Meal Planning, Shopping List

I have a confession to make:  meal planning is the most difficult phase of cooking for me.  And as far as serving healthy food to my family and saving money by using a shopping list, it is the most important.

At every meal, we have a vegetable, a fruit and some protein.  Fruits and veggies can be any style - frozen, doctored canned or fresh.  However, the canned or frozen needs to be primarily fruit or primarily veggies to qualify - no veggie-flavored chips or fake cheese.  For the protein, I am always on the lookout for interesting, tasty and quick entrees.

Snacks are another challenge.  I gravitate to healthy, less processed and lower-in-calories alternatives.

Last year I visited a first grader in my family during school lunch, and two things stood out at this muddle-class school where many families have working dads AND moms:

• the school lunch looked great, but students left much of it on their plates.  When it was time for recess, students scraped the leftovers into a giant garbage bag. 
• of the students who brought lunches from home, I didn't see much fruit, veggies or protein.   One girl brought three large home-made brownies and no more.  Another brought several bags of chips and no more.  

I can only imagine what the last two students had for breakfast.  No wonder school breakfasts and lunches have become so important for children's learning and nutrition.