie star”. Don’t expect all your guests to comply with your request. Some people have been thinking up their Halloween costume since last year!

Don’t forget about the party favors! Depending on how many people you’re inviting and how much you’re willing to spend, the possibilities are endless when it comes to party favors. A simple idea is candy bags full of traditional treats such as candy corn. Something more substantial might be a pumpkin carving kit that comes with cutouts and tools. Your guests will love having a little something to take home with them.

Endless Costume Possibilities

If you really aren’t into the scary aspect of Halloween, you can always break with tradition and hold a different type of Halloween party. Have a famous couples party or a crazy hat party instead. Guests can still dress up but might be more creative then a white sheet with holes cut out of it. Dressing up for Halloween is something that both adults and kids can enjoy so great creative and have fun with it!

Having games at your party isn’t a necessity, but can be a great deal of fun for your guests. Games act as an excellent icebreaker if everyone doesn’t know each other. Any games where you can break people off into teams will help to get everyone talking. Pumpkin carving contests are a good idea, as is bobbing for apples. Be sure to give a prize to the best costume as well.

Your Halloween party is sure to be a success if you take the time to plan. Leave yourself plenty of time and don’t forget it’s all the little details that help to make a fabulous party. Enlist the help of family and friends if you’re feeling overwhelmed, and remember, planning is half the fun!

About the author:
John Lenaghan writes about party planning and other tips for the Party Ideas 4u website, where he provides valuable tips and advice about Halloween party ideas, birthday party ideas and other party planning topics.

Even though I am sure everyone is fairly confident in their cooking skills as what reaches the table gets consumed quickly it is always nice for people to be impressed with how good the food happens to look. The following are some great tips for making your food look as good visually as they will taste to the people that are going to be eating them.

Parsley can dress up almost any dish and you can use it either fresh or dried. If you choose to use fresh parsley all you need to do is place a small portion of parsley next to what you happen to be serving. If you decide to go with dried parsley to dress up your meals you can just sprinkle the parsley in small portions over the food that you are serving. If you are cooking for some potentially picky eaters then you should only sprinkle the parsley over a small portion of the meal in order to give them some time to get used to the change.

Cheese can be a fun and tasty way to make the food that you cook look more fancy. A light dusting of parmesan cheese can really dress up a dish. You can also use a finely shredded cheddar or even mozzarella to spice up a dish depending on what the food is. All you need is a small portion of cheese and you will be more then pleased with the end result.

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A great way to dress up the meals that you are preparing without having to change anything about the food is changing the way in which you serve your meals. You can start by purchasing some pretty cloth napkins. You can also find some great smelling candles and put together a very nice centerpiece for your table. Additionally purchasing some new fancy looking plates will also go far in making mealtime more special. The best part of this is that you do not have to spend a ton of money to make these changes.

Just remember that you do not have to go overboard when it comes to making your meals look better. You do not have to serve strange foods or several courses in order to impress people. You will see that many times it is the simplest of meals that is going to get you the rave reviews. Preparing eye pleasing dishes can be an enjoyable task as long as you plan ahead and gather everything that you need before you begin preparing your meal.

While cooking can seem like a time consuming chore to many people it certainly does not need to be that way. If you are searching for ways to make the time you spend in the kitchen a whole lot less stressful then read on for some great time saving tips.

The first thing that you can do to lessen the amount of time that you spend in the kitchen is take stock over what you are cooking. Do you find that you are preparing a certain food over and over again? If this happens to be the case why not cook extra portions and store some in a freezer for a future meal?

If you are completely bored with your current menu then by all means try something new. Ask friends and family for a copy of their favorite recipes or check out recipes websites online like http://theweekendchef.com. With over 355,000 recipes, who knows you might just run across your family’s new favorite meal.

Get your kitchen whipped into shape. Make sure items like dinnerware, baking utensils and meal preparation items are well organized and grouped together. If everything is super easier to find and use you are sure to find that cooking is much less of a bothersome chore.

You should really make the most of your time in the kitchen. If the meal you are making can be easily made in large portions then do just that. Keep enough out for one family meal and put the rest away for another meal. There are many people who faithfully follow this process and only spend a day of two preparing everything. The rest of the month is spent quickly preparing the frozen meals and then getting on to something they find to be more fun. Like enjoying sitting down to a family dinner without feeling rushed.

Do not be afraid to ask for some help in the kitchen if cooking has become an overwhelming task for you. You are likely to find a great number of handy tips by searching online or by reading books available at the library. Additionally if you are close to someone who is an excellent cook then you should definitely ask them if there are any tips that they could give you to in order to make cooking for yourself and your family a much more simple process.

