I have a few Sunday rituals I like to adhere to, which helps me relax after what usually turns out to be a busy weekend and allows me to prepare for the week ahead. Sometimes I get in an extra yoga class or a friendly brunch, but I always do my weekly shop Sunday morning then come home to spend time in the kitchen.
Since I'm not making any fabulous dinners this week, I thought I'd share some tips and tricks I use to help make healthy eating quick, easy, and accessible for everyone. On a side note, I did make a kick ass pot of turkey and fennel chili on Sunday night that kept me in lunches and dinners throughout the week.
During the week, I am constantly on the go. For the past 6 weeks, I've been getting in 6am yoga classes a few times a week, which means getting up extra early and having a post workout breakfast ready in addition to lunch and afternoon snack. In order to accomplish this, I make a protein smoothie the night before and pop it in the freezer, pack my lunch in its bag and leave that in the fridge, and make sure my gym bag is ready to go with my work clothes and a second set of workout gear.
It sounds like alot, I know. But I promise if you have even a spare hour once a week to prep a few things, you can do it too. Here are my Sunday standbys; do it with a mimosa in your hand and you might not even notice.
1. Hard boil 4-5 eggs. Put your eggs in a large pot of water, bring it to a boil then turn it off and let the eggs sit until you're finished with everything else. They are easy to ignore!
2. Cut up / individually bag veggies. I like to buy whole carrots and cut them up for lunch/snacks. I usually put 2 carrots per bag; sometimes I add celery, sometimes I'm real lazy and just get baby carrots. Just pre-portion everything and leave it in the fridge. And make sure to re-use your ziplocks!
3. Buy frozen fruit for smoothies or cut and freeze your own. I buy frozen berries and pineapple and greens, but I prefer to freeze my own bananas; keep extra on hand if you need to make banana ice cream one night.
4. Buy pre-cooked chicken for lunchtime salads. This is my biggest secret and best tip-I always hit up the salad bar at WFM and load up on the all natural pre cooked chicken breast they stock there. It is a bargain at $7.99/lb.
As an alternative! You can buy a whole roasted chicken from most grocery stores and pull all the meat from it and store it in a container to add to salads or whatever. If you do this, I highly recommend using the carcass to make your own chicken stock, which will keep in the freezer for months.
5. Clean your greens. You can buy the pre-washed stuff, and I do, but I always like to give it a rinse. Keep it bagged up and accessible for making salads when you don't have leftovers.
6. Buy easily transportable fruit. Especially now that we're out of berry season, apples, pears, and citrus all travel well and don't require any extra packaging, just toss it in with the rest of your lunch.
7. Buy in bulk and bag the breasts. I buy the boneless, skinless natural chicken breasts from WFM in bulk for $4.99/lb (which is a bargain for clean meat!) then I bag two breasts at a time and keep in the freezer for speedy dinners-think curries, soups, pastas, etc.
So there you have it, my Sunday ritual. I'll probably roast a few beets now that it's fall again, and I might do a few other things here and there. With a little advanced preparation, you can not only always have a healthy meal within minutes, you can travel with food you feel good about eating.
Good Luck and Good Eating!
Since I'm not making any fabulous dinners this week, I thought I'd share some tips and tricks I use to help make healthy eating quick, easy, and accessible for everyone. On a side note, I did make a kick ass pot of turkey and fennel chili on Sunday night that kept me in lunches and dinners throughout the week.
During the week, I am constantly on the go. For the past 6 weeks, I've been getting in 6am yoga classes a few times a week, which means getting up extra early and having a post workout breakfast ready in addition to lunch and afternoon snack. In order to accomplish this, I make a protein smoothie the night before and pop it in the freezer, pack my lunch in its bag and leave that in the fridge, and make sure my gym bag is ready to go with my work clothes and a second set of workout gear.
It sounds like alot, I know. But I promise if you have even a spare hour once a week to prep a few things, you can do it too. Here are my Sunday standbys; do it with a mimosa in your hand and you might not even notice.
1. Hard boil 4-5 eggs. Put your eggs in a large pot of water, bring it to a boil then turn it off and let the eggs sit until you're finished with everything else. They are easy to ignore!
2. Cut up / individually bag veggies. I like to buy whole carrots and cut them up for lunch/snacks. I usually put 2 carrots per bag; sometimes I add celery, sometimes I'm real lazy and just get baby carrots. Just pre-portion everything and leave it in the fridge. And make sure to re-use your ziplocks!
3. Buy frozen fruit for smoothies or cut and freeze your own. I buy frozen berries and pineapple and greens, but I prefer to freeze my own bananas; keep extra on hand if you need to make banana ice cream one night.
4. Buy pre-cooked chicken for lunchtime salads. This is my biggest secret and best tip-I always hit up the salad bar at WFM and load up on the all natural pre cooked chicken breast they stock there. It is a bargain at $7.99/lb.
As an alternative! You can buy a whole roasted chicken from most grocery stores and pull all the meat from it and store it in a container to add to salads or whatever. If you do this, I highly recommend using the carcass to make your own chicken stock, which will keep in the freezer for months.
5. Clean your greens. You can buy the pre-washed stuff, and I do, but I always like to give it a rinse. Keep it bagged up and accessible for making salads when you don't have leftovers.
6. Buy easily transportable fruit. Especially now that we're out of berry season, apples, pears, and citrus all travel well and don't require any extra packaging, just toss it in with the rest of your lunch.
7. Buy in bulk and bag the breasts. I buy the boneless, skinless natural chicken breasts from WFM in bulk for $4.99/lb (which is a bargain for clean meat!) then I bag two breasts at a time and keep in the freezer for speedy dinners-think curries, soups, pastas, etc.
So there you have it, my Sunday ritual. I'll probably roast a few beets now that it's fall again, and I might do a few other things here and there. With a little advanced preparation, you can not only always have a healthy meal within minutes, you can travel with food you feel good about eating.
Good Luck and Good Eating!
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