\u201cLuck is when preparation meets opportunity\u201d.<\/p>\n
Your success in many areas of your life, including your health, very much has to do with just this. \u201cLuck\u201d is often no more than being prepared for when an opportunity arises, planning to make concrete the hopes you have. Ok, so what does this have to do with your nutrition? Well, like most things in life, good nutrition doesn\u2019t just \u201chappen\u201d. It\u2019s the result of a lot of thought, preparation, planning. Even if you have the best of intentions, if your fridge is empty, your kids are starving and you have nothing in mind for dinner, your meeting ran late and you have no idea what you\u2019ll make when you get home, it\u2019s very difficult to follow through with those intentions. If, however, you plan a bit, you spend a little time at the beginning of each week before grocery shopping, planning meals, thinking through when you could make what and how that would work with your week and your schedule, not only is your grocery shopping trip likely to be much more productive and supportive of your healthy goals, but you may even find you save some money and actually enjoy eating well.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, I wanted to give you a little peek into my typical week. Saturdays or Sundays, depending on the weekend\u2019s \u201cto-do\u201d list, are my shopping day. While I sometimes have to supplement throughout the week (it\u2019s always a toss up as to how much my toddler will eat these days!), I normally only do one real grocery trip a week. This helps keep me from straying from my meal plans (since I only have those planned ingredients), and encourages us to not do take-out, as that\u2019s just wasted food and, therefore, wasted money if I don\u2019t make a meal that I planned to. I try to always keep some staples on hand (flour, rice\/pasta\/quinoa, eggs, butter, olive oil, spices, etc.), and typically have some selection of meat\/poultry in our freezer. I will often buy it in bulk when it\u2019s on sale and then wrap and package it into individual portions to freeze for later use. I\u2019ll look around for recipe inspiration on some of my favorite blogs, modify as needed to use up ingredients that we already have or so that more than one recipe will utilize the ingredients I\u2019m buying, create a meal plan for the week (usually dinner; breakfast is always some rotation of the same things, so I just keep a few of those options on hand), and then build my shopping list around that plan and what I know we already have in the pantry at home. Here is my \u201cplan\u201d for this week; I\u2019ve included some notes about where I found the recipe and what I\u2019m buying vs what\u2019s already at the house, etc. to give you a better feel of what meal planning can and should look like.<\/p>\n
SUNDAY \u2013 \u201cGreen\u201d Chicken w\/ green beans \u2013 this is also known as \u201cChicken Diane\u201d, but growing up, my brother and I called it \u201cgreen chicken\u201d because of its herby-green sauce. I already have chicken at home, and green beans in the freezer. I\u2019ll be buying the parsley and green onions I need for it.<\/p>\n
MONDAY \u2013 Chicken Empanadas (smittenkitchen.com) \u2013 Again, I have the chicken, as well as the flour, butter, and eggs for the empanada dough. I\u2019ll be getting green olives (which my son will eat some of with his lunches this week) and some chorizo. We\u2019ll probably have this with a side salad (I keep greens of some sort on hand for smoothies and side salads all the time)<\/p>\n
TUESDAY \u2013 Shrimp Salad \u201cPicnic\u201d \u2013 Whole Foods makes a fun little shrimp salad thing seasonally. They just started making it again, but I don\u2019t like to buy prepared stuff like this too often because of it\u2019s cost. So, I\u2019ll just get a little of it to complement a little picnic-y spread. I\u2019ll also get crackers, spreadable goat cheese (which I can use on salads), and serve it with apple slices (already at the house, bought a big bag on sale), and pickled veggies (also at the house from a previous dinner last week)<\/p>\n
WEDNESDAY \u2013 Lettuce Wrap Burgers \u2013 I already have grass-fed beef portioned into half-pound packages in the freezer. I\u2019ll buy lettuce (salads, anyone!?) and avocado to go on it; we\u2019ll add kimchi that we have at home, and mustard\/ketchup. Might use some of that goat cheese, too!<\/p>\n
THURSDAY \u2013 Egg Roll Bowls \u2013 recipe is on my website (backtoscratch.net); I have ground pork left over in the freezer from meatballs last week; I\u2019ll buy cabbage, kale, and mushrooms to go with it (I always have onions at home).<\/p>\n
FRIDAY \u2013 Carrot Salad w\/ Chickpeas and Venison Meatballs \u2013 (smittenkitchen.com & orangette\u2019s lamb meatballs) \u2013 I have carrots, will be getting parsley for the green chicken, and have venison at home (my dad hunts \u2013 thanks, dad!) that I\u2019ll use in place of the lamb in this recipe.<\/p>\n
SATURDAY \u2013 date night! Hubby and I typically get some form of take-out (after the kiddos are in bed) once a week for a little in-house \u201cdate night\u201d. So, I don\u2019t have to plan for one night a week!<\/p>\n
Ok, that\u2019s it! Now, the empanada recipe will make more than we will eat; leftovers will either be frozen and used for future dinners or eaten for lunches this week. The egg roll bowl will also have leftovers, which I\u2019ll eat for lunch. I anticipate the carrot salad and meatballs also being more than we\u2019ll eat in one sitting, so again, leftovers for lunches or for a dinner early next week (since I\u2019ll make it fresh Friday). As you can see, not only do we have a wide variety of meal options, but I make sure to use ingredients in multiple dishes to prevent waste and avoid buying an excessive amount of groceries. Working from home, I\u2019m more capable than many in making things from scratch, the day I want to have them. However, if that\u2019s not your situation, have no fear; with a little additional preparation, you can still succeed with a meal plan like this. After grocery shopping, prep ingredients for the week so that you just have to put things together each day. For example, pre-cut all the veggies for the egg roll bowls and just cook on Thursday. Feel free to make the empanadas on the weekend and reheat for Monday\u2019s dinner. Same goes for the meatballs and the carrot salad can be made a couple days in advance, with the chickpeas added just before serving.<\/p>\n
I may work from home, but with 2 kids under 3 years of age underfoot, making meals is definitely still a challenge! Don\u2019t underestimate yourself or the power of good planning and preparation. Goals without plans are just wishes.<\/p>\n
Aubrey Phelps MS RDN LDN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cLuck is when preparation meets opportunity\u201d. Your success in many areas of your life, including your health, very much has to do with just this. \u201cLuck\u201d is often no more…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n