Life goal…To stock my fridge like this every week and be a food prep expert! Right now it takes divine intervention to find time to prep food for the week. It’s softball season which means I spend very little time at home. Thanks to a rainy evening, games were cancelled so I had a few minutes in the kitchen this week. If I don’t make time, healthy eating becomes an extreme challenge.
Two words. Concessions stand.
Sunday my kid ate Skittles for breakfast and washed those down with a Gatorade and a salted pretzel with cheese. Sigh.
Let’s talk about food prep…
Thank you for the video Emily – my lovely assistant/daughter!
Planning healthy snacks ahead=less trips to the concession stand. Since time is of the essence, I have learned a few tricks to make my food prep attempts a little more successful.
Step 1- Plan ahead. I used to aimlessly wander the grocery store and buy whatever. Now I plan meals for the week (Thanks Pinterest!) This way I can take inventory of what I need and make a list for everything else. Sometimes this is hard because on sports nights (aka every night) we either eat super early or super late. I usually make ahead or plan crock pot meals during this time of year.
Step 2- Prep my food as soon as I get home. If I don’t do this, I end up wasting food. If fruits and vegetables aren’t cut up and ready to go, they are less likely to get eaten. The fridge is a death trap for uncut veggies! I try to brown meat or cut up chicken ahead of time whenever possible as well.
Step 3: Multi-task. On grocery days, I usually cook dinner while I’m food prepping, helping with homework, and playing catch with my son. Yes. I have done all 4 of those things at once, but I wouldn’t recommend it. (I rarely do one thing at a time) As I am typing this, I am making lasagna for dinner tomorrow since I won’t have time to cook it before we have to eat and run! Even though my crock pot has a timer and will switch to a “warm” setting, the late night dinners end up mushy. So instead I put dinner in the crock pot before bed the night before. (Do NOT tell my mom. She thinks this is a fire hazard. Seriously.) When my husband wakes up at 4:00 am, he turns it off. By the time I leave at 7:00 am, it’s cooled down so I can put it in the fridge. Now it’s ready to eat later or the next day. We reheat a lot. While it’s not always ideal, I figure a decent meal reheated the next day will still taste better than fast food!
If you don’t do any food prep right now, it’s pretty easy to get started. A couple of my must have items:
-Ziploc divided rectangle food containers and a variety of smaller food containers
-Jello shot cups (I’m sure there is a more legit name for these)
-Food: nuts, fruit, cheese, boiled eggs, salad, hummus, veggies, and more
Some of my favorite combos:
– Aussie Bites
– Organics Superfood Power Snacks
-Hard boiled egg, veggies, hummus
-Cheese, crackers, fresh fruit
-Apples, peanut butter, nuts
The jello shot containers come in really handy for dressing, hummus, peanut butter, and nuts. I use the smaller containers for fruit and veggies. My kids like to grab those for a quick snack and then leave the containers wherever they are at that moment in time. Soooooo I end up buying these way too often. I just ordered reusable/washable snack bags from my daughter’s school fundraiser, so I am excited to try those out and maybe save a few bucks.
There are so many options! These are just a few I have tried. What are some of your food prep tips or favorites combinations?
I have tried some recipes that were healthy but NOT delicious and some that were delicious but NOT healthy. These muffins are actually healthy and delicious! My super picky daughter liked them so that says a lot!