Are you too busy or lazy to cook at home?
I hope you had a great weekend and a happy Valentine's Day! I got to go to Milwaukee f
or the weekend. It was so nice to get away for a few days and to see my friends and family! Luckily it was warmer than it has been, but still really cold for me, especially since I no longer own a winter coat and only had a fleece. I'm happy to be back home now though and have decided to do another cleanse since I've been really tired lately and have been overindulging a lot lately. When trying to follow a cleanse or even just eat healthier, it requires some kind of planning because it is so easy to just go pick up something for lunch or dinner, or even stop at a drive through on the way to work. I tend to get lazy in the kitchen and have to force myself to cook sometimes. Not because I don't like to cook, but because I hate doing all of the dishes after I'm done cooking. What about you? Do you feel that you are too busy or too lazy to cook at home? I have found that the easiest way to get around being too busy or lazy to cook at home is to plan and meal prep. That way you really only have to cook once for the most part. Even if you are just making something easy like a salad, getting it ready ahead of time can really determine whether you are going to eat it or order out. In order to properly meal prep, I'd recommend the following steps:
Make a list of recipes that you plan to eat for the week. There are tons of healthy recipes out there, and depending on how many people you are cooking for, you can always adjust the ingredients to provide more or less servings. You can also include any foods that you plan to have as a snack.
Make a grocery list with the ingredients that you need for the recipes and any other foods that you will need for the week.
After you purchase the food, start making the recipes. Some people may find that it is easiest to make everything right away before they even put it away so they don't lose motivation. I prefer to choose one or two days that I will do the majority of the cooking. Do whatever you feel works for you and fits into your schedule best. It may also help to prep any snacks that you have planned for the week. You can chop up any veggies or fruits so that they are ready to go and you can grab them easily when you are hungry.
Store your food. The last step for meal prepping is to put the food in containers or store it in whatever way is the easiest for you. Since I work from home, I don't put my food in containers, but on a few different plates. Then I just add all of the ingredients to one dish when I am ready to eat it. If you don't want to take the time to pack your lunch the night before or prepare the food right before you are going to eat it, it may be a good idea to put it in containers right away to make it easier on yourself.
Those are all the steps it really takes to meal prep! It is so easy and you will be so happy that you took the time to do it when you realize you don't need to cook your meals all week.
P.S. The image above is from what I meal prepped this week. I made Chicken Burrito Salad (originally Bowls, but I made some adjustments so it was cleanse and low fodmap friendly), and got the recipe from Buzzfeed Tasty.
