The Power of Meal Planning

By Winnie Yu for Completely You



Nothing is worse than realizing at 5 o’clock in the afternoon that you’ve made no plans for dinner. That’s what happened to me one day: I had nothing in mind to feed my family. Nothing. Nada. Zilcho. Now what? I asked myself. Do I call the local pizzeria? Order Chinese? Heat up some canned soups?

OK, we weren’t exactly going to go hungry. My pantry is always packed with food, and my freezer is so full that waffles and frozen chicken land at my feet whenever I open the door. But it’s not as if anything comes together to form a real meal. (It’s a bit like my closet, which is full of vibrant clothes, few of which form great outfits.)

At that point, I understood why my more organized friends touted the idea of meal planning on Sunday. It not only eliminates unnecessary trips to the supermarket -- and saves money -- but also spares you the trouble of figuring out one more thing on days when life is already too busy.

So now, on Sunday afternoons, I sit down and look at my week. On nights when we’re heading out for music lessons, basketball games and yoga class, I know to keep dinner simple. That’s when crockpots come in handy. On nights when we’re home, I can make a more complicated meal (e.g., a Chinese dinner with multiple dishes, or a new recipe that allows for some adventure). And by the end of the week, I’m certain to enjoy what I call “Leftovers Night.” That’s when everyone forages the fridge and eats whatever they can find. (As you might imagine, I love Leftovers Night.)

So after a bit of planning, I hit the grocery store with a list of items I need for the week, complete with coupons and a pen to tick off the items as I put them in my cart. Neat, right?

Planning my meals ahead of time has made life so much easier. I shop only once or twice a week -- the second trip is usually for restocking produce and milk -- and I never have to pull together a last-minute meal that is typically less healthy and often less tasty. Planning helps me avoid health hazards like eating too many meals with cheese or red meat. Good planning also allows me to use what I buy in a timely fashion: pork chops on one day often leads to a stir-fry with slices of pork the next.

Creating a weekly menu makes it easier to accommodate everyone’s taste buds too. While Samantha favors pizza and other cheesy meals, Annie prefers vegetables and Asian food. Sound planning means everyone’s palates -- including my own -- are taken into consideration during the week, and we never go all-Italian for Samantha or stick to a strictly Asian lineup for Annie.

Now I just have to figure out a better way to plan my wardrobe.

What are your favorite recipes? Share below or tweet me @Completely_You
For more great health & lifestyle content, visit the parent site of my blog, Completely You!

Winnie Yu is Completely You’s mom blogger. She has two daughters and is the author of seven books, including New Mother’s Guide to Breastfeeding and What to Eat for What Ails You. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Woman’s Day, AARP Bulletin, Prevention and WebMD.

Awaken Your Inner Diva

By Winnie Yu for Completely You




When you’re a mom, it’s easy to let yourself go, to slip into a pair of high-waist jeans, throw on a sweatshirt and be on your way. After all, that’s what moms do -- especially if we don’t need to get dressed up for work.

But sometimes it’s fun to awaken the inner diva, the one that lurks inside most women. She’s the one your husband may have first met, the one who used to go out dancing with the gal pals. She’s the one who went to fabulous parties, nightclubs and fancy dinners before life was filled with kid parties, wholesale food clubs and crockpot dinners.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to recall my more glamorous days -- trust me, they were short-lived, and frankly, not that glamorous -- when I was asked to model in a fundraising fashion show for a local community and school foundation. It was the second year in a row that I’d done it, and I welcomed the opportunity to break free from my daily existence to become someone different. Totally different.

For those few hours, it was all about me. My hair. My makeup. My clothes. A hair and makeup artist who once worked in Hollywood spent almost an hour turning my hair into a spiky do and pinning an equally spiky hairpiece onto the back of my head. Then he decorated my face with more makeup than I wear in a month.

Walking the catwalk is not something I do every day, as you might imagine. But soon, there I was, strutting, pivoting and posing in a pair of impossibly high silver heels. I only had a minute to do a complete change between each of the three outfits I wore, going from an elegant Escada two-piece dress reminiscent of Jackie O to a floor-length evening dress to a casual blazer and sweater over suede pants. (It was considerably tamer than the leather dress and black boots I wore the year before.)

“What did you think?” I asked my daughters as they studied my makeup and dress.

“That was not you,” Annie said sternly.

And then the ball was over. I gave back the hairpiece, the dress and the silver heels. I slipped back into my jeans and got into my car. Cinderella was heading home, and the glamour was gone.

Practically speaking, it isn’t easy to free your inner diva. After all, where do you wear 3-inch heels these days? And who has the time to put on all that makeup or to style her hair? Still, it’s fun to release that playful spirit that hibernates within most of us moms, to take the time to take a long shower, to really style our hair even if we’re just headed out to the supermarket and to indulge in a special outfit for no real reason except we like it. It reminds us of what we were before we became mothers and wives, chauffeurs and cooks. And it helps us remember that beneath all the responsibilities we shoulder lies a joyful soul that still sometimes wants to come out and play.

What are your favorite ways to release your inner diva? Share below or tweet me @Completely_You
For more great health and lifestyle info, visit the parent site of my blog, Completely You

Winnie Yu is Completely You’s mom blogger. She has two daughters and is the author of seven books, including New Mother’s Guide to Breastfeeding and What to Eat for What Ails You. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Woman’s Day, AARP Bulletin, Prevention and WebMD.

Advice From the Experts

Check out the most cherished advice these health experts ever got.