Eating for Health

Last week I talked about how to shop for your health. You know you've got the shopping down right when the cashier comments on how much produce you've picked up. As promised, this week we're going to focus on meal planning. Meal planning makes you more conscious of what you're eating and helps prevent grazing to keep you full throughout the day. It also takes away the stress of cooking every day and it saves you money. Check out my full blog post to read more about why I love to meal plan here. When it comes to preparing your food, the following are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Balance: To keep yourself full, the Blogilates 28 Day Reset taught me the importance of keeping a well-balanced diet. Try to have protein with each meal and replace carbs with vegetables and fruit as much as possible. You'll see in my cart, I opted for eggs, turkey-bacon (low fat, low sodium), and some good ol' Italian meatballs. That's not to say you can't have carbs - it doesn't hurt to have something fun for the week to enjoy like those sesame seed sticks (just don't eat them all at once!).

2. Snacks: In addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you should include a snack between each meal so you aren't hungry as the day wears on. One of my favorite snacks is veggies and hummus with almonds. Space these out every 3 to 4 hours depending on your schedule. My schedule looks a little like this: breakfast between 6 and 7, snack around 9 or 10, lunch between 12 and 1, snack at 3 or 4, and dinner at 6 or 7 (preferably 3 to 4 hours before bedtime).

3. Variety: The best way to keep your meals interesting so you don't get bored as the week progresses is to add some diversity to the menu. That means switching some meals up every other day. A great way to change it up is to keep the foundation and swap out the toppings. For example, you can have a Caprese salad for lunch one day then a Chicken salad or Greek salad the next.

4. Foundation: Speaking of foundations, pick a few what I like to call "bases" for your meals that week - pasta, tofu, cauliflower, orzo, eggs (frittata anyone?), lettuce etc. You can use these to put together your meals, whether you're making a soup, stirfry, spaghetti, or if not savory, maybe something sweet. I made overnight chia oatmeal cups with blueberries for breakfast thanks to Cassey Ho's recipe book. Last week I set aside a mix of fruits and veggies into individual bags to store in the freezer so they were all set for me to make for smoothies the next morning.

Pro tip - turn your favorite vegetables into pasta with this amazing Spirelli Spiral slicer:


4. Packaging: Whether it's Zip-Loc bags (I recommend recycling or re-washing these so they don't go to waste) or Tupperware, have a go-to method for storing your food so it's an easy grab n' go when you're on your way out. I use the Rubbermaid stackable, microwavable, and dishwasher-friendly sets. They are the perfect size for my Fit & Fresh lunchbox, which keeps everything cold throughout the long hours at work.

5. Portions: Getting your meals ready beforehand helps you think about what you're going to eat as well as how much you're going to eat. Portion control is important to not only prevent over-eating but also to ensure you're eating enough of the right foods. This is my favorite go-to chart to help me figure out how much I want to set aside for each meal:

In addition to all of the above, I encourage you to bring a water bottle to work - it helps the environment, keeps you hydrated, and also keeps you satiated. Sometimes we confuse thirst for hunger so before you decide to eat something, drink a few sips of water first. You could even infuse it with a lemon for a more refreshing taste.

Tune in next week for my post on Cooking for Health with some of my favorite recipes and how to make time for it all amidst a busy schedule.