health and convenience

In my experience, one of the biggest barriers to eating a healthy diet is that it is rarely convenient.  Street stands in the city sell candy and chips.  Rest stops along the highways rarely include any healthy options.  It is much easier to find a soda than an unsweetened iced tea.  Cooking dinner requires (1) shopping for food; (2) planning what to cook; (3) actually cooking dinner; and then (4) cleaning up.  It’s a lot easier to go to a restaurant than deal with a sink full of dishes.

I try very hard to plan ahead to ensure that I have access to the food that I want to eat.  For instance, I love my morning smoothie, which requires that I have frozen fruit, fresh fruit, greens, almond milk and almond butter.  Making sure that I have these ingredients prevents me from grabbing a muffin at the Starbucks down the street for breakfast.

Despite my good intentions to plan ahead, I admit that I am one of the most disorganized people, ever.  I have random ideas written on post it notes all over my desk.  This lack of organization is very prevalent in my kitchen.  I don’t follow recipes, I just make them up as I go along.  I have never written out a grocery store list, and as a result, I constantly come home with random vegetables and without food that I intended to buy.  I rarely can remember what I have at home, and sometimes end up with 3 jars of coconut oil sitting in my pantry.

Many people recommend planning your meals as a great way to ensure healthy choices.  I have never planned my meals ahead of time, unless we have company.  Even then, I usually decide what to make that day.  I am in awe of those who plan a week’s worth of meals and bring a list of ingredients to the grocery store.  That is not me.  However, there are some steps that I take in order to ensure that making healthy choices remains convenient for me.

First, I make sure that I can get fresh food every week.  My preference is to go to Whole Foods, but it gets crowded, so I can only go with my daughter during certain times.  It is no fun to be in a long line in that store with a screaming one year old.  If I can’t get to Whole Foods early in the morning during the week, then I put in a Fresh Direct order.  I know that if I have an empty fridge, I am more likely to make poor choices.  So, I schedule in my food shopping into my day as I would anything else.  In addition, I keep some healthy options in the freezer for when I am really out of food.  This frozen food was very helpful this past winter when we were snowed in for days at a time.

Second, I always ensure that I have healthy snacks in the house.  For me, this typically includes Kind bars, fresh fruit and raw almonds.  I like to have these snacks for on the go as well as when I am home.

Third, I cook extra food so that I have leftovers.  For example, I typically make a large batch of quinoa to either use in a stir fry or to eat cold in a salad for lunch the next day.  I find that this is a great way to save time and ensure healthy options for the next day.

Lastly, I am so lucky to have an awesome neighborhood restaurant nearby that serves salads, paninis and other great, healthy food.  This restaurant also delivers, and was a lifesaver in those early months after I had given birth to my daughter.  The food is fresh and there are no hidden ingredients.  I have become friendly with the owners, and am so grateful to have a healthy option nearby.

Despite my complete lack of meal planning and grocery lists, I am satisfied that I have found ways to ensure that making healthy choices is convenient.  These are just some of the things that have worked for me, but everyone has a different system.  I believe that we can all find way to make healthy eating more convenient, even if you are disorganized like me.   It just takes a bit of planning ahead.