You’re running out the door and need something to grab. The cookies are sitting in the pantry just asking to be eaten. You have great intentions, but you’re so tired at the end of the day. You want to eat healthier, but who has the time or money for that! You’re lucky to eat anything some days, let alone worry about how healthy it is. We’ve all been there, but by making a few simple tweaks you can easily start eating healthier.
Meal Plan
This is the biggest way to mitigate disaster- plan what you’re going to eat before it’s an emergency, you’re tired and starving. Ideally you want to plan out for meals for the week, but even just keeping a list of quick things you can whip together with what’s in the house will save you so much time and money.
Last night I pulled together a Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl from leftover rice, teriyaki sauce, a chicken breast and frozen stir-fry vegetables I had in my freezer. It was nothing fancy, but super easy and tasty.
If you need more help meal planning, look into free meal plans like Tiffany’s on Don’t Waste the Crumbs, or a cheap meal planning service, like Erin Chase’s $5 Meal Plans, or her Freezer Meals Plans or eMeals.
The biggest help to eating healthy is to decide what to eat before you’re hungry.
Prep your food for the week
Once you’ve figured out what you’re eating for the week, and bought your groceries, take a few minutes to prep your food for the week.
This doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, just chopping vegetables, marinating meats, etc. Anything you can prep beforehand so making your meals for the week is easier. If your meal is already half made it makes it less tempting to just order a pizza or run through the drive through.
Tracy at Shutterbean.com has a great guide on prepping your food for the week. If you follow her on Instagram she often posts her weekly food prep. It’s inspiring and a great place to look for ideas.
Pack your food the night before
Every night I make sure I have a breakfast prepped, lunch prepped, along with morning and afternoon snacks. I have them all packed up and ready to go so I can just grab them and go! Since I’ve already planned and prepped my meals for the week this only takes me 5-10 min right before bed. Even if you’re not going to work, this is a great way to keep eating healthy while you’re running errands or even staying around the house.
It’s much easier to convince myself to choose a healthy meal over junk when my meal is all ready to go.
Keep healthy foods on hand
We all have days when you’re starving and need to be somewhere like 5 minutes ago. Try to keep healthy, grab and go snacks on hand. I like Larabars and bags of nuts. I can keep them stashed in my car and purse without them going bad. Apples and bananas are also great to throw in your purse as you’re running out the door.
You want something self contained, that you can easily shove in your mouth one handed, on the go while you’re running out the door. Something that will tide you over for a bit so you don’t run through the drive thru or grab that candy bar at the store.
Out of sight, out of mind
At least that’s the idea. Rearrange your pantry. I purposely keep our snacks on a lower corner shelf in my pantry, so it’s not the first thing I see when I go to peruse.
Same idea for the fridge. I keep healthy foods and leftovers that need to be eaten at eye level.
Keep a bowl of fruit out on the counter.
The idea is to keep healthy foods easy to see and grab, while hiding the junkier foods.
Resistance is futile
If you’re like me, there are some foods you just have no self control with. The best way to handle those foods is to not keep them in the house. I can’t keep packaged chips, crackers or cookies in the house because I will mindlessly munch on them until they’re all gone. Not good for a healthy body or a healthy budget.
Instead, if you find yourself craving your favorite vice, go out and buy a single serving of it, to be consumed immediately. Want ice cream? Go buy yourself a scoop! Want chips? Run to the gas station and buy a small bag.
My laziness is usually enough to deter me from going out and buying junk. But when I do work up to it, it makes the indulgence more of a treat to enjoy, rather than a mindless thing to munch.
Eating healthier doesn’t have to be this big huge overhaul of your life. Instead, do a few simple things to set yourself up for success!
Decide what you’re going to eat BEFORE you’re starving and thinking about those cookies in the pantry. Prep your food for the week and each night pack your food for the next day. Keep easy to grab healthy food stashed anywhere you might need it- home, car, purse, etc. And don’t expect yourself to be able to resist your favorite vice, instead, if you really want it, make a special trip to get a single serving of it.
By making a few simple tweaks you can be eating healthier in no time!