One of the things that I have tried to do more of this year is to plan ahead – plan for better meals, better eating, better food habits. It’s been an up and down success with this effort. I’ll plan pretty well for a few weeks and then not at all. What I really need to do is be more consistent with the food/meal planning.
- Meal Planning – I usually try to meal plan for the week so that I don’t just come home and just eat popcorn for dinner (if I’m by myself) or order pizza for the boys. I find that meal planning is a good way to use what we have in the fridge/freezer and pantry. I usually make a list of what is available that sounds good and then I put together a few meals. I actually have a dry erase board on my fridge where these meals get posted. This placement also has the added benefit of eliminating the “What’s for dinner?” questions. I then make a shopping list to fill in for the remainder of what is needed for the meals. The kids like to make requests too. They’ve figured out that if they help cook, then they can help choose what to cook.
- Daily food intake – Some days, usually when I know I will be working long hours or away from home, I plan what I will eat for the day. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t. Mostly it works really well when I am at work. I can take yoghurt or fruit for breakfast, leftovers for lunch plus fruit for a snack. It works well when I bring what I will eat for that day. Where things start to go awry is when I don’t plan ahead or don’t bring anything in with me, then it is all too easy to reach for the chocolate hazelnut croissant or the bagel. Thank fully there is a soup place across the street from my office so that I can always pop over there and get chicken soup! Taking this step to plan what I will eat the next day helps me stay on track rather than reaching for the sugary carb laden foods that seem to be easy to grab in a hurry.
- Snacks – I have to have good, healthy snacks on hand, otherwise I reach for the bread, crackers, or sweets. I’ve settled on a few items like fruit (mostly oranges because I’ve recently discovered an allergy to bananas, apples and peaches), cheese sticks, or hummus and something too dip in it (carrots, celery, or snap peas). I also really love popcorn, which can be a healthy snack if it isn’t laden in butter; but popcorn really is a vehicle to eat the butter 🙂 One other snack I love is to make a kale smoothie, usually with an orange, and berries.
- Shopping List – When I do the meal planning, I assemble a shopping list to fill in any gaps. I also keep a shopping list on the fridge where we can list things as they run out, or where the kids can make requests. I had one item on the list this week, milk. Jasper went through the cupboards and added a few things to the list: ice cream, jalapeño cheetos, poppy seed muffins, vanilla and chocolate pudding. Hmm, I’m glad our CSA box comes on Tuesdays – that added a lot of fruits and veggies to our household.
- Shopping – I almost always shop alone. I have my preferred routine and things that I like to buy. I almost never bring the boys shopping (or go to Costco, for that matter). If I bring them grocery shopping or go to Costco, I’ve just doubled or tripled my usual spending… that said, I did take Jasper with me to get the things on our list this week. Thankfully we got exactly what was on the list and not a ton more. I think we added eggnog (as we saw it was available when we picked up the milk) and chai tea. That was successful because we didn’t add too many other things as we went along. I find that meal planning and making a shopping list helps focus the shopping and it doesn’t turn into a free for all.
What do yo do to plan your way to healthier eating and healthier eating habits?
