I like to meal plan and I thought I'd share my meals for this week. While I try to stick to the plan, I am a little flexible (my life doesn't always run perfectly to plan). So sometimes I will change the days around. I plan for quick meals on busy nights and get a break from cooking with a freezer meal night. 

I use the A, B, C system:

A) A variety of protein throughout the week (fish, beans/tofu, eggs, fish, poultry, lean red meat)

B) Bit of wholegrains (pasta, brown/basmati rice, starchy veg (potato, sweet potato), polenta, quinoa, couscous, wholegrain wraps/bread) 

C) Colourful veggies. Aim to fill half of your plate to be veggies. Enjoy a variety of dinner coloured veggies

Monday: Oven roasted crumbed fish with roast potato and sweet potato and frozen veggies (peas, corn, cauliflower, carrots) 
Tuesday: Chicken, veggie and brown rice soup 
Wednesday: Carrot, zucchini and corn fritatta with roasted sweet potato 
Thursday: Crumbed lamb cutlets with polenta, salad and steamed broccoli 
Friday: Vegetable soup and tuna patties  
Saturday: Roast chicken with mushroom sauce, cauliflower cheese, roast veggies and zucchini fritters  
Sunday:  Easy freezer meal (probably spaghetti bolognese) 

A friend of mine was telling me about her child's school and how they were doing a unit on healthy eating. They were doing cooking in the classroom and having people come to run sessions with the kids. The school had the best of intentions and it all sounded so positive and terrific  until I started to find out finer details.  A honey farmer and cooking fruit salad with jelly. It saddens me that people think you need to 'sweeten' the deal when it comes to healthy food.  We need to start marketing healthy foods to kids! I read a great book on this called "Don't tell them it's healthy".  Try motivating your kids by telling them the benefits of healthy eating, in kid terms! Fruit salad (without the jelly) will help them jump higher in basketball, run faster at little athletics, concentrate more in their maths test, twirl well at dancing, tumble nicely in gymnastics or improve their drawings in art. 

This works for motivating adults too. What's in it for you to make your diet more colourful?

One of the ways I help make sure myself and my family eat healthily (well most of the time), is by meal planning. Afternoons are extremely busy so knowing what I am going to cook and having the ingredients in the cupboard makes 5pm a lot less stressful. 



Meal planning also ensures variety. 
- A variety of fish, lean red meat, poultry, beans and tofu, eggs
-  A variety of whole grains (pasta, rice,  quinoa, polenta, couscous, potato, wholegrain wraps)
- A variety of colour - lots of different coloured fruits and veggies everyday 

So here is my A, B, C tips for dinner meal planning. 

A) A protein +
B) Bit of whole grains + 
C) Colours, colours and more colours (half your plate should be veggies)

You can either have ABC in one dish:  
-  minestrone soup (with lots of veggies, some beans and a little pasta)
- spaghetti bolognase with lentils/meat and veggies in the sauce and salad on the side
- stew with meat/beans, potatoes and veggies 
- stir fry with meat/tofu, veggies and rice/noodles 
- home made pizza topped with veggies and left over roast chicken 

Or deconstructed 
- meat and 5 veg plus a little potato, rice or quinoa 
- fish with salad and rice 
- eggs on whole grain toast with some frozen veggies on the said 

Tonight sit down and think about making your dinners ABC this week. 

Here is my week: 

Monday - minestrone soup and lentil burgers 
Tuesday - individual shepherds pie (excess sauce will be frozen) 
Wednesday - tofu noodle stir-fry 
Thursday - Fish cakes with veggie sticks and tzatziki 
Friday - Chicken and sweet potato stew with quinoa or rice (I'll decide later) and salad
Saturday - Crumbed lamb and roast veggies  (potato, sweet potato, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms) and some steamed broccoli, cauliflower and corn. 
Sunday - leftovers and salad (or if not enough tuna pasta and salad)

 
As I write this blog I'm having the minestrone soup for lunch that I've prepared for tonight's dinner. Yum!