The Problem is we don't always follow our own advice. Evening meals are one thing; we have a menu, we've shopped for what we want and we choose which meal to eat in which order. Lunches and snacks however seem to escape the rules of eating well. Many of us mean well but when that meeting goes on too long or we get to lunch time and we're already too hungry to have the patience to make something, we tend to go with the flow. Someone orders pizza or suggests going out to lunch and what do 'we' do? We join in; it's sociable, it's easy and it can be instant gratification!
And the answer? At some point during the week find a few moments to plan ahead and prep. It doesn't have to be a major mission to do it all in one go, it can be done during other meal prep or cooking. Whilst the weekend is prime time to plan for the week ahead in our house find a time that suits you (we often do our prep work on Monday night since weekends we're away, busy or just having too much fun!!)
It takes no longer to boil a dozen eggs than it does to make a coffee, so do both at the same time. There you go, each of you has an egg or two each day! Wash and chop a bunch of salad veg while that night's dinner is in the oven; you've already got the utensils out and the counter is already a mess so let's kill two birds with one stone! Bag the salad leaves in Ziplocs, chop up and bag carrots, celery, bell peppers, add some baby tomatoes and hey presto you have a week's worth of healthy snacks. Boil up a pan of grains; I like to use sprouted quinoa and brown rice mix; portion it up into containers and there's the protein for your lunches. You can even fill a bunch of Mason Jars with all the salad items so you only need to add dressing and shake it up at lunch time - could it be any easier? Grill up some lean chicken and add some to each salad or the cooked rice; even the messy jobs like grating cheese - do it all now and bag it up! Are you starting to see the picture now?
You're way more likely to eat healthily if you take your food in to work/college etc with you. And this doesn't just work for the busy commuters, it's just as effective if you work from home - trust me I learned the hard way. You get all the nutrients your body needs to do its daily tasks and you get to choose a good balanced and tasty menu each week. It really is as easy as it sounds to do all this prep work while you're in the kitchen doing other things; don't leave it till the morning as you're rushing out the door - it won't happen. But it's easy to grab those containers and ziplock bags full of snacks and lunch that you prepared' 3 days ago!
Let me know how it goes!
- Do you meal plan?
- What are some of your favourite items for prepping in advance?