Guest blogger: @iformmedtina

BACK TO REALITY!

This is how I prepare for a new week, and make everyday life even easier for myself ⭐️🤗

We probably all know it. Monday, a new week and new appointments. New tasks and an everyday life that is at the door, where we want to have as much time as possible for what REALLY makes us happy to the core ❤️

THEN IT BECAME THE WEEKEND

Friday and the clock has struck weekend. What I always do here is that I check various special offers online. I can also do that on Thursdays. I make a plan for what I need to buy on my weekly shopping day on Sunday. I check what I have in the fridge, cupboards and freezer. I am in favor of stopping food waste, and use everything I have. Based on that and the offers that entice me in the newspapers, I have an overall plan for next week's "food plan"/meals. As such, I don't make a fixed meal plan, but I have a very clear idea of ​​what I want, and I prepare for that. But can easily switch around a bit during the week, depending on desire and appetite.

SATURDAY

Saturday is a "comfortable" day where I usually get some practical things ready at home first thing in the day. Washing clothes, cleaning, etc. Those chores are important for me to get over so that I can relax completely. I'm a bit of an orderly person, some would say 😜 In addition, the day is spent on quality time with friends/family. 100% disconnection and mentally completely free. It is really important for me to disconnect completely to fully charge the batteries. I do this especially by being with those I care about, working out, enjoying nature, listening to music, dancing and swimming in the sea.

SUNDAY

Sunday is my 100% Tina day. Sunday is holy to me. A day when I very rarely make any kind of agreements. In my everyday life as an independent nutrition and exercise instructor, most of my time is spent in front of my computer, where emails, programming, drawing up diet plans, meetings and recipe development take up most of the weekdays. I am very mentally active as a supervisor, and therefore it is alpha omega for me to have a day when I have no "obligations". A day I take at my own pace and prepare for next week. On a daily basis, I am very social, but just as much need a day "for myself".

PURCHASE

Shopping takes place on Sundays. I am a distinctly morning person, and regardless of whether it is weekdays or weekends, I get up quite early. I shop on Sunday morning pretty much until the whole of next week. Love shopping in an empty shopping center 😛 After that I go to the kitchen and prepare a lot of meals for the coming week. By planning my weekly shopping, I both save a lot of money by not impulse/impulse shopping and I avoid skipping actions and situations where I don't have good nutritious meals on hand and maybe make some less good choices for myself. Good nutritious meals give me good energy!

PLANNING

Planning is SO important in relation to maintaining some good habits and a good structure in everyday life. At the end of the week, I look forward to the next, and here I "plan" the coming week. I know when I have various meetings, when I have private appointments, when I want to train, when I am away from home, etc. From that I also know when I am at home and when I am not, and it makes it much easier to plan and prepare my meals. I work from home and have done so for the past 7 years. Having a home office can have both its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that I don't have to think about bringing meals on the go every day. However, I have quite a few meetings around, which I also organize. But the disadvantage can also be that there is access to the fridge for most of a working day, and if there are no "good" meals prepared, it can be easy to "fall in" with various snacks etc. So no matter where I am, planning is worth its weight in gold to me! I always have boxes of something ready in the fridge.

PREPARATION

Preparation is the key word for me ⭐️ If I don't prepare, I'm not ready. If I am not ready and prepared, it is very difficult and challenging to maintain a good structure and good habits. Just like most of us prepare and plan various things. agreements, it is equally important to have an overview of your meals. Since I work with many different women on a daily basis, the majority of whom have challenges around their diet, I also know that the challenges often arise when they are not prepared. Here it is important that we find our "own way" to prepare ourselves as best as possible, so that we are not howled out of it, and end up making some less good choices for ourselves.

WHAT I DO

What I do is that I spend Sundays chopping, slicing, baking, frying, boiling, mashing, etc. I ALWAYS cook extra and double or even more. Both so I have for several days at a time, but also for the freezer, where I can easily take ready-made dishes and elements out on extra busy days. And since I'm in the kitchen on Sunday anyway, I might as well make the most of the time.

I cut fruit and vegetables into buckets which are stored in the fridge. Availability increases the likelihood of eating it. So when it is prepared, I hereby also want to eat more of what is available. Ergo more vegetables and fruit, which is good for all of us 😍 So everything from watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, peppers, tomatoes, carrots etc. I slice, chop and cut. I then prepare meals that I need during the week. It could e.g. be banana pancakes for breakfast and snacks. Egg muffins for the packed lunch on the go, breakfast or lunch. Makes 2-3 buckets of delicious salads/vegetables, which I can take out and supplement with some protein in the form of meat, fish, eggs, legumes etc. Bake some vegetable bread or other bread for the week. I can also make tuna/salmon salads, which I can use for dinner, lunch or on rye bread. Fry meat so I always have some protein. Make e.g. wok/stews, mash, oven-baked dishes that I can divide into portions and put in the fridge and freeze the rest. I live alone and I therefore "only" have to think about myself, but that can also mean that many people don't really bother to cook and it therefore quickly turns into take-away, rye bread snacks or nothing. Fortunately, I enjoy standing in the kitchen and cooking, but I know there are many who don't do it or are out of ideas. That's why it's super good to have a plan. And from there prepare the meals that must and can be prepared in advance.

I have e.g. always something I can take out of the freezer that is prepared. It's everything from scrambled eggs, casseroles, some ready-made meat, soups, food muffins, mash, etc. So my best advice is to cook for several days and in larger portions and have it available in the fridge and freezer. Then we also don't end up with it being evening, and we don't know what to get, and end up standing in the supermarket and putting everything possible unplanned in the basket. At the same time, I have also included my appointments during the week. That is if I know I'm going out to eat with my family or a friend, I also know that on that day I'll eat out. This does not get behind me. So it's always a good idea to look a little ahead into the coming week and get a handle on any. agreements etc.

TIME

Time is important to all of us, and we want to make the most of our time. That's why I also spend 2-4 hours on Sunday shopping, preparing meals and setting things up. It gives peace of mind and an overview. And as much as I love emptying cupboards, drawers, the fridge and freezer of food, I love even more to fill it up with a lot of boxes ready to take out when it needs to be used for a new week😍

SMART ON THE GO

For me, food is still something that is delicious. It is important that my meals stimulate and satiate, but at the same time are also "practical". Now I only use boxes from YUMMII YUMMII, which I have done for years, and it makes everything even easier and more convenient when I need food to take on the go or to split meals, as the boxes come in many different room divisions.

But one of the things I typically take with me for lunch or snacks on the go is a delicious, filling, nutritious salad/mixed vegetables with e.g. some chicken fries or a delicious tuna salad, egg wrap, lentil steaks, fried marinated meat and some kind of dip/mash/dressing for it. It could e.g. be a skyr/herb dressing, hummus, pea puree, pepper cream, aubergine dip, etc. But I always like vegetables and good filling proteins 😋 I can also easily have a wokret with it, which can easily be enjoyed cold with some fried vegetables for or some rice, bulgur, quiona etc. And yes, I can easily take a good rye bread meal or sandwich with me, but the filling is more than just liver pate 😛 and I always supplement with a bucket of chopped greens. I especially love cherry tomatoes, celery and red peppers, which I can eat a lot of!

But all in all.. So for me it's about getting most things ready, so that I can have much more time during the weekdays for both work, social life and ME time 😍 Then shopping on Sunday morning. Music on the facility. Roll up your sleeves and have fun in the kitchen for a few hours. Those hours are well spent in the end, and I'm also sure to get some delicious lovely meals 😍

Best wishes,

Tina, @iformmedtina