Heart-healthy meal planning

How to plan heart-healthy meals

You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to make a healthy meal. Meal planning is a simple, practical way to save time, reduce stress, and make healthier eating easier. Read our tips to get started:

1. Start with a plan

Decide how many meals you want to prepare for the week and who you’ll be cooking for. Consider your schedule: Are some days busier than others? Can you prep some ingredients ahead of time?

For example, chop vegetables the night before or cook extra pasta sauce to use later in the week.

2. Share the planning

Planning meals together can make it more fun and successful. Get everyone in your household involved by helping to choose their favourite dishes from our heart-healthy recipes. It’s a great way to make sure meals suit everyone’s tastes and encourage healthier choices.

3. Check your kitchen first

Before you shop, take a look at what’s already in your fridge, freezer, and pantry. Use ingredients you’ve stocked from our Stocking a heart-healthy kitchen guide to build simple recipes, while saving money and reducing waste. Planning meals around what you have on hand can make shopping and cooking easier.

4. Cook once, eat twice (or more!)

Save time and effort by batch cooking. Make larger portions of soups, stews, casseroles, or other heart-healthy meals, then divide them into portions for later in the week or freeze them for future use.

Check out our freezer-friendly recipes that are perfect for busy nights. Get the Batch Cooking recipe e-book.

5. Be flexible

Life doesn’t always go as planned – and that’s okay! If plans change, find ways to reuse ingredients to avoid waste. For example, cooked chicken can go into salads, wraps, or a quick stir-fry. Flexibility helps keep your meal plan practical and stress-free.

What’s next?

Creating a shopping list is the perfect next step to meal planning. It can help you stay organised, stick to a budget, and make sure you have everything you need for heart-healthy meals.