Good health doesn’t happen naturally, you need to plan ahead. Planning means you know how much time you’ve got, what you’re going to eat, and therefore you have the food to hand, so you aren’t caught out with an empty fridge, eating pasta again or ordering take-aways.
- Look at your diary for the forthcoming week. See which days you’ve got late meetings, will be on the road over lunch or have to dash in and out between children’s activities.
- Plan quick meals such as chicken stir fry with a pack of veg mix and a sachet of pre-cooked brown rice for rushed days, and use a slow cooker for late days
- Eat oatcakes and peanut or almond butter for instant healthy breakfasts for you and the kids
- A banana and handful of brazils eaten leisurely on the train, is a better breakfast than an over processed cereal eaten very early when you are rushed and not hungry
- Double cook quantities of casseroles and freezer the extra for when you are caught out, add pulses and spinach for instant fillers and vegetables
- Always have standbys for instant meals when unexpectedly delayed e.g. eggs for omelettes, prawns and packets of vegetables and rice in the freezer, coconut milk, tins of pulses and thai, korma and tandoori paste for instant spice
- Cook extra meat or fish with dinner and mix with salad for home-made lunches, or buy cartons of soup and add to a flask to take in the car
- If you know there is a long gap between lunch and dinner, don’t allow yourself to get over hungry. Keep healthy snacks in your bag / car such as (a portion of) natural nuts and water. This staves of hunger and prevents buying chocolate bars at petrol stations.
- Use on line shopping so you can repeat your staples easily each week and have it delivered at a time to suit you. You can then top up from the butcher or fruit and veg market at the weekends
- Cook a whole chicken at the weekend and use the meat for sandwiches, instant curries or stews