"With anything in life, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That applies to meal planning as well," says Silvia Veri, registered dietitian at the Beaumont Weight Control Center - Canton.

Meal planning is one aspect of nutrition that people find hard to maintain. Many people fail to see that it should not be restricted to only those who are trying to reduce or gain weight but is one that should be imbibed by all. Having your meal plan personalised is another aspect people should consider. This is because a personal meal plan contains meals that tick all necessary nutritional value and preference boxes. Setting out a few hours to plan the meals for the next few days or weeks goes a long way in ensuring that you have a steady and consistent supply of homemade food in your body system.

Why are meal plans good?

This question is easily answered by letting you know the benefits of meal planning. There are numerous benefits associated with meal planning and below are five such benefits;

1. Varieties of food to choose from

Eating out is one culture that has turned out to be as addictive as the intake of nicotine. This is because many people, due to the stress from work, have limited energy conserved for eating and not enough to get into the kitchen to prepare their food. Anyone would agree that the typical diet for a Northern Ireland person is from fast foods and restaurants. Going by this information, it is safe to say that we are restricted to eating junk like burgers, fries, and the various kinds of pies, which contain are high on calories. However, with meal planning, we get the chance of picking from multiple varieties of food and ingredients while also meeting your nutritional target. This means you get to eliminate eating boring meals or repetitive meals.

2. Saves time, money, and reduces stress

When you decide to try meal planning, you begin to reduce the time and money spent while at the market getting your foodstuffs and grocery. This is so because a personalised meal plan enables you to have an idea of the kind of meals you intend on making in the coming week or days. This also reduces the stress you go through when deciding on what to buy since you have an idea of all you need. It also reduces the idea of heading to the grocery store to get certain ingredients at the last minute.

3. Reduces waste

The idea of buying vegetables and later trashing them without using them would be minimised when you create a meal plan for yourself. As said 'food wasting is a sin', a good way to reduce the waste that ends in the bin at the end of the week is to adopt meal plans which help us get what we need for the food or order exactly which homemade meal should be delivered at our doorstep.

4. Prevents indecisions

‘What is for dinner?' is one question we have issues answering at a go, and in most cases is one that rings in the corner of our minds throughout the day. However, through meal planning, we get to answer such questions easily without having to go through the decision fatigue.

5. Controls the nutritional value of food consumed

Meal planning is one thing, but how do you fit your specific diets into the meal plan template you found while doing your research. This question is the reason meal plans should be personalized. With personalised meal plans, you can control the number of calories you consume and also cut down on excessive calories. It is perfect for those who have certain health and body goals (e.g. weight loss or weight gain, etc)

Which meal plan is the best?

This is not easy to answer as meal plan varies from person to person and different dietary requirements. There are numerous meal plans that we can choose from. Therefore, experts at Reuben's Gourmet Meal Co. have been able to narrow them down to these three specific types;

• Basic meal planning: This involves you creating a list of the food and its ingredients you plan to prepare during the week and getting them stored until it's time to cook. Although the period for cooking would have been a bit high, the problem of not having the ingredients available would be reduced, making cooking a straightforward functionality.
• Batch cooking: Batch cooking involves finding time to prepare the ingredients for all the food planned for the next couple of days. This type of meal planning is perfect if you can spare a couple of extra hours after getting all necessary ingredients from the market or grocery store (e.g., dicing the onions and lettuce and keeping in a container or zip-lock) waiting to be used during the week.
• Leftover hacks: As the name implies, this type of meal planning involves using leftovers to prepare a different meal. This type is perfect when you find yourself with leftovers from the previous meal and do not want to waste any. This type of meal planning is not for everyone, as many of us prefer freshly prepared food.

The above is based on food prepared by one's self, however, if you are one of those who don't fancy cooking, there are various kitchens that offer their customers homemade meals. They have various kinds of meal plans they allow their customers to pick from, the most common ones include;

• the weight loss meal plan and
• the weight gain meal plan

Meal plan delivery in Northern Ireland

Meal planning is not for everyone if we are going to be sincere with each other. It is therefore important not to waste your energy in planning to cook if;

• You do not enjoy/fancy cooking
• You enjoy eating out
• You are a junkie for dating apps

If you fall into any of the above categories, there are specific kitchens that offer their customers the option of creating a personalised meal plan that would be delivered to their doorstep and one such kitchen is Ruben's Gourmet Meals Co. We deliver healthy, nutritious and freshly made meal plans in Northern Ireland and Dublin. Providing quality and high standard meals is our priority and we strive to give the best to our clients.

Conclusion

Whether you are on the journey of losing weight or just trying to improve your health, one of the best ways to go about it is by planning your meals. Meal planning is as effective as working out if done right. Be it a plan to cook in your kitchen yourself or having your food delivered to you, ensure you make time out of your busy schedule to plan your meals for the next couple of days.