Do you want to make healthier food choices for you and your family? I'm going to give you a few tips to do just that! Please excuse the "messiness" of this post, as I'm creating my healthy meals as I type :)
- Pick one mealtime. Choose breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks for the week’s focus. Creating a successful routine based on one mealtime is a realistic, achievable goal. You are less likely to feel overwhelmed by the work/time required or deprived of your freedom to choose a meal on the fly.
- Plan 2 menus. Having an option keeps you from getting burned out. You could keep the same sides and change the main course, or vice versa (example- baked chicken breast with rice and veggies OR baked chicken breast whole-wheat quesadillas).
- Plan right after you've had a full meal. With your stomach full and your brain satisfied, you're less likely to pick items based on emotions and cravings, and more likely to make smart healthy choices (that you will still enjoy)!
- Go to the store with a list. I know how grocery stores work; it is inevitable that something will end up in your basket that wasn’t on your list. What’s more important is that you know what ingredients you already have at home and which key ingredients you need to purchase.
- Read labels (more on this another day). If you want to use frozen veggies to cut down on cost and prep time, great idea! Just make sure the only ingredients are vegetables!! Fatty sauces, added sugars, chemicals… those things don’t belong in our healthy meals.
- Set aside time to prep and cook. I do this on Sunday afternoons (usually listening to the Cowboys play). This will take TIME! Somewhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours (not including bake/slow cooker times). If your significant other or children are going to help you, give out special jobs- kids wash the veggies, or stir the sauce, etc. It helps if everyone knows the plan and is excited about the adventure. If you set aside time to put in the work once a week, you will reap the benefits on those busy days/nights when cooking a meal is not at the top of your to-do list.
- Label, store, advertise & enjoy! Divide the meals up into appropriate sizes and ready to go packaging. Try to use packaging that allows for labeling (a piece of tape on Tupperware works well!) and include reheating/serving instructions. Every now and then include a fun message in/on the container (yes, even if it is to yourself). This helps the consumer associate the healthy foods with happy times! Post the meal options for the week in a high traffic area in the kitchen. This eliminates the age old question, "what's for dinner/lunch/breakfast/snack" and is a sneaky way to brag about your accomplishments- look what we did for our health!!
Try this method for at least 3 weeks before you "jump ship" or get aggressive and add more meal times. With any new behavior, we need practice and patience. We will have good days and not-so-good days. Try to remember that the bigger picture is to build a healthy lifestyle; one choice, one meal, one day, one week- it ALL adds up!
(Need a recipe to get you started? Check out the post- "Crockpot Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs")
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