Like most people, I've tried to organize my life by downloading apps, using a planner, or having a list/schedule tacked up on my wall. Lately I've been using a Bullet Journal to keep track of my appointments, tasks, goals, and habits. One important tracker that has helped me immensely is tracking and planning my meals. Read on to find out how maintaining a meal tracker and planner will be beneficial to you.
1. It helps you meal prep
If you know what you've eaten the previous week, it makes things easier to meal prep. You have a general idea of what groceries/snacks you want to buy and you create your meals based on what you've eaten. Planning your meals for the next week also creates a grocery list for you to take on your next grocery trip, which makes food shopping a lot easier, and less of a possibility to buy snacks on impulse at the grocery store.
2. You eat healthier
How many pizza slices did you eat last week? If you don't remember, you can just look back at your handy meal planner. Plus if you find yourself eating too many sweets or too much junk food, you don't have to give up sweets completely. You can track it and create meals that will make you eat healthier.
3. You save money on groceries
When you plan your meals by listing your dishes and writing down the ingredients you need to buy to make specific meals, you deviate less and have less impulse purchases, which saves you money. Also, when you have an idea of what you're buying, you're able to stay within your budget and not overspend.
Spoon tip: When you go grocery shopping, don't go on an empty stomach. If you're not hangry, you're less likely to make impulse purchases on snacks, while more likely to just stick to your grocery list.
4. You Waste Less Food
Each day, almost 150,000 tons of food are thrown out in America. This is due to impulse buying, buying too many groceries or food items in bulk, and overall not planning well. Therefore, when you track and plan your meals, you not only save money on groceries, you purchase less and end up throwing less food out. It's a win-win for you and the environment.
Well, there you have it. Having and maintaining a meal tracker, and not to mention planning your meals in advance, is extremely useful. Tracking and planning your meals will benefit you, your family, and the planet. Of course, using planners/bullet journals and tracking certain habits doesn't happen overnight. It takes discipline and time to get into it. But once you start tracking and planning your meals, you'll find it to be a huge life-changer and benefit to you, your wallet, and the planet.
Here are some other articles that will help you track and plan your meals:
How to Make a Week's Worth of Lunches for Under $20
5 Easy Beginner Meal Prep Ideas
The 21 Best Food Tracker Apps for Journaling
Food Diary - How to Keep Track of What You Eat
18 Droolworthy Bullet Journal Meal Planning & Food Log Ideas