Mealtime is an essential part of daily living – along with other daily routines. We eat meals with our family in the comfort of our homes and with other people like our colleagues and friends at the workplace and in public eating areas. We eat meals that match our cultural backgrounds and expand our palates. Prepping and planning meals helps to keep wellness (healthier food choices) a focus for our busy family.
Here are three hacks our family uses to maintain healthier meals:
- Buy every week or as frequent as necessary, dark leafy greens, cruciferous veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, bok choy, arugula, brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard greens, kale, etc.) and other vegetables, avocados, blueberries, and other fruits, eggs, fish, poultry, nuts (especially walnuts), seeds, legumes/beans, oats, and other wholegrain foods. These foods are packed with essential nutrients that help to maintain or improve health.
- Prep as you put away. When you get home from shopping, immediately clean, season, and package all your lean meats and poultry according to the serving per meal and store them in freezer bags ready to cook once defrost. Peel and rinse carrots and store them in a glass container of water to keep them snappy. Wash and drain berries, grapes, etc. and store in airtight containers in the fridge ready for when you open. Open and store away in containers chickpeas, corn, and beans in the fridge. For the same or next day use, wash, dry, cut, and store lettuce tightly sealed in the package in the fridge. Other salad ingredients can be washed and stored in the fridge ready for when you desire to toss together a salad. This is by no means an exhaustive list but it gives an indication of some foods that can be prepped as you put them away.
- Have a weekly meal plan. This is an enthusiastic goal to have. Approaching this goal with the mindset that it’s okay if things do not fall into place right away but instead over time, eases the pressure that you need to get it right. Aside from meal plans helping to make sure that meals are nutritious, three other benefits include saving time, money and decreasing the stress of deciding what to eat. If my wife and I fail to plan ahead our family meals, particularly dinner we tend to stress each other with the infamous question, “what are we having for dinner!?” while our children act out because they’re hungry and likely also tired.
Need help with organizing and implementing any of these suggestions to maintain healthier meals for you and your family? Feel free to contact us. We have certified nutritionists and coaches available to help!
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Photographer: Photoworks
Outfits: Joe Fresh