Planning and Preparing

I've said it before and I'll say it again: for me, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is all about planning. Each week I look over my healthy recipes and make a mental list of meals for the coming week, then I add the ingredients to my grocery order. I order groceries online from a delivery service so it's easy to keep filling my cart instead of writing down a grocery list. Typically I get the groceries delivered on Saturday and each Sunday I write out a menu plan for the coming week.

I take into account which days I have late meetings and when we having something to do in the evenings, so I try to make quick and easy meals those nights. If I know I have the ingredients for healthy meals in the fridge then I'm less likely to want take out (especially since it's so cold at night and I'd rather stay home and cook than venture out to pick up unhealthy takeout).

I also like to spend time on weekends prepping for the week ahead. For example, yesterday I made some mini broccoli quiches and froze them for quick breakfasts. I also made zucchini lasagna for myself for dinner (regular lasagna for my boys) and froze six portions of it that I'll be able to enjoy for lunches in the near future. I also made some unsweetened chunky applesauce, a family favorite, to serve alongside pork chops this week. Putting in the time to plan and prep on weekends gives me the extra help I need to stay on a healthy course during the busy workweek.