A lot of Sundays are spent lounging and cooking in our house. We set aside time to pre-roast veggies, make sauces, and bake breads before the week has even begun. This is one way we ensure we're getting lots of veggies in our meals and that meal preparation is easy to do.
2. Cook for more than 1 serving
Instead of cooking meals that are portioned for just the two of us I try to make meals big enough to feed us twice over. Leftovers make delicious lunches for the next couple of days, and it saves you time when dashing out the door in the morning. No second guessing what your next meal will be.
Ryan and I don't buy everything in bulk, but we do buy some things in bulk because we use certain ingredients a lot and tend to run out before our next grocery trip if we don't. Examples for us include- cheese, onions, peppers, frozen spinach, and garlic. So cheese isn't the healthiest thing on earth, but it's a great palette pleaser and can elevate a ho-hum salad into something really delicious.
4. Freeze/Refrigerate meals you love
If you find that you really like a certain dish once a week, or every two, consider making it ahead of time and either freezing it or refrigerating it when you have the time. Lasagna, Chili, and Soup are all meals that taste better a day or two after prepping them.
It may seem lame or boring to pre-plan your weekly menu, but it will save you a lot of heartache and microwaved chicken if you decide ahead of time what you want to eat throughout the busy work week. That way you can thaw, chop, and prep delicious meals that will satisfy you, not just fill you up.
6. Share the love
Baking is a lot of fun, and a bite of sugar is sometimes the only thing in the world that can satisfy a craving, but you won't be doing yourself any favors by eating 20 of them (which is easy to do when you're constantly running around). The next time you bake something consider bringing in the extras to share at work, or giving some to your neighbor. Taking that moment to bring happiness to others is not only healthy for your heart and a reminder of what's truly important, but also your waistline.
Now that I've shared my two cents on eating healthy while being busy, I'd love to hear any tips you guys have to share! What are your tips and tricks? Leave a comment below so we can all share in your healthy lifestyle wisdom. big kiss, bekuh
These are such great tips. My husband and I try and eat extremely health all week and cheat on the weekends. You picture looks a lot like my dinner last night. Tonight, I am looking forward to bbq veggies! YUM!
ReplyDeleteLove this! i've been working to eat healthy and it's been doing wonders to my energy level (not to mention my waist)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your tips! i've been looking for some other opinions on how to eat healthy.
Emma (at Smile Me Pretty)
I really want to start planning our meals and making some ahead of time to freeze. I love cooking, but I'm spending too much time on it at the moment. Some days we don't know what we want to eat and it would be handy to have a plan. We can always switch things if we have a craving for something specific.
ReplyDeletei really think there is no excuse for not eating healthy even if you are busy, don't say you don't have time to be healthy that is just silly. all your tips are great! i definitely think planning head is my biggest strategy to eating healthy and making extras for meals later in the week thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteReading this is definitely motivating this morning. I need to prepare ahead to make eating healthier easier. Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteKate
myvanillawardrobe.blogspot.com
I am loving these tips. It is definitely hard to eat healthy on a busy schedule!
ReplyDeleteCarlee
Almost Endearing
Amazing tips! This is just what I needed to help me out! I'm a really busy girl too and I love eating my veggies, but I normally don't have time to cook or prepare anything while I'm on the run. So, I usually end up having Taco Bell for lunch, ew! I'm definitely going to try these tips out. :)
ReplyDeletexo, Adriana.
I have two very big tips. One is to cook in advance. While I sew on Sunday, I also cook meat and veggies for the following week. Two is so not have temptation around the house. If it's not healthy, get rid of it. YOU WILL END UP EATING IT!
ReplyDeleteLove your tips. One that I'd add is to buy healthy foods that require absolutely no prep--fruit, carrots, broccoli & ranch, bread to dip in olive oil, that kind of stuff. If I remember to keep it around, I'm much more likely to eat it sooner (and less likely to get crabby when I'm too hungry for food prep!)
ReplyDeleteI love these Bekuh! They are all so true. I definitely go through swings of healthy eating and not so healthy eating, its so easy to fall into a bad cycle! But. it really just takes a little planning ahead to do it right! Thanks for sharing your tips :)
ReplyDeletexo Hannah
genius! we love our veggies, but lunches are usually where we fail to stay on top of our game. thanks for the tips. : )
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I am a big fan of weekly meal planning, cooking with leftovers in mind, and freezing homemade soups and chilis for an easy meal down the road. :)
ReplyDeleteShannon
Fabulously Vintage
Great tips and I would like to add... cookie dough can be frozen!! Make you favorite recipe, scoop it out into cookie portions and freeze on a pan. Then after frozen, pop them into a ziplock bag. When the need for a cookie calls, just remove the cookie dough balls from bag, bake and your cookie need is met. And to share the love is even easier... if you know someone to bless with cookies you always have them available!!!
ReplyDeleteI love these tips; I already follow some of them myself, like Sundays is cooking and lounging day. And I totally agree about the lasagne....tastes so much better a few days a later. And its the perfect thing to grab out the freezer and defrost when cooking is the last thing on your mind after a busy day.
ReplyDeleteI have really got to get on the ball about prepping food before it's crunch time for dinner. SO bad at that. Also, I really wish I had a large freezer to put already made easy dinners in for nights we don't have time, but I don't really have the room in our small apartment. I LOVE making soups in bulk and having them for later with just a small side salad. Ah..... someday.
ReplyDeleteTrish
www.jellybonesblog.blogspot.com
this is so great! since i just had fast food for lunch (oops) i should really follow these tips and use sundays as a preparation day:)
ReplyDeleteAll of this! I can't say I prep everything out on one day but I have realized it goes a whole lot quicker when I have something planned out. Like chicken, I take a few piece and toss them in a bag with marinade or a vinaigrette dressing when we get home from the grocery store and put them in the freezer. When I plan to bake chicken that night I just grab it from the freezer onto a plate or pan set it on the bottle rack in the refrigerator before going to school or work. By the time I get home it's ready to go and while it baking put together a few quick sides and dinner is served :) I really need to go into the habit of doing this again, with my crazy school schedule plus work on the weekends I'm always trying to figure out what to do for dinner. Thanks for the great tips!
ReplyDeletexo Amber P.
http://theowlsden.blogspot.com
Great tips. I eat mostly healthy, somehow I hardly enjoy unhealthy food.
ReplyDeletei try to make sure my plate is super colorful— if it's not then i will probably end up feeling terrible and lethargic after that meal. and something obvious about sweets that i never thought of until a friend mentioned it is to half the recipe! i mean, i work at a bakery so you think i'd know this. . but we are generally doubling or tripling things there so now when i see a cookie recipe for 24 i tend to think it's a "small" recipe. . yikes!
ReplyDeleteLove these tips! I'm a big fan of meal planning and freezing meals. Just makes my life easier when I have a plan. I even freeze baked goods now.
ReplyDeleteBtw I'm curious about frozen spinach. I've never bought that before. What do you do with it? Same things as regular spinach but you just let it defrost first?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this great article! That is very interesting I love reading and I am always searching for informative information like this.
ReplyDelete