Cooking does not have to be a difficult task. In fact if you have found food preparation techniques that work well for you it is highly likely that you are going to begin to enjoy cooking a lot more then you thought you ever would.

Freezer cooking can be a huge time and stress saver for many people leading busy professional and family lives today. There are several important guidelines that everyone should be well aware of before tackling freezer cooking to make sure that everything goes smoothly. All you need is some quality recipes and the right preparation tools and you can be well on your way to some delicious meals that you can prepare in no time flat.

When you are freezer cooking this is not the time to get experimental so no new recipes. A smart rule of thumb to stick by is only prepare items for freezer cooking that you have eaten before and enjoyed. This way you save yourself (and your family) from not enjoying a meal and still having several of the same meal awaiting you in the freezer for later consumption.

You need to be sure that the food you prepare is at a good temperature to be put into the freezer. The food that you prepare does not have to be completely cooled to be stored in the freezer. If you let the food sit out for too long it will most likely begin to collect dangerous bacteria which will make everyone in your family ill and no one wants to run the risk of that occurring. You only need to let your meals sit for about twenty minutes before sticking them in a freezer. If you still think that you food is too warm when the twenty minutes is up then simply stick a piece of cardboard under the meal and remove it after the food is frozen.

Store your food in quality containers. If you can find square and rectangle shaped containers that will really suit you best, as they can be easily stored in the freezer. You will also find that you have an easier time un-thawing your meals when you are ready to prepare them. If you are unable to use these types of containers then you can make good use of plastic bags. All you need to do is stick cardboard in between the bags to make the best use of your freezer space.

Freezer cooking does not have to seem like an undoable task. All you need to do is stick with these easy to follow tips and you will have a freezer well stocked with delicious food in no time at all.

I know that I also posted this over at thedietingweekendchef.com, but this is an important issue for all of us!

My wife and I have been noticing a change in our size… we are growing bigger. It seems to happen to all of us, as we get older, we eat the same as we use to but we keep gaining weight. With that weight come some unexpected problems. Our joints begin to hurt, we get out of breath, lack of energy, tired etc, so we end up sitting more, doing less and still eat the same amounts. No wonder we gain weight

We need to regain control over the amount of food we are consuming. I don’t mean dieting, diets don’t work! What I do mean is we need to regulate the intake of calories and the output in exercise.

To start with we have to regain our understanding of portions. I read recently that from 1977 to 1997, hamburgers expanded by 23%; a plate of Mexican food got 27% bigger; soft drinks increased by 52%; snacks (potato chips, pretzels, crackers) grew 60%. I’m sure most of you can recall when a typical soft drink used to come in a 10 ounce cup, now they are about a gallon.

It seems as we expand so does the portion of food that we are eating. Thats more calories. As we gain weight, our bodies tend to complain about the extra work and we do less, that is the exercise. So the first step seems to be portion control. We need to get into the habit of measuring the portions so we know how much we are eating (calories). This will help us take control over the amount we eat. Once you are into the habit of controlling your portions you can easily reduce the amount of calories quickly and easily without I might add giving up what we love to eat. You could lose weight simply by eating the recommended portions instead of the whole thing. You would be surprised at the actual portion size compared to the container
Here are some tips:

Use smaller plates. Get smaller plates. There is no need to have a 12 inch dinner plate go for the 9 inch plate. When you are dining out, have the waiter/waitress box half of the meal before bringing it to you. Out of sight, out of mind so to speak. Leftover are great, you get to enjoy the meal twice for the same price.

Pay attention to what you eat. No TV, no computer, no reading, no dinner arguements, eat your meal without distractions. Before your meal start with a glass of water (ice water is better), your body needs it and it starts the process of filling you up so you eat less. Eat a salad, put the dressing in a small dish on the side and dip you fork in the dressing for each bite. You will use less dressing and still get the same taste. Eat your vegetables first. When you are not hungry, stop eating and get away from the table.

Eat smaller more frequent meals… snack more often. You should eat 6 times a day. Start with a good breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, bedtime snack. NOW, snack does not mean sweets! Try vegetables, carrots are great for giving you that crunch you sometimes crave. If you start to crave something, start taking notes as to what you are eating. Most often cravings are because the body is not getting something it needs and your mind interprets that as a craving for something you like, trying to make you eat so that it gets what it needs. We are weak and our minds know it. So pay attention and give it what it NEEDS not what you think it wants.

