Menu Planning Guide

Tips for Menu Planning:

Set aside time to plan. Write down your menus for one to two weeks.
Develop a system for menu planning and grocery shopping. Good planning eliminates frequent trips to the grocery store – saves time and money!
Purchase and use low-fat cookbooks or modify favorite recipes to reduce fat and increase fiber (refer to Recipe Modification handout).
Keep it simple.
Coordinate menus with your family’s activity schedule.
Utilize your crockpot, wok, electric skillet, steamer, and bread machine.
Cook once for two or more meals.
Include the following foods:

Food Group	Foods to Include Daily	Foods to Include Weekly
Starch or Complex CHO	Whole grain breads, cereals, and/or pasta	Oat products, rye products, flaxseed products, wheat bran, psylluim-containing breads and cereals
Vegetables	Dark, green leafy vegetables	Orange vegetables, celery, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, garlic, tomatoes
Fruits	Citrus fruit: oranges, orange juice, grapefruit juice	Any type of berries, apples, apricots, bananas, grapes or grape juice
Dairy	Milk, yogurt, or low-fat cheese	Milk, yogurt, or low-fat cheese
Protein	Lean or low-fat meats, poultry, or fish, OR complementary vegetable proteins: Legumes + grains, cereals or pasta;	Legumes/dried beans, soybeans or soy foods, fish: tuna, salmon, mackerel, sardines, or other types of fish, walnuts

Plan ahead: outline your weekly menu and make your grocery list from your outline. Shop from your list!
Never shop when you are hungry!
Have a mental map of your store, so you can go directly to the products you need.
Resist temptation and walk past tempting food displays and food samples.
If you must venture down a “fat” aisle to get an item, leave your cart at the end of the aisle so you cannot fill up with other items.
Caution: items at eye level are often high-fat and high-profit that are placed there to encourage you to impulse buy.
Shop the perimeter of the store. The outside aisles contain the healthiest items, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, meats, and dairy products.
Do not buy high-fat treats “for the kids.” More than likely they’ll end up in your mouth too! More importantly, your children do not need the extra fat in their diets.
Keep costs down. Good nutrition should not be expensive.