Birmingham, Ala. (March 21, 2025)—Finding ways to get children interested in nutritious meals can be challenging for parents. That’s why more and more families are turning to meal planning to ensure their family is eating healthy and spending quality time together.
According to Janelle Hanick, a registered dietitian at Children’s of Alabama, meal planning is simply planning your meals ahead of time. She calls it a weekly roadmap for creating family menus. She says the process to start is easy.
“Carve out some time each week; this can be the same time each week in your schedule to sit down and plan,” said Hanick. “It can also be helpful to write it down on paper or an erasable board. Think ahead of your family's commitments that week and plan around those.”
Hanick advises parents to keep it simple in the beginning. One way to do this is to think about meals your family already enjoys or meals you already make. She also says you don’t need to prep every ingredient or make every meal beforehand. You can also create meals that may reuse different food items for multiple meals or prep one or two items in bulk to save time.
Hanick says meal planning has several benefits, such as families saving money by eating out less and working off a list when they go to the grocery store. She says it also helps families because they don’t have to stress about their dinner plans, and it can also be fun for children to participate in the process.
“Have children make a list of their favorite foods, and then you can start incorporating them into your meals,” said Hanick. “You can give your children a list of different meal options and have them choose. You can also create themed days like Taco Tuesday, Pasta, or Pizza Friday to expose your children to different types of food and cultural food they might enjoy.”
Hanick says children can play a role in other areas of the meal planning process. Hanick recommends a scavenger hunt for children at the grocery store, where they find different ingredients on the grocery list. Another recommendation is to have children help with preparing the meal with supervision. Hanick says another benefit of meal planning is ensuring your family eats well-balanced meals.
“You are taking the time to make sure you have fruits and vegetables on your shopping list to bring into your home,” said Hanick.
Click on this link to learn more about some of the most common misconceptions about meal planning.
