first steps with meal planning

jessicapavelko

I decided to hard boil eggs for the week so I can go to that for a quick breakfast. I find that the protein really fills me up, whereas if I have a piece of toast, then I want 5 pieces of toast I also baked a few yams for the week for lunch and then i'll just pull those out for a quick lunch with some mixed greens. Preplanning is key for me. I have precut fruit and veggies to go to that for a snack.

uconntoves

I agree Jess! I try to stock my fridge with premade stuff for the week. I also menu plan my meals the week before so I'm not hopping in and out of the grocery store all week. Saves money and is less tempting.

sarahdimitris9

Good ideas! Tomorrow I am going to be grilling a bunch of chicken breasts - then they are all ready for me to add to various recipes I have planned (salads, etc). My biggest obstacle to following through on my meal plans is that I'm not very good at keeping up with dishes. I hate to prepare food in a messy kitchen, so then I am tempted to eat unhealthy things that don't make more dishes dirty! So I've asked my husband to help me keep up with dishes for the next 10 weeks, since we are both trying to lose weight together. I am hoping this helps me stick with it.

angvanzino

Yes! I agree...as the saying goes "Failing to Plan = Planning to Fail. "

Yesterday I cleaned out my pantry and got rid of the unhealthy, processed foods that I no longer want around my family.

I planned some meals and went grocery shopping to stock up on real food - fruit, veg, meat, cheese, nuts, etc......nothing in a box with ingredients we can't pronounce.

I am using today while I'm not at work to hard-boiled some eggs and make mini-egg muffins (with spinach/bacon) for quick breakfast options. I also made some healthy trail mix w/ organic, raw nuts and raisins w/ no added sugar.

My 3 year old son helped me with the preparations and we had fun doing it together!

Judyeva

Great ideas. I cleaned out the refrigerator and stocked it with fresh fruit. I find that if I take the time to cut up the fruit and put it in a bowl, I am more likely to grab that for a snack then something unhealthy. Jessica -- so happy that your are doing this. Support and accountability are important in any aspect of our lives! Thanks for taking the initiative to 'lead' the group to healthier lifestyles!

Aaagrant

Great topic! I was actually thinking a lot about meal planning this morning, especially since I am really trying to commit to going to the gym 4 - 5 nights per week, which results in less time for cooking on weeknights. Lately, my weekday schedule is this: work, gym, grocery shopping, and then home to shower and cook dinner. And, I end up eating at about 9:30 PM every night! In an attempt to start eating dinner earlier, I realized that if I just cook every other day (eating leftovers on the non-cooking days), and shop for the groceries the day before I cook, that will save me some time on my cooking days. Plus, I'm thinking if I feel really ambitious, I could even do prep work like chopping, etc. on my non-cooking days, to save myself even more time on my cooking days.