I'm sure you've heard the age-old saying that hindsight gives us 20/20 vision, but a little foresight can be helpful, too. In fact, foresight for meal planning can be your saving grace for making it work for you. Meal planning can feel a little overwhelming, but I invite you to see it with renewed eyes today. I'd love to share with you some of my tips I practice helping meal planning feel empowering instead of overwhelming. The purpose of meal planning is to simplify your life, and here are my tips for making that successful.
1. Stop trying to plan everything
If you've never been much into meal planning, give yourself some grace and try to ease into it. If you start by trying to plan every single meal, it can send you into overwhelm. Instead, work on planning just a few meals a week and convert the leftovers to lunches. Once you get the hang of meal planning dinners, you can then move on to lunch and/or breakfast from there. Baby steps will lead to lasting habits.
2. Learn how to stock kitchen staples
To get into meal planning, you need to keep kitchen staples on hand. Rolled oats can function for oatmeal, smoothies, and even baked treats. Rotisserie chicken can be used for a family meal one night and then turned into quesadillas, wraps, soups, chicken chili, and so much more. (If Vegan, switch to tofu or a plant-based option). While these are just a few examples, you can see that buying things that have versatility will go a long way in your kitchen and always give you something tasty and nutritious to eat.
3. Put healthy snack options within reach
Whether you have kids or not, putting healthy snacks where they can be easily selected is a smart idea. It prevents rummaging pre-packaged snacks when you're got cut-up veggies with hummus front and center in the fridge.
4. Love the slow cooker
Your slow cooker is a true kitchen hero. You can cook one large meal and use it in different recipes over the next few nights. Or you could freeze portions to pull out next week for an easy, pre-made dinner. It can save you so much time to cook once and eat multiple times off of one meal.
5. Side-step side dish problems
So, you've meal-prepped, and your main dish is ready to eat in our slow cooker. But what will you serve with it? On busy nights, don't overthink things. Make a habit of keeping frozen veggies and pre-washed fresh greens around, and you'll always have something to serve on the side. When you're planning, you can batch cook roasted veggies and portion them as side-items throughout the week.
6. Pack lunches ahead
If tonight's meal is going into tomorrow's lunches, portion it all out while you're in the kitchen. Get everyone's lunches ready all at once, and you can set yourself up for a more peaceful morning. Having lunch out of the way will free you from worrying about what to eat or worry about hurrying to pack lunches after breakfast.
Once you get more into meal planning, it will come easier, and you'll find what works best for you. By easing into it, you'll reduce much of the stress that it can cause initially and finally be able to use it as a stress-reducing tool for feeding yourself and the family, too.
Here is a post from this past week's Facebook on healthy snacks if you missed it.
Snacktime is one of the easiest times to get swept away in junk food. Snack foods are almost always pre-packaged, pre-portioned foods that are easy to toss in your bag or lunchbox. This is quite convenient, especially when snacktime usually falls into a time of day when you are busy at work.
I enjoy pre-packaging my healthy snacks ahead of time, so I can still enjoy the grab-and-go aspect of snacks, but with a healthier spin.
I wanted to equip you with some of my favorite healthy snack ideas that you can add to your rotation:
Peanut butter stuffed dates. Roasted & seasoned chickpeas Apple slices with almond butter Veggies with hummus or guacamole
What is your most enjoyable snack?
Enjoy this healthy easy healthy recipe!
If you suspect that you need additional support, my team of experts works to resolve any underlying health issues and maximize your lifespan using a personalized system. Your goals will be my goals as we walk through your journey together towards healthy optimization. So, what are you waiting for - Spring is around the corner,
Schedule a call today; you will not regret feeling better in the future.
For additional information: Join the Learning to Live a Vibrant Life Thrive Group; many new things will be happening in April. We will be doing a Spring Cleaning Challenge, along with Simple Stir-Fry Tips. You will also have the experience of learning informative wellness information and discussions, including body, mind, and spirit, that will improve your vitality of life and your families. Just click on the picture below, and you will be on your way to better vitality.
You can find me at the following: