Whole Health Dietitian
Even with a basic understanding of nutrition, there are things that can still get in the way of trying to plan healthy meals such as 'lack of time'. Years ago, our moms and grandmothers had dinner on the table every night and it was a very special occasion if we went out to eat. Nowadays, it seems that convenience has taken priority over our health. We don’t want to cook as much and we’ve put that above our family’s health. It’s easy to drive-thru somewhere or have someone else do the cooking for us but we pay a hefty price with our health.
It’s difficult, but worth the sacrifice that it takes to suck it up and cook more at home. If anything is worth our time, it’s making sure we're eating healthy and making sure our kids are eating healthy! The health benefits we are gaining FAR outweigh the extra effort it takes on our part. We all are worth it! Many parents don’t put in the extra time because they don’t have the knowledge or know how. Hopefully, once you learn how to meal plan from our meal planning page and you incorporate some of the tips below this will not be the case. Just like most things, when you’re trying to change or do something different it takes a little extra time, thought and effort. However, just like anything else, once you continue working on it, it gets easier and becomes habit. Again, we are worth it and our kids are worth that extra effort it takes initially, so hang in there.
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Plan weekly menus in advance. Use the meal planning skills from my meal planning page
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Use the slow cooker/crockpot to make soups, stews, or other meals while you are busy.
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Spend some time on the weekend making your favorite meals ahead of time if you are too busy to cook during the week.
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Batch cook and make enough for several days’ worth. Divide up the meals into single servings in containers then all you do each day is heat it up.
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Choose recipes with few ingredients (no more than 5) and short cooking time.
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When shopping, buy pre-washed lettuces, salad mixes, cut vegetables or fruit.
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Keep frozen vegetables on hand to quickly add to meals.