Time Management for Meals

When it comes to classes or your work schedule, time management can be a very useful tool. Believe it or not, it is also helpful in planning meals during your week. When I was an undergraduate student, I was horrible at planning for meal time. It wasn't until I transitioned into my Obsessive-Compulsive-Dietitian mode did I realize the benefits of planning ahead for your week. Planning meals can help keep you eat healthy, save you time and stress, and keep you out of the kitchen all hours of the night. I thought I would share four quick and easy tips to get you started:

1. Set aside time to plan a menu. It's not hard. I promise! While you are writing out your grocery list, plan for quick and easy meals you'd like to prepare for the week. Have at least 3-5 meals in mind. Add these items to your grocery store list.
2. Sunday Cook Day! Okay, it doesn't have to be Sunday, but most of us are wrapping up our weekend and focusing back on school work or projects. I have decided to dedicate my Sunday afternoon to food prep for the week. I bake chicken breasts so I can have it as dinner, as well as chop up an extra chicken breast or two to add to salads or a sandwich wrap as lunch for tomorrow. I also chop up veggies for future meals such as stir fry, side dishes, cooking into pastas, adding to salads, or having as snacks. Place the chopped veggies in plastic bags or containers (date and labeled) and place them in your refrigerator. Switch up what you purchase and prep for the week-don't get into a routine of the 'same ole thing' just because it's easy. Make sure you get a variety at your meals.
3. Schedule time to put your meals together. Most people are NOT morning persons. If you are guilty of hitting snooze until you hop out of bed to hit the door....then preparing your lunch in the morning will not work. Do you stay up late? Take a break to go to the kitchen and pack a lunch bag for the following day. It'll make life much happier in the mornings when all you have to do is grab-n-go for the day. You can set aside a healthy breakfast as well!
4. Invest in a quick-and-easy Cookbook. For beginner cooks, 5-ingredient cookbooks are so easy. It's a great beginner cooking guide as well as helpful in creating a grocery list to shop for ingredients. Are you a more advanced chef? Have a cookbook handy to plan your recipes and meal ideas for the week. I still recommend a quick-and-easy or 30-minute meal cookbook to help with time management.

Bringing your lunch to school (or work) can help with weight maintenance, portion control, and save you money from dining out. As for dinner time, planning ahead and having half the prep work done can save you 15-30 minutes in the kitchen! It's amazing what a few bags of chopped vegetables can do. Just to show you results, I am revealing my Monday evening meal (more meals to follow and soon recipes).

Tonight, I got home at 6pm. Instead of the fatigue from my day dragging me to the nearest restaurant, I had an extra chicken breast chopped up and saved in my refrigerator. Hmmm...what to do? I have some chopped vegetables such as onion and broccoli. I also have some pasta and a jar of pasta sauce. BAM...I have a pasta dish (no...I'm not fancy like Chef Emeril but it will taste just as good). With the vegetables chopped and ready, all I have to do is heat my pan to cook together my chicken, vegetables, and sauce, and in a pot boil my water for pasta.

Remember those spices I recommended in blog post one? I added some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and basil to add flavor without the extra calories. FYI: using a tomato-based sauce versus a cream sauce will save you calories and fat grams. Now that dinner is done, I dish out my portion and put the leftovers in a container for.....another meal time!!! Trick to save calories: don't leave out the leftovers in the kitchen for round two. Some of us may be tempted to go back and re-fill our plates, but before you do....make sure you allow yourself at least 20 minutes in between seconds.  It takes twenty minutes for your stomach to signal to your brain that you are full.  Not only did it take me half the time with my prepped/chopped foods to cook, but I had enough to save as another meal for the week. I'm very happy about this indeed. Time to eat....

 

Now I did do a last minute "what's for dinner" scenario tonight, but imagine if you knew ahead of time you were going to do "pasta night" and had all the veggies prepped and ready.  That's the beauty of time management for meals. Go ahead and give it a try. This weekend, set aside time for your meal planning, grocery store trip, and weekly prep work. I am also a fan of crock-pot nights where you add the ingredients in the morning before you hit the door for school/work, let it slowly cook all day, and you'll arrive to a delicious smelling kitchen of dinner awaiting you. Let me know if you have any questions! Mark your calendars....it's meal planning time.

 

Happy Eating,

Sarah