Here are 4 simple steps you can take to make meal planning happen in your life, and by doing that, easily increase the amount of healthy food you are eating each week.

1. Have A Plan! Seriously make it a habit to do a little planning. I usually shop twice a week. So before you go shopping look at what your plans are for the next 3-4 days. Note which evenings you will be home and start there. Plan what you will be cooking for those days. Keep it simple and delicious. Make sure you include enough salads and vegetables. Buy what looks fresh! Figure out where you can cook extra at dinner so you have leftovers for lunch the next day. Plan a healthy breakfast so you don't wind up grabbing a bagel on the way to work. Juices and smoothies are a great start you just need to have the fruits and vegetables on hand to make it happen easily. You can even make juice for a few days and keep it in the refrigerator.
2. Keep a good supply of staples in your pantry. If you keep your pantry full of tasty and healthy foods, it's always easy to throw something together even if you are tired. I usually keep kalamata olives, frozen baby peas, sun dried tomatoes, lots of garlic, shallots and onions. These pair well with sautéed vegetables, grains, chicken or fish. If you like to snack be sure to have healthy ones on hand. Check out the free report on my website www.eatwellenjoylife.com to get a list of healthy snacks. Oh, of course keep a little organic dark chocolate around so if you need something sweet you know it is there. I am not saying to eat dessert every day but when you need it you need it. This will keep you from feeling deprived.
3. Cook once and eat twice. Make a double batch of dinner to have for lunch the next day or if you know you are coming home late because you are going to a yoga class you can eat the same dinner twice. If it's delicious you won't mind. You can also make a pot of soup and freeze some in single servings so you never have to say "there is nothing to eat" Freezing works great for, beans and chili too. Since the man I live with likes animal protein I will usually make an organic whole chicken one night and then mix the remaining chicken in with some salad or sautéed vegetables on the next night for him and just eat the vegetables for myself. Prepare extra quinoa at night to make a quick quinoa porridge for breakfast.
4. Make a few dressing to have on hand for the week. I encourage everyone to eat salad with each meal.The fiber and enzymes in the raw vegetables escort the more dense food through the body quickly so you have less toxins building up in your intestines. Preparing salad dressings in advance will make it easier to have salad without a lot of fuss. You can find a few salad dressing recipes on my website many of them will hold up for a week.

 Also, I'm working on making meal planning easier for you!  Could you help me out by taking a MEAL PLANNING SURVEY? Do you have a meal planning tip you'd like to share?  Go ahead and post it at the end of the survey - I'd love to hear what's working well for you.