A lot of my clients lately have been saying how difficult it is to eat healthy during the week when you are busy... right... wrong!
I have been trying to empower a lot of my clients to PLAN. Being healthy does take planning. Hence the name of my blog post today; Plan. Eat Healthy. Repeat.
At the end of a long working day, a lot of us would rather put our feet up rather than don our aprons! This is when we tend to fall in to the trap of swinging by the local takeaway shop or restaurant.
Sunday = Prep
Sunday is a great time to plan your healthy meals for the week. Good preparation for healthy eating for the week involves meal planning, writing a shopping list, doing the shopping and some simple preparation work.
If you commit to this preparation on a Sunday, it makes it much easier to eat clean, healthy meals all week.
Meal planning doesn't have to take long. I know breakfast at my place doesn't change much from day-to-day. It's a good idea to think about your dinners for the week though and jot them down, such as:
- Meatless Mondays - lentil spaghetti bolognaise
- Tuesday - chicken stir-fry with quinoa
- Wednesday - omelette
- Thursday - Grilled salmon with brown rice and green leafy vegetables
- Friday - grilled steak, vegetables and sweet potato chips
Also jot down some healthy lunch ideas; Mexican wraps with low GI wraps, 3-bean mix and salad leaves/ Vita Weats with cottage cheese, cucumber and tomato/ leftover chicken stir-fry with quinoa/ boiled egg sandwiches on low GI bread/ quinoa superfood salad with chickpeas.
Then translate your meal list into a healthy shopping list. Remember to try and stay to the outer aisles of the shops, where the fresh produce lives. No need to wander down the aisles where processed, packaged foods hide!
Sunday Prep Tips
Here are some great simple prep ideas for a Sunday to make life easier during the week:
- Chop up some carrot, cucumber and celery sticks ready for snacking during the week
- Hard boil eggs ready for a quick protein hit during the week as snacks or to use in egg salad sandwiches
- Cook up a bag of quinoa, let it cool, then divide into individual portions (~1/2 cup for the ladies, 1 cup for the men) and put in snap-lock bags and freeze
- Cook up a bag of low GI brown rice, let it cool, then divide into individual portions (~1/2 cup for the ladies, 1 cup for the men) and put in snap-lock bags and freeze
- Make sure you have a few backup frozen fruit and vegetables in the freezer e.g. frozen mixed vegetables, frozen mixed berries, frozen mango
Desk Drawer Winners
Here are some of my favourite stock staple items to keep in desk drawer at work:- Vita Weat 9-grain crackers/ lunch slices
- Tinned tuna
- 125g tins chickpeas, 3-bean mix
- 125g tins corn kernels
- 30g pack nuts
So, healthy eating is possible. Just remember.
Plan. Eat Healthy. Repeat.