Menu planning is easy and a great way to get the family together and spend some quality time. It only takes a few minutes and with everyone’s input you will have a successful and less stressful set of meals. Many menu planning articles discuss how to plan a meal. But one of the areas they don’t seem to stress is that of the active family. Every member of the family today seems to have something going on. A successful menu plan has to take that into account. Think about this, would you plan a huge turkey dinner with all the trimmings for a Wednesday evening when you are working full-time and the kids have school? Of course not, there is no time to prep, cook, serve, and clean up. So a successful menu plan needs to take everyone’s activities into account. Lets look at the 7 steps to Meal Planning Made Easy.

Step 1 - Schedules
Create a simple schedule of the activities for the upcoming week or two depending on how often you want to get together and plan things out. Make sure you include the cooks time

Step 2 - Helpers
Make a little chart showing any special events that need to be taken into account. Early appointments, late nights at work, school activities, after school activities etc.
Schedule the helpers and cook. Every member of the family can be involved with the cooking of the meals. Children can help with the prep and clean up etc. Even young ones as young as 5-6 can help with setting the table, cleaning vegetables, clearing the dishes after meals. Even washing dishes with an adults help. Teaches them life skills and responsibility.

Step 3 - Breakfast
Now with the schedule written down we can start on the meals. Some meals will be easy. Breakfast during the week will probably be pretty routine. But these are important meals to plan in order to save money. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Plan on a good well balance meal. If you are trying to lose weight, please see our related article at The Dieting Weekend Chef (http://thedietingweekendchef.com) for breakfast meal tips.
For breakfast you need a balance meal. Include fruit, dairy, starches and protein. I recommend that you stay away from cold cereal. Especially those with alot of sugar. Not good for the kids. Your meal needs to provide the energy to last until lunch in many cases. So starches and proteins are important. High sugar foods lead to that mid morning crash once the sugar has been burned off.

If you are trying to save money, plan on getting up a little earlier and cooking a breakfast. Hot cereal like Cream of Wheat or Oatmeal provides a good start to the day. Add an egg and toast and you and the kids will have energy to burn up until lunch. Breakfast should be in the 300-400 calories range for a balance day.

Step 4 - Lunch
One meal down, so let’s tackle lunch. This is going to be a little more challenging. Depending on the authority figure, you may need to be flexible here. If you can plan the lunches for during the week you will be able to save a lot of money. Lunches can include leftovers and sandwiches which are inexpensive to make and store. Meal wise the lunch should provide the calories to make it to dinner. Lunches are typically larger than breakfast containing about 400-500 calories in a balance diet about the same as dinner.

For lunch try to plan to use leftovers. If your dinner planning includes foods that members of the family ‘Love’ cook a little extra and use it for lunches. The family will look forward to lunch just to have their favorite food. This is a huge way to save money and if you are watching your weight, a great way to watch the calories as well. Making sandwiches is always cheaper than buying sandwiches and again a way to watch what is eaten. Plan variety in the meals. Plan the meal for what is easy to transport and is enjoyed by the family.

Step 5 - Dinner
Now gather the recipes, meal ideas and suggestions from everyone and start planning the meals. Here is where the schedules also come into play. Don’t plan big meals on nights when no one is home. Also, be a little flexible in the planning. Just because Wednesday night is Meatloaf, doesn’t mean the you can’t have spaghetti instead or that maybe ordering pizza is in order.
You will want variety. I like to plan at least 16 dinner ideas for two weeks of meals. Keep in mind you may want to eat out if the budget allows as well. Look at what the family likes and lay out the meals based on when is best for the schedule. If members of the family really like one meal and you plan on using it for lunch try not to schedule that meal for Friday or Saturday. Again meals that take time to cook or eat shouldn’t be planned for nights when everyone is busy.
Once you have the menu written down you can then go to step 6.

Step 6 - Snacks
All of us have are favorite comfort foods. You will want to make sure you have snacks planned for morning, afternoon and evening. Each snack should be about 100 calories or less. Fruit or low calorie sweets work well here. These are the treats that help you get to the next meal.

Step 7 Shopping
With the menu planned out you can create your shopping list. Checking what is on hand verses what is needed. By knowing ahead of time what you need you will save money.

That’s it. If you have followed the 7 Simple Steps - Menu Planning Made Easy outlined here you have a week or two of meals planned, have a shopping list of what you need, you will be saving money and you and your family will be living healthier and happier lives.

For more information on meal planning, healthier cooking, and recipes for your family to try, visit http://theweekendchef.com. The Weekend Chef is a free membership recipe site with articles, recipes, cookbooks and more all geared at making your life easier. If you are on a weight loss program please visit The Dieting Weekend Chef at http://thedietingweekendchef.com.