As a parent, it becomes increasingly challenging to maintain a healthy diet amidst a busy family schedule. Constantly running around taking kids from practice to game to recital and then finally back home only to not have dinner ready so we make the best of our situation and order out to meet the needs of our hungry family. As an emerging new parent with more and more being stacked on in my schedule, I can empathize with this. But I also know that the impact of a high-quality diet on our family’s overall health and every level is critical to living our best life! So…how can we accomplish this?
Meal prepping/batch cooking is a great way to control what goes into the dish and prepare enough for dinner as well as leftovers for lunch the next day. The planning and preparation are key with meal prepping as it provides you with clarity on what to purchase and how much you need to purchase. You can get as creative or as simple as you’d like.
Take your next grocery haul. Do you go in with a plan? Or do you just get the essentials and what the kids like and try to make it up on the spot that night for dinner? Chances are, you run into the same issues that I have in that I feel I don’t have time to make a home-cooked meal, and I resort to a more time-efficient means to get my dinner…which normally turns into a Chipotle or Cava night for my family.
But when we prepare accordingly and use slow cookers, air fryers and ovens to our advantage, we are able to gain back some time as a family since it’s not all spent on cooking. I control the portions and ingredients that go into our dinners, and we end up feeling better from the healthier meals that we’re able to create that fall directly in line with the fitness goals that we have set out and are actively working towards. The preparation in ingredients on your grocery list can help determine your success and reduce waste from food spoiling by not being used.
As an example, when you use a slow cooker, your active cooking time is reduced to about 15 minutes compared to what you might otherwise spend cooking with more traditional methods. More than just the time savings is the cost savings associated with cooking in your home. On average, the cost of eating out falls closely to around $13 per person. When you factor in how many meals you can make from a batch of meal prepping the cost per person falls to around $3.78. Over a week, if you replace three takeout dinners with homemade meals, you could save $84-$144 per week!
However, we know that life happens and isn’t always perfect for making home-cooked meals. So, when you do find yourself out and needing to get takeout for dinner, what do you do? Here are 3 strategies to try:
- Ask for modifications with your meal
If applicable, ask for any dressings on the side, grilled instead of fried, or extra vegetables. Modifying your meals to fit the goals and diet that keep you and your family on track will lead to better performance results down the line. - Water first
Drink water before and during your meal. Doing so can help control hunger and reduce calorie intake from your meal. - Share your meal
Sharing your meal reduces the overall calorie intake you would get from eating alone and it helps to save on cost. - Bonus Tip: Eat slowly
Taking time to eat your food will not only help your digestion and recognize when you’re full, but also gives you more satisfaction and appreciation for the food that you’re eating which helps cultivate a better relationship with food.
Small, manageable changes to our eating habits can have truly large impacts on our daily lives if we’re able to stick to the process. Help bring your whole family in on the meal preparation process so everyone can see the benefits, reap the rewards, and see the importance of a healthy diet and active lifestyle!
