Making Eating Well Easier
Eating well requires doing some work.
I currently live out of a car while also living part-time at a woman’s home I give support to. At the woman’s home, I am able to use her kitchen space and utensils. I use the kitchen during some morning and evening hours, so I prepare what I can when I have the time. That way, packing meals in the morning is less time consuming (more efficient).
I pack food to eat every day, and I pack nutrient dense meals, not snacks. This way, I am ready to eat, no matter where I am, and before hunger arrives.
On Fridays, I have a routine of attending the local farmer’s market and purchasing vegetables, usually a lot of greens that I eat throughout a week. In the evening after the market, I return to the woman’s home. I use my Friday evenings to wash, cut up, and store the greens. Doing this allows the greens to be ready to pack each morning.
Another practice I have, that assists me in having foods ready, is to cook food (such as meat, potatoes, or beans) overnight in a crockpot. The woman has a small table on her covered lanai (patio) where a medium-sized crockpot can safely sit. I use the kitchen counter to place the items in the crockpot. Then, I carry the crockpot outside, put it on the table, plug it in, and turn on the crockpot to the temperature I desire (usually high). The crockpot cooks the food overnight. In the morning when I’m ready, I place the food in different containers: a day container, a refrigerator container, and a freezer container.
I also prepare other foods that enable me to create nutrient dense meals quicker and easier. I make hard boiled eggs using 6-12 eggs at a time; I freeze coconut meat, bananas, and other fruits to use in smoothies; I slice a new whole bread loaf and then freeze it; I cook oatmeal with fruit and nuts and enough for a week; I cook mini omelets and freeze them to put on toast, roll up in tortillas, or add to something else.
What is the result of having food cooked ahead of time? The result is I don’t have to cook every time I am ready to eat. I intentionally eat about 3 times a day, yet I only spend one designated time in the kitchen assembling the food. The “time consuming work” to cook food is done at different convenient times throughout the week, and I cook enough for multiple meals.
I have not always been as efficient as I am now with food. But my life experiences have shown me how I can give the body nutrients while being flexible with cooking situations, purchasing food, and living life differently.
Eating well doesn’t require cooking all the time. Eating well requires intentional cooking and ready nutrient dense food.
Welcome to meal prep. 😂
Stacy 🌺
https://youtube.com/shorts/QvZn8H7lGR4
I share my experiences and my perspective. Eating and healing look different for everyone. If you are struggling with food or your relationship with your body, please find support. You don’t have to do this alone.