To me it all comes down to advance planning - when I'm hungry and tired, pizza always sounds good, but if I know what I'm cooking and have all the ingredients, I know my healthy meal will take just about as long as the delivery guy or the frozen pizza in the oven. So I'll start with some of my own tips:
- I hate to have fresh produce go bad and used to buy very little for fear of having to throw it out. Now I plan my weekly menu so I know exactly what I'm cooking that week, and shop for all the necessary ingredients, but don't overbuy.
- I joined an organic vegetable club where I get a box of fresh veggies and fruit every Monday night. I actually get my veggies from Cindy (when are you going to post your bio??) who's one of the coordinators for Annie's Buying Club here in Gainesville, but there are many options including CSAs or going to the Farmers Market every week. I usually plan my menus on Sundays based on the list posted on their website, starting with the veggies and building the meals around that.
- We eat lots of main dish salads (in summer) and soups (in winter). They are loaded with veggies but also protein (meat, chicken, beans, lentils) and usually some cheese, nuts, etc on the salad. They don't feel at all like diet food, and they do fill me up, but overall they are a lighter meal than eating lasagna would be :)
- Monday dinner is usually a veggie stir-fry or something like that, using lots of the veggies while they're really fresh. And I plan the other meals depending on how much time I'll have that day to cook, and how sturdy the veggies are, saving the more durable ones for later in the week.
- I plan on cooking enough so I can bring leftovers for lunch to work the next day. If there's enough leftovers, I save them for a second family meal, or transform them into a new meal.
- A big pot of soup made on the weekend gives you lunches for every day of the week!
- For a really quick breakfast, I make a frittata full of veggies when I have time - always caramelized onions with some other stuff added like spinach, zucchini, peppers, etc. After baking it, I cut it into individual portions and freeze them in zip-loc bags so I can microwave one when I need protein in the morning, and get a serving of veggies in that way. A 9x13 pan gives me 12 breakfasts.
- I also love lots of berries with a bit of plain greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey. Can get two fruit servings that way, a little protein, and it tastes like dessert instead of breakfast!
- Bananas, apples, grapes, clementines are all easy to stick in a lunch bag and have handy for snacks. Pineapple and melon can be just as easy if you cut them up as soon as you get them home and pack them in 1-cup containers - 2 servings right there!
- For snacking on veggies, Heidi introduced me to her party tray that lives permanently in the fridge and actually gets eaten by the whole family, kids included. Just wash and chop the veggies so they're ready when you're hungry. She serves hers with ranch dressing for the kids, I prefer hummus.
- After dinner if I'm tempted by dessert, I try to follow Michael Pollan's advice: If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not hungry. And if you are, then eat an apple!
I chop up giant handfuls of spinach and add it to everything...soups, chili, spaghetti sauce, even smoothies and fresh juice. it is a basically flavorless way to pack in nutrition.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you serve your spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash you sneak another serving or two into your meal.
I was already eating 5 servings of veggies most days, so for me the challenge is doing it all days plus making sure I also get the 3 servings of fruit in (as my veggie consumption increases, my fruit consumption decreases). My secret for the veggies is to buy the mixed vegetable variety (cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots) of the EatSmart prepared veggies (http://www.eat-smart.net/products/) available at Publix. I buy several bags per week and eat at least a half a bag at lunch each day. Most days I put the half bag into a big salad that has over 2 cups of romaine lettuce. I also eat lentils most days, and now I'm adding carrot juices many days, and sometimes I eat some cooked vegetables for dinner too. So I am having no trouble with the veggies. For the fruit, I added in a banana at breakfast, and I usually have an apple sometime during the day, and then I've been making sure to eat one more piece -- raspberries lately, but also watermelon (precut), or an orange.
ReplyDeleteI eat my fruit and vegetables in the easiest way possible. Everything is already prepared for me. It may be more expensive, but my time is more valuable to me.