Meal planning secret: Make health your #1 priority!

IMG_7722I’ve got an awkward life, err, schedule. For the past decade I’ve had my job up in Westchester NY. Luckily, I’m only in the office Mondays through Wednesdays…but that sounds a lot easier said than done. Over the years of my unbelievably long commute, entirely too long of days in another state, and having to crash at friends or family’s places to ease the commute just a bit I was able to really work on my meal planning skills.

Basically, each Sunday I have to carve out time to prep my breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners for the first 3 days of my week. It ain’t easy!

However, with determination and perseverance I’ve nailed it down to an art. You can too!  I just love helping my clients to meal plan for themselves and their family. It makes life SO much easier, more delicious, and most importantly nutritious!

When speaking with people, they never can understand how I am able to prep all of my own food from scratch like this with my hectic commute. I’ve heard it all…”It’s because you don’t have kids yet.”…”You’re young and still have energy.”…”I don’t know how to throw things together in the kitchen like you.” I politely have to smile through these remarks but in my head I’m totally rolling my eyes!

I’m here to tell you that this came with lots of time, effort and practice. I chose years ago that my number one priority was MY HEALTH. Nothing came before it because in my mind, what’s more important than it?  To me, nothing. With that realization I started to align the rest of my life around it. Changing my routine around to be sure that I carved out time to grocery shop, research healthy recipes, and then try them in my kitchen. I have NO culinary education, just hands on experience in my own kitchen week after week after week. I’ve made a lot of crummy recipes and have made some pretty silly mistakes when cooking. The best part about that is I learned from each one of those experiences. Cooking, like anything else, takes practice!

Those years ago after I had that realization I looked at cooking the same way that I do with my art. Usually I approach a blank piece of paper with a handful or more of tools, colors, etc. and with much thought. Then I jump in and start creating. If I didn’t like what I came up with, oh well, it was another page in my sketchbook. With cooking I enter my kitchen with lots of food, herbs, spices and much thought. I jump right in and start to create. If I mess up, oh well, now I know for next time.

I encourage you to explore more in the kitchen. Meal planning works best when you’ve got your priorities in check, whatever they may be. Think about what you want and what you need to shift around to make it happen. If I can do it trust me, you can!

In the picture: Homemade sauce defrosting (that I made a few weeks ago) for dinner later with spiralized zuchinni & Bilinski meatballs. Homemade coconut kefir for the next few mornings sweetened with cinnamon, raw honey & berries. Hard boiled eggs. Cheesy kale chips that were dehydrated earlier. Mineral rich bone broth fresh out of the slow cooker. And a super yummy chicken, pears, cranberries & butternut squash cooking in the slow cooker.

 

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