Planning ahead

Gdel

What is working for me: I plan my meals for the week (M-F) I shop Saturday. There is no time wasted and no chance for cheating because I know what I'm cooking/preparing. I also put in my foods at least Breakfast/mid-morning/lunch right after I have packed my cooler. That way I stick even closer to eating everything I planned because I don't want to go back and change it. Before dinner I check on my intake levels and adjust dinner accordingly (more or less especially fat/sodium).

bizymomma05

I struggle with the planning ahead part. I tried it about Week 2 & didn't do well at all. Since I babysit .
3and have such a hectic schedule I tend to buy stuff that is clean & quick to fix. Any suggestions?

jllipson

I won some of the Ziploc steam bags during fall session with Mel. I put them in the drawer and forgot about them. Then some of the ladies started talking about them a couple weeks ago. A couple of the stores had veggies on sale that week, so I stocked up on veggies (like 6 each of broccoli and cauliflower, 4 pounds carrots, 6 each red and green peppers). When I got home, I got out the steam bags and started cutting up the veggies and preparing my bag o' veggies, just added some seasonings to them and threw some in the refrigerator and a bunch in the freezer. Now I just grab and go with them. Great for meals at home or on the go. You can also add chicken or fish to them - I've tried with chicken and they were yummy. Mine have 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup cauliflower, 3 oz carrots, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup total of green and red bell peppers cut up in them, then I used Mrs. Dash lemon pepper, or a grill veggie spice. This would be about 3 servings of veggies if you eat it all yourself.
Just watch what you use for flavoring yours and measure - some of your spices may be loaded with sodium. (I stuck post it notes to all mine with what seasoning and how much on each bag).

Also, I've found the bags to be cheapest at Wal-Mart - just under $3, while elsewhere they tend to be over $3 per pack.