I went on a time management course a few years ago, and one thing which has stayed with me ever since is The 6 P’s. P**s Poor Preparation equals P**s Poor Performance. Now whilst this is true in work, it’s also very true when it comes to healthy eating.
Whether you are just starting on your Fitter Body journey, or you are struggling to stay on track, one thing I can highly recommend is prepare, prepare, prepare when it comes to your food.
Sunday, my day of rest 🙂 is all about me preparing for the week ahead, and if you spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon/evening preparing your food for the week, not only will you save so much time during the week but you will be far less tempted into impulsive purchases and bad ‘quick food’ decisions.
Key purchases should include; a couple of packs of different sized stackable airtight containers; a pack of plastic beakers with airtight lids. You don’t need to spend £££’s on the latest Nutri-bullet, a cheap hand-held blender and a jug will work just as well. I found the Breville blender for £17 in the supermarket and it came with two sports top style bottles which are really handy.
Many foods can be pre-prepared, but here are a few of my favourites 🙂
Breakfast Muffins 10 minutes prep, 20 mins baking
These will keep in the fridge for 3 days (2 each morning for breakfast) in airtight containers or freeze. My personal favourite is mixed pepper, tomatoes & paprika smoked chorizo.
Vegetable soup 15 minutes prep, 20 mins simmering, 2 mins blitzing
Use chicken stock (lo-salt) 900ml for more flavour and base with 3 sticks of celery and 3 carrots, then add your favourite vegetable, chopped up into thumb size pieces. 900ml will make 4 mug size portions of soup and keep in the fridge for 4 days in an airtight container, or freeze in individual beakers with lids.
Chopped salad/vegetables 15-30 minutes prep
Salad foods good for pre-chopping & storing in airtight containers in the fridge include radish, celery, peppers, lettuce, carrots. It’s then very quick to add a tablespoon of each into your lunch box. Enjoy with cooked chicken breast, prawns or poached salmon for a lush lunch 🙂
Smoothies 15 minutes prep
Chop up your favourite vegetable with some fruit to sweeten and blitz.
A few of my favourites are; Kale, celery & apple; Spinach, cucumber & pineapple; Carrot, beetroot & pomegranate; Parsnip, carrot & mango.
I chop the vegetables up quite small and put into portion sizes (1 cup measures) and as a general rule, add one fruit portion to 4 vegetable portions. Again, smoothies will keep in the fridge in airtight containers for 2/3 days.
Protein pancakes 5 minutes prep, 5 minutes cooking (a batch)
Whisk 2 eggs with 2 scoops of protein powder (flavoured works best), using a hot frying pan and minimal coconut oil, lightly brown on both sides (don’t burn they taste yuk!). Pancakes will freeze or keep in the fridge for 2/3 days. I like mine with a ½ teaspoon of honey or some blueberries and a tablespoon of natural yoghurt.
So remember, a couple of hours preparing will help keep you on your ‘healthy choices’ track.
Happy chopping! 🙂
Julie