We’ve established that everyone (even health professionals) falls off track sometimes and that this is a mental battle, but what do we DO about it?
ATTACK THE CAUSE
Almost every slip up is caused by a lack of planning. Either we just didn’t plan anything to begin with OR we didn’t have a Plan B (or C) for when life gets messy. Whether you are a type A check list person or a type B creative thinker, we can all create some sort of plan to help simplify our lives.
Here are some ideas:
- Take 15 minutes and come up with enough to feed your family for the next 2 days. That’s it. Keep it simple. Grilled chicken over salad or tacos with chopped up fresh veggies. Make the list and run by the store. You’re back on track!
- If you don’t love meal planning so much, maybe you just need the ingredients of meals prepped. Set a timer and wash/chop the veggies. Put a pot of water on for hard boiled eggs. Pop some chicken in the Instant Pot or on the grill. Put all your cooked, prepped ingredients in the fridge and you’re stocked for the week!
- Try a meal planning service like emeals (http://emeals.com/). For a small monthly fee you can choose recipes for the week and they’ll create your grocery list. One coach said she uses time savers like this when she falls behind to make time in her schedule for washing/chopping ingredients to be popped in the fridge.
- Create a 2-3 day emergency plan. There are days when even a simple meal just isn’t possible due to sickness, work or a crisis. Having 2-3 dinners on stand-by that you can pop on the table in 15m or less saves you from resorting to take-out pizza and cereal to sustain your family. These could be meals you froze (soups are great for this!) or meals made from staples you always have on hand (eggs & fruit or canned soup…Amy’s Organic Soup brand is a good option with healthy ingredients). Keep your list of ‘go-to’ meals posted on your fridge or with your recipes so you can refer to it when life gets crazy without warning!
