HOW FOODPREP CAN HELP YOU LIVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

My goal is to organize and foodprep as much as possible in order to have as much sparetime for me to do the things in life that really makes me happy and also to avoid being in situations where I have to make less healthy choices because I do not have healthy meals on hand. ❤️

WEEKEND

Friday and my clock shows weekend and my step one for planning next week starts. I check offers for food online. Based on the offers I make a meal plan for next week and a plan for what I would like to prepare. Saturday I check my cupboards, fridge and freezer in order to make a list of what I need to shop for on my weekly shopping day - Sunday. I am in favor of less food waste and like to use everything I have. Based on this and the offers that I have found in the newspapers online I make an overall plan for next week's meals.  As such, I do not make a fixed meal plan, but I have a very clear idea of ​​what I want to eat and what to prepare for. But I can easily change my meal plan during the week, depending on desire and appetite.

SATURDAY

Saturday is my "cozy" day that I usually start off by getting some practical work done - cleaning and washing clothes. Getting this done is important for me in order to be able to be completely relaxed the rest of the day. I'm a bit of an orderly person, will anyone think 😜 After getting these practically things over with the day is all about quality time with family/friends. 100% relaxation and being mentally completely free. It is really important for me to disconnect completely to fully charge up my batteries. I do this especially by being around people I love, exercising, 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 where I very rarely make any kind of appointments/plans. In my everyday life as an independent diet and exercise supervisor most of my time takes place in front of my computer, where emails, programming, preparation of diet courses, meetings and recipe development take up most of my weekdays. I am very much on mentally as a mentor and therefore it is important for me to have a day where I have no “commitments”. One day where I can slow down completely in pace and prepare for next week. As much as I like to be very social,  I also need a day all to myself.

SHOPPING

Shopping takes place on Sundays. I am a distinct morning person and whether it is a weekday or weekend I get up early in the morning. Sunday morning I pretty much shop for the entire week. By planning my weekly shopping I save a lot of money and it also keeps me from doing any impulse shopping during the week. After shopping I go to my kitchen and prepare meals for the coming week. By preparing meals I avoid being in situations where I do not have any good nutritious meals on hand and therefore keeps me from making some less good choices for myself. Good nutritious meals give me good energy!

PLANNING

Planning is SO important in terms of 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” for the coming week. I know when I have various meetings, when I have private appointments, when I want to do sports, when I am away from home etc. From this, I also know when I'm at home and not, and this makes it a lot easier to plan and improve my meals. I work from home and I have done so for the last 7 years. Having a home office can have both its advantages but also its disadvantages. The benefits are that I do not have to think about bringing meals on the go every day. The disadvantage is that I have access to the fridge most of my working day, and if no "good" meals are prepared, then one can easily be tempted to grab various snacks etc. and make not so healthy choices.  I do have quite a few meetings out of my house which I also organize and plan for. So no matter where I am healthy meals are at hand.

Therefore PLANNING is worth its weight in gold! 

PREPARATION

Preparation is the key word for me ⭐️ If I do not prepare, I am not ready. If I am not ready and prepared it is very difficult and challenging to maintain a good structure and good habits. Just as most of us prepare and plan for appointments, just as well it is important to have an overview of ones meals. I work with many different women on a daily basis and the majority of these women experience challenges with their particular diet, therefore I also know that the challenges often arise when they are not prepared. It is important we find our "own way" to prepare ourselves the best we can, so that we are not tempted to make some less good choices for ourselves.

HOW I FOOD PREP

What I do is I spend my Sundays chopping, slicing, baking, frying, cooking, mashing, etc. I ALWAYS make extra food so I have food for several days at a time, but also I put meals in the freezer, so I have ready-made dishes to take out on a busy day.  I cut fruits and vegetables into bento boxes which are stored in the fridge. Availability increases the likelihood of eating it. 😍 So everything from watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, peppers, tomatoes, carrots etc. I slice, chop and cut. Then I make meals that I can eat during the week. It could e.g. be banana pancakes for breakfast and snacks. Egg muffins for packed lunches on the go, breakfast or for lunch. I make 2-3 boxes with delicious salads which I can take out and supplement with some protein e.g. meat, fish, eggs. I bake some vegetable bread or other bread for the week. I can also make tuna / salmon salads that I can use for dinner, lunch or on a rye bread. I make wok / stews and oven-baked dishes that I divide into smaller portions and put in the fridge and freezer. I live by myself and I therefore "only" have to think about myself, but living alone can also make many people not really bother to cook and it therefore quickly becomes take-away dinners. I happily enjoy standing in the kitchen and cook, but I know there are many people who do not or are left with no ideas. This is why it's a super idea to have a plan and prepare meals ahead of time in order to make it easy on yourself. 

STORAGE

For years I have only used boxes from YUMMII YUMMII. Boxes are perfect for storing foods, they keep my food fresh for a longer period of time from what I have experienced with other boxes. They absorb no color or taste and are easy to clean. I like that the boxes come in different sizes and with/without compartments so I do not need to use single-use items when I want to divide my foods. I also like that the Bento Rounds are completely leak-proof and the Bento dips can fit into the larger Bento Boxes with dressing when I am on the go.It makes my life so much easier that I have boxes that works

All in all - planning is the key-word and preparation of meals works perfect for me. It gives me time during the week to work, do sports, be social and have ME-time. So my tip is to do your shopping on Sundays and go to your kitchen, put some music on and sleeves up and use a couple of hours to prepare healthy nutritious meals for the upcoming week and avoid stress and skipping actions towards snack and take-away dinners.  😍

Best wishes

Tina, @iformmedtina