7 Time-Saving Tips to Eat Healthy for Working Moms
Time Saving Tips to Eat Healthy for Working Moms
I love food. I love cooking it, and I love eating it. But being a working mother makes it difficult for me to keep up with all the things. The kids are always hungry, the house is always messy, and there's never enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done! Plus, I want to take care of myself and get my workouts in! Luckily, there are lots of things you can do to help yourself eat well without having loads of time on your hands! The following tips will help you ensure that your family is eating healthy food:
Plan ahead.
It is important to eat well, but working mothers often find that cooking nutritious meals is not always an easy task. Pick a time at the start of your week and plan your meals according to your schedule. If you can't plan ahead, think about quick and easy options in your home like salmon you can cook from frozen. Make sure that you have fresh fruit on hand as well as frozen vegetables and beans for those times when you are pressed for time or don't feel like cooking.
Bonus: This will help you eat out less often. Preparing meals at home instead of going out to eat or ordering takeout all the time will greatly impact your health and your budget. Eating out adds up over time because most restaurants serve high-calorie foods such as deep-fried chicken tenders or macaroni and cheese with bacon bits on top! Not to mention all the added sugars and salts. Which reminds me…
Don’t Stop Dining Out Altogether
It’s easy to get hung up on planning your meals and worry about what you're going to make for dinner every night. For most of us, it's just not realistic to cook a whole meal from scratch every night, and it's unnecessary stress. If you have a bad day, don't worry about what you're eating. Go ahead and take the pressure off and dine out or order in. To make better choices you feel good about, shift into being aware of what you choose when you dine out. What do you usually order? How do you feel after eating it? Is this something you feel good eating every week, once a month or once in a while?
Quick Tip: Limit dining out to 2x a week and make sure you LOVE what you’re eating. AND if you find this unrealistic, consider some standard meals that you feel good about. One of our family favourites is picking up a rotisserie chicken, a bag of salad, and fresh whole-grain sourdough. $25 and it feeds our small family. Plus, if we had guests, it’s easy to double at a low cost.
Connect your plan to your grocery list
If you know you want to make shepherd's pie this week, you better have some potatoes on hand! Start by making a list of the things you need, check what’s in the fridge so you don’t waste food either. I’m not the best at remembering what’s in the fridge, so it’s a good idea to check before you go to the grocery store (I’ve been known to buy a few too many cucumbers because I can’t remember what we actually have!) Which, by the way…
Stick to the list! (and don’t go shopping hungry!)
It sounds obvious, but if you don't know what you need when you head into the store, then how will anyone? This is also the absolute recipe for the great snack impulse shopping. These days, it’s also easy to plan out your meals for the week based on what is on sale at that time (yay apps!) and buy accordingly. In fact, open your grocery store app BEFORE you go, or ordering online can help you see what you’re buying. They usually have great deals that pair well with specific recipes or ingredients (like "buy one rotisserie chicken and get xyz free").
Learn to love leftovers.
The first step in learning to love leftovers is understanding that they're not just food that's been reheated.
Leftovers can be a fantastic way to eat, especially if you're trying to cut down on processed eating like fast food or sugary snacks. Leftovers are also a great way to use up ingredients you already have in your refrigerator.
One of my favorite things about leftovers is how creative you can get with them: I love making creative dishes with all of the leftover chicken breasts from last night's dinner (soup or salad toppings are my go-to's), or mixing together all sorts of ingredients from previous meals like stir fry and casseroles. (fruits and veggies are really good at helping this). There are so many possibilities when it comes to using up leftovers!
Dust Off Your Kitchen Tools and Appliances
Take advantage of slow cookers, Instant Pots, and other kitchen appliances that do the work for you. Slow cookers are great for soups and stews — just throw everything in there, set it to low, and come back hours later to a delicious result. Instant Pots are a godsend for moms who want to cook rice or steam vegetables ahead of time without having them go mushy as they sit on the countertop. If you’re not familiar with one yet, check out Pinterest for THOUSANDS of ideas on how they can simplify your meal prep routine!
Batch and Freeze
This is probably my favourite idea–cook double batches of certain things and freeze the rest so you have it on hand when you need it. This is especially handy for when someone gets sick, especially you! You can freeze anything from soups to casseroles, or even cook a large amount of meat and freeze it, or an easy reheat supper. Freezing is a great way to save time as a routine meal plan as well.
No matter what kind of mom and work life you lead, it's important to fuel yourself with good food. Eating for nutrition is a great way to maintain your energy levels throughout the day and keep yourself feeling good about life in general. If you're a working mom, these tips can help make your life a little easier so that you can focus on what's most important: taking care of yourself and those around you!
Struggling with how you can make this happen?
Check out my Free Meal Prep Guide!
