Meal Preparation Tips For a Busy Life
Spring fever seems to be in full swing here in Columbus, with warm days teasing us a few times a week. Does it make you want to come out of hibernation and start working on your health and fitness again? Maybe you’re honoring your body through movement daily somehow, whether it’s a walk, hitting the gym, dancing or chasing your kids. Either way, you know it makes you feel better!
But, maybe you feel that something is still missing on your journey to feeling like the best and healthiest version of you. You’ve checked adequate sleep off the list, you’re working on your stress levels, you’re chugging water, and what else could it be?
Our best guess – your nutrition!
Life is busy, we know! You may be single handedly juggling coffee, 3 kids, soccer practice, school and work all at once. So when it comes to your meals, you feel like you don’t really have a lot of options. You need food to taste good, but be quick. Good news is, healthy CAN be tasty AND quick.
No matter what direction life is pulling you, let us help you manage your food preparation a little bit so you can feel not only good on the outside, but on the inside as well!
Meal Preparation Tip #1: Plan Ahead
Take a look at the week ahead on Sunday, where are your busiest times? Do you see times where making lunch just isn’t going to happen? Or do you know you will be dead tired certain nights when you get home and you won’t have energy to cook? The key to your success? Make a game plan for those days and times where you know preparing a healthy meal just isn’t going to be your priority. Here are some of our coaches’ favorite solutions:
· Precook your favorite dish and have it ready to go in the fridge so when you come home all you have to do is heat it up. How about using the crockpot??? What an incredible invention. Throw everything in the morning and head out the door, dinner is ready when you get home!
· Leftovers to the rescue! Make twice as much on the night(s) where you have more time to cook, and enjoy it for lunch or dinner another day.
· Emergency foods – keep shredded chicken, burgers or chicken sausage in your freezer. Heat and serve with a salad for a quick meal.
Taking the time to map out your busiest days will help you be more prepared and hopefully help you avoid late night runs through the drive through or skipping meals completely. A few extra minutes of planning in advance will leave you feeling much better by the end of the week!
Meal Preparation Tip #2: Have Breakfast Ready
Skipping breakfast can easily lead to low energy levels throughout your day. And, can cause poor choices or over eating at lunch or dinner because you’re so hungry. Try having some delicious and nutritious premade options on hand each morning. You can spend 20-30 min on Sunday making these and not have to worry during the week!
We love these options:
Overnight Oats: Click HERE for Recipe
Egg Muffins: Click HERE for Recipe
Pre-made Smoothie Bags:
Add all smoothie ingredients into one Ziploc bag and freeze. In the morning add bag ingredients into blender, add milk/water and an optional scoop of protein powder and drink your smoothie on the go!
Meal Preparation Tip #3: Multitask!
Set aside time on Sunday and cook a few of your favorite meals. The big tip here: use the same ingredient in multiple ways. Grab a bunch of veggies and roast them all at once. Use them as a side dish, add sausage to them for a nice twist on a snack, or top with a few fried eggs for a delicious hash. While those are roasting, throw some chicken in the crockpot. When it’s done, shred it up and put it in one container. Freeze any you might not use during the week. Through the week you can add it to salads, tacos, soups and more!
When planning your food for the week it’s a great idea to see how you can take a few ingredients and make multiple meals out of them so when you’re cooking you spend less time in the kitchen and clean up.
We hope that these tips can make your life a little simpler and a little less hectic. Which tip makes the most sense for your life? How can you make food prep easier this week? Let us know how we can help you be a healthier you, and stay tuned for future quick tips and tricks from Rachel.