Epiphany - Juggling Real Food and Real Life - Juggling Real Food and Real Life

I read a lot of food blogs and over time it starts to feel like I actually know some of my favorite women. After all, we spend time discussing things on Facebook, I see their photos on Instagram, I am part of their Twitterverse and of course, I know what they had for dinner last night. I’ve been laughing for a couple of weeks now because each of my favorites have declared that they have had an epiphany. Really? All of you? Then it happened………………….I had an epiphany!

Dictionary.com defines an epiphany as:

a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something,usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

I was making meatloaf at 10:30 at night for the following day. Our family’s schedule had changed last minute and I had to figure out how to make a meatloaf dinner and be at the high school by 6:30. Keep in mind, I walk in the door with the kids after work close to 6:00. I decided that I could make it the night before and simply rewarm it the next evening. Meatloaf takes virtually no time to prep, but takes forever to bake. So with my fingers deep into that meatloaf mixture, it hit me!

I am really busy with the kids’ activities around meal time, but once I get them to bed, I have a bit of time. I’ll be honest, I already make the kids lunches in the evening and I would really enjoy some down-time before I collapse into bed for the night. Do I really want to be cooking at 10:30 every night? The answer is clearly, “No!” However, for me it is a matter of priorities. My desire to not feed myself and my family fast and processed food is so great that I am willing to do almost anything to avoid it.

As a result, I look for little pockets of time to chop, mix, shred, and bake. This is one of my secrets to Juggling. I love to peel apples for applesauce while I watch my favorite dancing shows and there is plenty of relaxing or laundry that can be done while my meatloaf bakes for an hour. Baking meatloaf is certainly not going to add any stress to my life, but having it ready the next day for dinner is certainly a stress-reducer.

I challenge you to look for little pockets of time in your schedule to prepare your Real Food. For me, it is a completely different way of thinking of meal prep. It forces me to look ahead at my schedule and find ways to get it done……..even when I need to Juggle things last minute.

Let me know where you find your pockets of time to prepare your Real Food. Leave me a comment below. If it still says, “No Comments” go ahead and click on it. You are the first to comment. I look forward to more discussions on our Facebook page and you can follow us on Twitter. Make sure to register your email at the right, so you don’t miss an episode. Find more information on Meal Planning here.

Comments

Robyn Owens-Miille says

November 6, 2013 at 3:43 pm

I make my meatloaf ahead of time and freeze it in a shape that I know will fit in my crockpot. The day I want to serve it for dinner, I unwrap it, throw it in the crockpot FROZEN, put a little homemade bbq sauce on top of it and let it cook on low for 8 hours. My crockpot drops to keep warm until we get home and serve it. Because it's frozen, it doesn't dry out and it's cooked perfectly.

- Juggling Real Food and Real Life says
  
  November 10, 2013 at 1:25 am
  
  Great idea Robyn! I like to add frozen meat to my crock because it adds a few hours to my cook time so things are not over done. I work all day and like to return home to a meal that is ready to go. I will have to give frozen meatloaf a try.