(4 min read)
I felt compelled to chat about the two topics of meal prepping and mindful eating as it’s something I’ve been doing for quite some time. I always love hearing about the authentic experiences of those who I can relate to and just bits on these topics in general – so here’s my input!
I have quite a few jobs that keep me rather occupied, the list is kind of endless! Something that allows all of these responsibilities to flow together truly, is being level headed and fed. I used to be top notch at meal prepping when I was in college and while working a part time nanny gig in addition to the part time hours at the greenhouse center. I’d hard boil eggs, make big batches of vegetarian chili, cook up stir fry and cut up fresh veggies with hummus. I did my best and it always saved me in moments of pure hunger in between jobs and tasks.
Life is a little different now with longer commutes to my places of work, more to remember and keep track of, all while trying to maintain a personal life – oh adulthood! Fast forward to right now, the last day in January as I’m writing this post in the midst of answering phone calls from customers and devouring some yogurt. This morning I realized I had next to nothing to bring to work to eat today. I had five quick minutes before I left to come up with something. Plain greek yogurt, raspberry jam, and chia seeds with a banana for later, which I can promise you is not what I’d want to get me through a six hour shift. Here’s the truth about meal prepping, sometimes it just doesn’t happen when you need it the most. I’m here to remind you, it’s okay. We are all human and we all kind of throw good habits to the side sometimes and that’s just life. I’m going to shift that perspective to tell you how I utilize mindful eating and planning habits whenever I can to make sure I have more than just a small yogurt bowl to eat.
MY TRUTH WITH MINDFUL EATING
I do it about 95% of the time with cooking, thinking about what I am craving and also really needing, while remaining a taste-as-you-go mentality while physically making my meals. My body also always feels like it needs many ingredients and spice filled meals so I almost always honor that interest of my stomach too. When it comes to eating solely, I am a little less in touch with my body’s cues. I over eat sometimes. I eat too late sometimes. I make “unhealthy” choices sometimes. Sometimes is not every time and that’s my focus! I aim to be as intuitive as I can.
MY TRUTH WITH MEAL PREPPING
I love the idea of it and only do it maybe 30% of the time. I want to work towards being better come spring time at meal prepping for a myriad of reasons. It’s totally doable, it just takes achieving the mindset I had years ago and being consistent!
Here are three things I’m currently doing and plan on maintaining as healthy habits to allow this goal to be met ↴
USE MY PLANNER EVERY DAY
I keep track of my meal ideas and grocery pick ups in my passion planner, which I love so much! In addition to keeping my food priorities out on paper, my passion planner allows me to keep my schedule in check too. If you haven’t got your hands on one for the new year, now’s your chance! Not only is there “space for infinite possibility” for list making, there’s hour by hour mapping, goal sections and more to maximize your time and planning potential. Using my code, you get a 10% off your order – and I’d love to be the reason to save a little on a excellent tool to help you invest in organization in your life!
DIVE IN AND DON’T LOOK BACK
I use this idea as a way to think about starting and finishing tasks I struggle with. I personally am terrible at keeping up with doing the dishes, so if you just dive into it and not dilly dally, the dishes get done! When I moan and groan and find something to clean or some other distraction, the dishes continue to sit there. This habit is not the best and I have the same attitude with meal prepping from time to time. Give yourself two 45min-1hr blocks during the week. Maybe an hour on a Sunday afternoon and 45 minutes on a Thursday night so you can make a variety of foods throughout the week for those longer work days. Dive into slicing up vegetables for a stir fry, you can’t look back once you’ve already started prepping the ingredients! You’ll save money, you won’t be hungry, and you’ll feel better that you invested loving time into in your eating.
UTILIZE COUPONS AND APPS THAT HELP SAVE MONEY
Whenever I make meals for later, I don’t like to have a simple sandwich. I like curry, rice bakes, stews – the more ingredients, the better! Before I shop, I try to use the My Hannaford Rewards app which has coupons tailored to me and also a categorized list of additional ones to look at. Some weeks, I use the food on sale on the app and base a meal off those! I find it really helpful with planning and saving money over time. If you aren’t a Hannaford shopper, find out to see if your local grocery store offers a reward system and other virtual coupon options!
I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience and found my tips helpful! If you have any feedback, feel free to reach out!
love, Sav
♡
SAVORY SERVINGS WITH SAV 