Our weeks are loaded with things to do, so unless you’re organized about your food, you’ll end up eating whatever is quickest. That usually turns out to be unhealthy fast foods or prepackaged meals.
Food is just like anything else in life that is important; you have to plan it out and make it a priority. It will be well worth your efforts , and you’ll quickly see it in the way you feel inside and out!
Here’s 6 ways that I prep for my busy week:
1) Get a small dry eraser board with magnet that you can put on your fridge. It’s visual and satisfying to know that you’ve planned out your week, especially once you know you have a fridge full of what you need.
2) Plan out your meals. This seems simple enough, but when you’re rushing out the door in the morning and then rushing to pick up your kids after work, it’s easy to forget that you were supposed to take out the ground beef from the fridge in the morning, unless you planned! So take 5 min and just jot it down: Monday: Chicken Stir Fry, Tuesday: Chili, Wed: Salmon… you get the idea.
3) Get specific! Now that you’ve written down what you plan to eat each day, take another 5 minutes to figure out what you need for each meal.
Monday: Chicken Stir Fry – chicken, red peppers, snow peas, onions, quinoa, etc…
4) Get shopping! Once you’ve written down everything you need for each meal, take a pic of your dry eraser board and head to the store, market, health food store, wherever it is you currently shop.
5) Prewash. This will save you lots of time throughout the week. Soak your produce in 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar, to remove dirt, bugs, germs, and some surface pesticides (if you’re not buying organic). You can soak it for about 2 min and then rinse thoroughly. Then lay out to dry or dry individually before you put it away for quick use. Vegetables such as lettuce can be wrapped in a large dish towel to keep fresh in the fridge.
6) Pre-chop and peel. There are lots of veggies that can be prepped ahead of time to get ready for weekly dishes. Celery can be pre-chopped and put into a container with water or wrap in a damp paper towel to keep fresh. Peel garlic cloves. Grate carrots for salads, wash and de-rib Kale, clean and chop mushrooms, etc…
Some Bonus Tips for Success!
- Simplify your life with a meat share. It’s hard or very expensive to find quality organic and grass fed meats at the store, so a meat share is a great way to avoid the headache of having to shop weekly for your meats. Phoenix & Arnold: http://www.phoenixandarnold.com/, and Stoddart Family Farm http://stoddart.ca/ is where we get our delicious meat.
- You likely have go to staples that you like to use in your cooking, such as onions, garlic, carrots, celery, so save time and sign up for a box program at your local farmers market. Many are available even during the winter months and can often include eggs as well. We love High Mark Farms! http://highmarkfarms.com/csa-box.html
- Soak legumes such as chick peas for 24 hours with a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, rinse and then pre-cook. Cool and then freeze for quick use. (link to soak your beans blog post). Keep soaked chia seeds in your fridge for easy use.
- Hard boil eggs ahead of time to add to lunches.
Now all you have to do is look at the list on your fridge every morning to know what meat you have to take out of the fridge for that day. Dinner will be ready in a flash!
Have a happy and healthy day!
Daniela