How to Get the Most out of Your Pinch of Nom Family Meal Planner

It’s finally HERE! The Pinch of Nom Family Meal Planner is out NOW…run along and grab yourself a copy (if you haven’t already!). We designed this one to be our most family-friendly food planner yet – so you can strike the perfect balance between organising family meals and smashing your personal slimming goals. 

Along with 26 exclusive recipes, this planner also includes brand-new features! So, whether you’re a dedicated Pinch of Nom planner or a first-time organiser, we’ve put together this handy guide to help you get the most out of your Family Meal Planner. 

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Before you start planning

If you’re not a member of our Facebook group yet, what are you waiting for? We can guarantee you’ll get a lovely warm welcome from the whole Pinch of Nom community. 

The group isn’t just a safe space to talk to other people on a weight loss journey, it’s also one of the easiest ways to get all your PON questions answered. We LOVE interacting with the members in the group (and there are almost 1 million of them!) so we’re usually around to pick up any questions about recipes. Lots of people share photos of the food they’ve been cooking in the group too – and we absolutely adore seeing which recipes you’ve all been making. 

For anyone who’s not sure where to start with meal planning or curious about how other people use the Pinch of Nom meal planners, there’s really no better place to start. 

Get the family involved

The weight tracking features in the planner are intended for adult use only – but this doesn’t mean you can’t get the whole family involved! 

All of the new recipes in the planner are total crowd-pleasers that’ll get the whole family gathered together around the dinner table. Sit down together to flick through the planner and decide which recipes to try out first! Why not have each member of the family pick their favourite recipe and plan each one for a different day of the week? 

Pssst…take a look right at the back of the planner. You might have spotted those bright and cheery little stickers – kids (and big kids) are going to love using them to tag the tastiest-sounding recipes. 

Take stock and stock up

Planning in advance and getting organised doesn’t just make family mealtimes easier, it can reduce food waste and cut costs too! By taking stock of what you’ve got in the fridge, freezer and cupboards, it’ll make it so much easier to plan out your meals for the week, without buying too many unnecessary bits and bobs. 

To help with this, the planner has a brand-new Freezer Tracker feature, so you can write down what you put in the freezer, and what date it’ll need to be used up by. Grab yourself a  few freezer-safe containers to stock up on leftovers – these glass ones with bamboo lids are perfect if you’re looking for plastic-free tupperware. 

If you’re planning on making the new recipes from the planner, you can also stock up on a few key ingredients that’ll come in handy time and time again. For example, we use low-calorie spray instead of oil or butter in almost all of our recipes. 

Most supermarkets offer an own-brand version if you’re watching your pennies, but our favourite is this Fry Light spray, as it’s available in so many different flavours.

Whether we’re baking, stir-frying, roasting or air-frying something, this crops up on our ingredients lists time and time again – it’s perfect for stopping dishes like this Lemon and  Pepper Crusted Chicken from sticking in the oven.

Our recipes are all about building up loads of flavour without all the calories. Ingredients with intense flavours work wonders, so you’ll notice Worcestershire sauce or Henderson’s relish in lots of recipes too. 

A little bit goes a long way in dishes like this Cottage Pie, bringing out those delicious meaty flavours. 

Flick through your Pinch of Nom cookbooks

Just in case you didn’t know, we’ve got FOUR cookbooks absolutely brimming with healthy, low-calorie meals that the whole family will love. Whether you need something that’s Quick & Easy, or you fancy some weekend Comfort Food, creating your meal plan should start with a good flick through your PON cookbooks. 

Need something hearty for a midweek meal? This Bangers and Mash Pie from Comfort Food is on the table in well under an hour. It’s so tasty, filling, and only 392 calories per serving – that’s a winner all round in our books. 

Grab some sticky notes and mark the pages of any recipes that catch your eye. Don’t forget to throw in some classics from our first cookbook. Creamy Garlic Chicken anyone? It’s a belter of a dinner (if we do say so ourselves!). 

Pop to the shops

Once the plan’s all planned, you might need to grab a few bits from the supermarket to stock up the fridge. We know how easy it is to get off track in the supermarket – those special offers and bargain treats are tough to pass by! To help you stay focused, you’ll find plenty of cut-out shopping list pages in your planner. 

Making a shopping list and sticking to it will cut your costs each week, as well as making sure you don’t buy more food than you need (nobody likes food waste!). Make yourself a nice lunch before you head out, with plenty of protein to keep you full. Tucking into this Chicken Pesto Salad will make you less likely to get distracted in the aisles!

Record, track and celebrate!

It’s not all about weight loss, but if you’re trying to track your slimming journey, this planner is going to come in handy week after week. There’s space to write down each of your meals, as well as record how much water you’ve been drinking. We think it’s important to reflect and set goals, so there’s also pages for you to make notes about any changes in your weight, and what went well the previous week.

Tried a recipe and loved it? There’s room to write that down too! So, if you gave this Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Yoghurt a whirl and don’t want to forget about it, make a note to add it into future meal plans.

Hit your goal for the week? Don’t forget to give yourself a good old pat on the back! Celebrate with the stickers you’ll find in the back of the planner, or why not use the Weight Loss Tracker feature on our website? You can print off certificates and share your successes on social media! Find out how to use the feature here.

Ready to get started? 

Let’s go! It’s time to start smashing those slimming goals. Pick up a copy of the planner today and get stuck into organising all those tasty, family meals.