What’s the best way to make a meal plan?

Making a meal plan is a great idea for anyone who wants to ensure they benefit from a nutritious diet. And this is especially important when you’re living with dementia. The best way to start with making a meal plan is to download our Meal Planner here and use it as a basis for thinking about what a ‘good’ diet might look like for you. Studies show that a wide range of fresh vegetables, eggs, meat (or vegetable protein sources, such as tofu), fish, pulses, unsaturated fats and wholegrains is the most beneficial way to eat for most of us. So, you could start your meal planner by looking at one meal type at a time, e.g. breakfast, and ensuring that you have a good variety of choices, incorporating these food groups, across the week. For example: Day 1 - Cereal Day 2 - Scrambled egg on toast Day 3 - Wholemeal toast with peanut butter and chopped banana Day 4 - Cereal Day 5 - Greek yogurt, fruit and chopped nuts Day 6 - Spanish omelette Day 7 - Porridge Here are some other meal planning tips: *Eat a rainbow – include a wide variety of fruit and veg in as many different colours as you can in as many meals as you can – the chemicals that create colour in plants are beneficial. Tinned and frozen options count, too. *Try to eat oily fish, such as salmon, trout, mackerel etc at least two to three times a week. Oily fish has been shown in studies to be good for brain health – and tinned fish counts, too. *Don’t let yourself get hungry – add in healthy snacks to your meal plan. Yogurt, mixed nuts, fruit, oat cakes, chopped veg, houmous and smoothies are good choices. *Don’t forget leftovers. Plan meals that are easily frozen or which keep well for the next day so that one dinner can become two meals. *Once you’ve planned your meals, create a shopping list so that you don’t forget an ingredient and don’t over shop. *Add water into your meal plan as a memory jogger. By including ways to keep yourself hydrated you’ll avoid health issues. You can find more tips on eating well here and don’t forget to share your ideas and tips with others in our online forum here .