Organization and planning at home is essential, especially if you have children. One of the tasks that is repeated every day is cooking, inevitably you have to prepare breakfasts, lunches, dinners and others. Therefore, it is essential to have a daily menu planning in a house where there are children. Otherwise, you will waste a lot of time each day thinking about the next meal.
And not only that, the shopping cart is notably saved when a planned purchase is made for several days. So, with good planning you can save not only time, but also you can save on the food you buy. It may seem too complicated, but with a few simple tips you can prepare a nutritious and healthy daily menu for the whole family.
The first step, a list of common foods and meals
Each day's meals should include the recommended food groups, to meet the essential nutritional needs of children. As you already know, it is recommended to take about 5 pieces of fruit a day and that the vegetables are present both at lunch and at dinner. As for the rest of the food groups, we leave you in the link the food pyramid so you can use it as a reference.
It is also important to take into account the usual meals that you usually eat at home, because in those same dishes you can make variations to finish covering all the nutritional needs. For example, pasta dishes can include vegetables and it is something that is not done regularly. Having all your dishes written down will allow you to better organize them throughout the week and improve them in terms of the ingredients used.
The daily menu
To efficiently plan your daily menu, you can use an easily erasable whiteboard or a simple notebook. If you keep your notes you can use them to organize the menu of other days, so that you will soon have the week planned with little effort. Many people forget to include breakfast or snack in menu planning.
However, they are very important meals that must be thought through so that they do not end up becoming a fast and unhealthy meal. The snack is an example, it is a very important meal since it supposes the contribution of energy necessary for children to complete their activities before the evening. Not to be overlooked the snack, or resort to an unhealthy and non-nutritious processed product.
The same goes for breakfast, many children wake up with little appetite and refuse to eat almost anything that has to be chewed. Have breakfast planned so that children can have something they like, it will save you time and trouble. For breakfast there is nothing better than a good homemade smoothie, you can include dairy, fruits, cereals and even vegetables.
Menu example
Taking into account the tastes of your family, you can create an appropriate daily menu for everyone. It is important not to fall into the trap of preparing a different dish for each one, since it will take you a lot of time each day and you will get used to eating à la carte. Next we knit with an example of a daily menu that can serve as inspiration to plan your family's menu.
- Breakfast: A homemade smoothie prepared with milk, rolled oats, banana and strawberries.
- Half morning: Homemade oatmeal cookies and chocolate chips, a natural fruit juice.
- To eat: Chickpeas with chicken and vegetables, fried anchovies second and for dessert, a Greek yogurt with chunks of fresh fruit.
- Snack: Oatmeal pancakes and banana with a glass of milk, a natural fruit juice or a homemade smoothie with milk and fruits.
- For dinner: Opt for foods rich in tryptophan (such as eggs or banana), as it is a natural relaxant that promotes sleep. For example, a French omelette with cheese and cooked ham, accompanied by tender vegetables.