Juggling Real Food and Real Life is all about knowing how much time you have for each activity.  Obviously, with a busy schedule there isn’t a lot of time to cook, but some days there may be more time than others. It is important to know that.  A typical week for me always has me working till 5 and then running to pick the kids up from school.  Sometimes we eat dinner before our activities and sometimes we eat afterwards.  It really depends on the timing of the activities.  That’s how real life works, right?  So how do I keep myself from the temptation of fast food drive-through windows and  packaged convenience foods?  The secret….I plan my meals for the week.

 

I can hear your groans now.  I don’t like to plan……. or how do I know what I will be in the mood for?  Here is what I have to say about that.  “If you are hungry, you are more likely to make a bad food decision.”  I’ve been eating real food for 3 years now and when I get really hungry, the candy bar aisle at the drug store looks really good.  When I’m not hungry or know that I’m going home to an already planned real food meal, I don’t even look at the candy.  Don’t plan your meals when you are staring into the refrigerator with your stomach rumbling and your kids demanding to know what you are making them for dinner.  It’s not going to be a good situation for any of you.

Spring creates a whole new schedule for us.  We have our typical year long activities, but we also have spring sports and end-of-the-year activities to add in.  Let’s just say that is really rare that we just have a night home with nothing to do.  A girl can dream though, right?  Since my family wants to eat every day (crazy, right?) I find that planning meals really helps me to juggle our schedule.

Here is how I meal plan:

1.  Print out my weekly meal planning printable.

2.  Fill in activities.  I like to get out my calendar and fill in all of our activities for the week.  This allows me to see what time I have to work with and what deadlines need to be met.  For example………..Wednesday is my daughter’s dance class night.  If my husband also has a Cub Scout event then I know that I need to put something in the crock pot.  If there is only dance class, then I know to plan something simple that my husband can make and have ready for us to eat when we get home at 8:00.

 

3.  Fill in meals.  I try to mix things up to get a variety of nutrition, but even I fall into ruts or let us call them routines.  Breakfast is probably the most routine for us.  I find it helpful to have a list of all of the meals that I can cook.  This serves as a nice meal planning tool so that I don’t waste time trying to think of meals to include in my weekly meal plan.

There you go……..meal planning in 3 easy steps.  I’ll be back soon for more advanced meal planning tips.  Until then, I hope you give meal planning a try.  It will seem time consuming at first, but with practice you will find your meal plan to be very helpful in staying organized and ready to “Juggle” whatever comes your way this spring.

Do you plan meals?  Do you have a busy schedule and find it hard to make time to cook?  Do you cook on the weekends to prepare for the week?

If you are looking for help in making the transition to eating more real food, you should check out the Real Food Experience posts. You can get get started at the beginning or jump around the challenges. You can find a complete round-up of the program here. Each week’s challenge is full of terrific advice to help you transition from fast and processed food to a real food diet. Changes that will help you to live a healthy lifestyle and have the energy to keep up with your busy schedule. I would also love for you to join me on social media. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on a regular basis. Leave me a comment and let me know you are there. I love to visit with my readers. Yes, I’m a real person.