On Sunday, after creating a simple and healthy meal plan for the week, I got busy in the kitchen cooking once to eat twice. That evening I made a bean and sausage gratin that was easy, quick and delicious. But the real beauty is that we had it for lunch the next several days. We simply added a salad and a piece of fruit and a we had a healthy meal.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time to cook every meal. Life is hectic and we have a lot going on. But planning ahead with the notion of cooking a few times per week, not everyday, makes managing healthy eating so much easier (and fun!).

In fact, I begin with a vision for the week and determine exactly when I can cook. Tuesday night and tonight weren’t options because of other commitments this week. We cooked Monday night and had the leftovers on Tuesday night. Last night we thawed a tasty African Peanut Stew that I made quite some time ago.  We added a salad and some cornbread and we had a super simple meal. We’ll do the same tonight. Creating that plan makes all the difference in easing the meal planning burden.

What do you do to ease the burden of limited time but a desire for healthy meals? How often do you adopt the cook once to eat twice policy?

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Filed under: Meal Planning, Time Saving Tips