New Year, New Meals: MealPrep for People with Irregular Schedules
Today I will be sharing with you my top 4 tips on meal prepping for people who have irregular schedules (for whatever reason), who are very busy, or who are looking to implement some BRAND NEW changes in their diet this year.
The new year is upon us, and that means people are full of hope and expectancy for the new year coming. Researchers actually say that 60% of us make resolutions, however only 8% of us keep them, according to inc.com.
The top 3 resolutions all have tie ins to food and nutrition. I believe that the FoodForYummies Blog can help with this. Here they are:
Diet or eat healthier
Exercise More
Lose Weight
These all have DIRECT ties to nutrition, as the way we feel and fuel our bodies influences our exercise quality, energy levels, and how much weight we lose.
If these are some of your goals, or resolutions, but you’re struggling with how to incorporate meal prepping to helping you reach this, then you have come to the right place.
Our work, family, and social schedules play a role in how much time we can dedicate toward feeding our bodies. Perhaps your lunch break is at 3:30am, because you work third shift. Maybe you spend 2.5 hours in the car on your commute home because of road accidents and stupidity. Perhaps you are raising a family, and your children’s extracurricular activities start or end EXACTLY when you were supposed to….start dinner.
Here are the
TOP FOUR TIPS FOR MEALPREPPING FOR BUSY PEOPLE/THOSE WITH IRREGULAR SCHEDULES
Keep it Simple
If you don’t have a lot of time to prepare, stop employing recipes that are complicated or time consuming. Sure you may want to recreate that nostalgic taste of oxtail, peas and rice, or deeply simmered stew, but you don’t have the time. We must remember that after prepping comes bringing food to safe temperatures, portioning and freezing or refrigerating. Factor this time in and remember that simplifications of dishes are often possible.
Think About Temperatures
Try to include meals that are delicious hot or cold. Sometimes you may be on the go, or not have access to a microwave to warm things up. When this happens, meals like quinoa bowls, hearty sandwiches, salmon croquettes, or salads come in handy.
You may also want to consider what you have access to. Does your child’s YMCA parents waiting for swim practice to be over waiting room have a microwave you could use? Do you have a mini fridge at work? A toaster oven? All of these should be considered whenever possible in preparation.
Use Your Mornings to Your Advantage
I know….I hate mornings too. BUT they can be a great time to use once a week to get a headstart on mealprepping. This can be 20 minutes you spend chopping, or time to bake (while you catch a post snooze button nap). Mornings are also a time when many other household members are asleep or at least not using the kitchen. A weekly sacrifice could help you with your goals in the long run, especially when it comes to diet and eating healthier.
Use a Service
There is no shame in ordering your meals for those nights you KNOW will be hectic or draining. I used to go with HelloFresh, but the price got a bit high for my budget. I recently developed a meal prepping service of my own, now available for weekly ordering and delivery/pickup throughout Brooklyn, Queens and parts of Westchester.
I strongly suggest checking it out and considering adding it to your weekly budget https://goo.gl/forms/GrazZwHd8HLUBhgn2