Your new routine: meal planning

Ever hear the expression, ‘If you fail to prepare then prepare to fail’? It’s doubly true for your diet. Spending a few hours on the weekend sorting out your food for the weekend can save both money and calories.

After all, it’s on the days you arrive home from work tired and frazzled you’re more likely to resort to ordering pizza or fish and chips. All you really need is some containers, a couple of shelves in the fridge and freezer and maybe some tunes to keep you motivated as you chop and bake.

Before you start, grab a cookbook of healthy recipes and plot out a plan. Otherwise, pick a few simple dishes you’d be happy to eat throughout the week.

These are the sorts of meals that work really well:

• Roast some chicken breasts or thighs with lemon and rosemary and make a giant pot of mashed sweet potato with ginger. Divide the portions into containers then heat and serve with some steamed broccoli. The chicken is great for salads and wraps, too.
• Prepare a hearty soup in a slow cooker. This is a great one to freeze, too.
• Make enough tomato and basil pasta sauce to divide up for a few lunches and dinners during the week – perfect for eating with Slendier pasta.
• Make a frittata (grated carrot and zucchini sautéed with some garlic and onions is a healthy option), slice and refrigerate. Eat it cold or warmed up and with a side salad.
• Stir-fry some lean beef or pork with mushrooms, carrots, broccoli and Asian sauces and spices, and divide into containers with Slendier rice for reheating later.
• Chopped vegetables, like carrots and celery, stored in a container ready for easy consumption are a perfect snack teamed with a couple of tablespoons of hummus.

When you’ve worked out what you’re going to cook, write a list of everything you’ll need and hit the supermarket.