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Healthy Menu Planning Made Simple

Add fruits and veggies to your healthy meal plans for kids.

Shopping for healthy foods on a budget isn’t as challenging as you might think. A lot of wholesome options cost the same as the not-so-healthy choices (like 1% or non-fat milk instead of whole milk or 100% whole wheat bread vs. white bread).

See how prices compare in one example state.

Meals and snacks are cheaper and more nutritious if you plan ahead. When you’re shopping for a whole crew of kids, here’s how to get the most bang for your nutritional buck:

Buy fresh fruits and veggies when they’re in season.

They're cheaper and tastier. And when you buy from your local area (instead of picking up produce that’s imported or shipped cross-country), you don’t have to worry about paying for the built-in costs of fuel to get the foods to the store.

Opt for some frozen and canned fruits and vegetables.

Fresh is fantastic. But canned and frozen produce are great, too, and contain plenty of the nutrients kids need.

Consider creative ways to get groceries.

Be innovative in your shopping, like coordinating farm-to-child-care food distribution and working out partnerships with other providers to get access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables.

Buy in bulk.

When appropriate, purchasing in bulk can be a good way to save money on food. And wholesale club memberships offer access to special sales.

Think about “cycling” menus.

With cycling, you plan healthy meals for a scheduled period of time, usually about four to six weeks, and then repeat the schedule of menus again.

ChooseMyPlate, USDA, represents healthy intake of the 5 food groups.

Try to form all of the kids' meals and snacks around the five major food groups (which used to make up the "Food Guide Pyramid"): fruits, vegetables, whole grains (breads, crackers, pastas, low-sugar cereals), low-fat dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt), and lean proteins (eggs, chicken, fish, beans). You’ll usually find most of this wholesome fare on the outside aisles of your local grocery store.

To help us understand nutrition a little better, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released a new picture to represent the five food groups — a plate, instead of a pyramid. While the picture may have changed, the core principles of healthy eating remain the same.

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