I am certainly not a mother, in fact I would say I am the complete opposite: A 36-year old bachelor. I do however, have many clients that are mothers and over the years I have come up with strategies and tips to help these mothers along the way.
With that being said, here are my tips and strategies to help all the moms out there eat healthy when the family is indifferent.
1. Start small
You can start by preparing healthy snacks to have on hand, and build out your meal prep from there.
Chopped veggies, hummus and fresh fruit all make convenient snacks. If your healthy snacks are pre-prepared easy to grab-and-go, then it can be a lot easier for the family to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Great on-the-go snacks include whole fruit like apples, trail mix, nuts or bliss balls.
Once you get used to planning snacks, start planning lunches, too!
2. Make water yummy
Keep a jug of fruit-infused water in the fridge! This is yummy to drink and so much healthier than cordial or soft drinks.
Try making different combinations and find your family’s favorite!
3. Prepare breakfast
Many moms end up skipping breakfast because the mornings are just too busy! You can make your breakfast healthier by preparing breakfast to go.
For the working moms, these quick breakfasts for the office are a great way to start the day right. Next to snacks, breakfast can be the easiest meal to prepare ahead for the whole family!
Some easy options are:
4. Make double
The simplest way to meal prep for your family can be to make double the amount of food! You can eat the extra meals the next day or store the prepared meals in the freezer.
As a mom, you know that things won’t always go to plan, but if you have a go-to meal ready in the freezer, you won’t need to resort to ordering take-out. This is healthier AND saves money!
5. Don’t throw anything away
When you have leftovers, make them into something else! This will use the ingredients you’ve already prepared, as well as saving money.
6. Cook a bit extra
Don’t forget that some ingredients you cook can be incorporated into other meals, too! When you are going to the effort of cooking something that can be kept in the fridge, it can pay to cook extra.
If cooking brown rice for a meal, make more to use in lunches over the next couple of days.
7. Have plenty of reusable containers
You will need containers to store the food you prepare, and to take the prepared meals with you when you are on the go. Glass or ceramic containers are best, especially if you need to reheat the meals.
It helps to have smaller containers for salad dressings! Keeping the dressing separate from the salad helps keep the salad fresher for longer.
8. Keep it interesting
If you always meal prep the same thing every day, it’s easy to get bored with the meals, and you’ll be less likely to stick with doing meal prep.
One example is this Sweet Potato Salad. You can prepare the sweet potato and quinoa ahead of time and just assemble the salad on the day. Extra chopped sweet potato can be used for another easy meal, like this One Pan Chicken Meal.
Benefits of doing meal prep
Meal preparation may seem like a chore, but it has been proven to have so many benefits! People who meal prep generally:
- Eat a wider variety of foods, including more fruit and veg
- Eat less highly-processed fast food
- Spend less money on food
Now you can see how making time for a bit of planning and preparation can help improve your life in more than one way— so why not give it a go!
This article was originally published here