Meal Planning

Cook a vegan Valentine's Day dinner for your loved one! Easy and healthy vegan recipes for a delicious vegan Valentine's Day menu. Read more

Marie Kondo your kitchen and learn about our tips for organizing your refridgerator and pantry! We’re talking about how to meal plan, grocery shop, and organize your kitchen to reduce food waste and save you time and money. Read more

From the Instant Pot to the Magic Bullet, here is a list of our favorite household appliances that will help kickstart your healthy meal planning. Read more

Protein should be a core part of every meal, because it boosts your metabolism, reduces cravings, and builds muscle. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to whip up a protein-filled meal on a weeknight, though. But if you prepare your proteins in advance, you can transform a quick pasta or salad into a proper meal with little-to-no added effort. Read more

When you commit to the Whole30 diet, you’re promising your body a well-deserved detox from any foods that might be causing you more harm than good. But pulling off 30 days of clean eating doesn’t just happen. When you cut out sugar, dairy, grains, and legumes, you’ll need to do a little extra meal planning to make sure you stick it out (and aren’t stuck eating scrambled eggs for every meal!). Read more

If you’re trying to eat healthy on the road, you probably don’t want to rely on what’s available in the gas stations and convenience stores along the way. Skip the aisles full of processed, prepackaged foods and make yourself a kit full of nutritious munchies before hitting the road. Read more

Meal prep doesn’t have to involve cooking entire meals. Learn what the best meal prep ingredients are to help make meal prep easier! Read more

Meal prepping your own lunch is hard enough. But with the school year swiftly approaching, what do you make for the even pickier eaters in the house? It’s time to start thinking about back-to-school meal prep! Read more

Take a quick walk through the health food section of a supermarket and you might come to the conclusion that the healthier the food, the more expensive it is to prepare. But while some healthy ingredients can be pretty pricey, there are plenty of nutritious dishes that can still be prepared on a budget. Once you stock up on a few core ingredients, you’ll find that cooking healthy meals can actually be extremely cost-effective! Read more

When planning the perfect picnic, creating a menu is the break-or-break moment. It’s a no-go to take something that requires reheating or could be super messy. If you don’t plan ahead, you might end up with soggy sandwiches, wilted salads, and melted desserts. Read more

We all know that you eat can affect how you feel, but this principle is amplified for those with arthritis. In its many forms, arthritis causes uncomfortable inflammation of the joints. Certain inflammatory foods can increase this pain, whereas others are known to soothe it. Read more

Looking to enjoy a fun Cinco de Mayo party with friends but worried about watching your carbs and sugars? You’re not alone. It seems like most Mexican favorites rely on carb-filled tortillas, chips, or rice: nachos, tacos, burritos, fajitas, Mexican rice. Desserts like tres leches cake and even your favorite Mexican mixed drink, the margarita, are traditionally full of sugar. Read more

So you've decided to go keto. Maybe you've read about the weight loss benefits or the research on ketosis and blood sugar. But now that you've made the commitment ... where do you start? Read more

When you’re trying to boost your fertility, you’re probably keenly aware of what’s going on inside your body. But are you thinking about what’s going into it? Read more

Grocery shopping: an integral part of cooking at home, but often an errand that can take a huge chunk out of your budget (if you're not careful). You have to eat and you’d rather not spend your whole paycheck to do it, so how do you approach the grocery store to get the most bite for your food dollar? Read more

If you're starting a Whole30 as part of your New Year's resolution, making good decisions at the grocery store is the first step to putting you on path to success. Avoiding sugar and processed food--not to mention gluten and dairy--is much easier when you have a kitchen stocked with delicious, natural ingredients ready to go. Read more

Cooking with kids can be a valuable way to introduce them to new foods, help them overcome picky eater syndrome and set them up for a lifetime of healthy habits. Plus, it's a great way to spend some quality time together and unwind after a long day of work (and homework). Read more

When it comes to saving time and money with meal planning, perhaps no one thing is more effective than planning ahead and freezing. A couple of hours in the kitchen and a few batches of your favorite go-to’s will make for quick, nutritious meals whenever you need them. Plus, cooking in batches tends to more cost effective, saving you panicked trips for takeout when you realize there’s no groceries in the house. Read more

You may already have a few resolutions in mind. Perhaps they’re related to your health, your stress level, being good to the people around you or taking care of the planet. You might be looking to break old habits or develop positive new ones, or maybe even learn something new. Read more

Cooking at home is one of the healthiest things you can do for your body. It allows you to be in control of what comes into your system – including additives like sugar, salt and processed oils - and means you can be particular about the balance of ingredients to find the optimal recipe for your body’s unique needs. Read more

Let’s face it: when we were in school, lunchtime was always our favorite class. Besides being a welcome break, a healthy lunch also fuels kids for the rest of the day.  An afternoon of learning is way more challenging with a system full of sugar and processed food. Read more

We’re all busy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a healthy lunch! These portable lunch ideas are easy, fast, and perfect for the busy workday. Check them out! Read more

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to trauma or injury. It is meant to protect tissue in the short-term while the body heals—and in this situation, it’s a positive! We run into trouble when the body is in a constant state of inflammation, which is often the result of diet and lifestyle choices. Read more

Contributor Kale Samela, MS, RD, CSP, is a pediatric nutritionist at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. She is the author of Give Peas a Chance: The Foolproof Guide to Feeding Your Picky Toddler. Read more

The idea of embarking on an entirely gluten-free diet can inspire fear in the hearts of any carb-lover: No bread? What about cheese and crackers? Pasta? The very thought might make the benefits of this way of eating—improved digestion, better mental clarity, healthy body weight, clearer skin—seem inconsequential. Who cares about a healthy glow when you can’t have your favorite childhood cereal? Read more

Of all the questions we get on PlateJoy, one of the most common is, "Can someone PLEASE help me get over my lunch rut?" Healthy lunch ideas can be a challenge because they have to satisfy the basics: Read more

Making an IBS diet plan can seem daunting. With all the foods in the world, how do I know which are causing your symptoms? And how do I start eating without them? Read more

How much time do you spend grocery shopping? According to a recent American Time Use Survey, you probably average 41 minutes in the store every week—more of a 10K than a sprint. But it doesn't have to be that way. Read more