You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces,
                                                     just good food from fresh ingredients
                                                                            Julia Child

Meal planning for evening meals and keeping everyone happy in the family can be frustrating.  You probably already know what your families likes and dislikes  concerning  meals that you prepare.   Often when we are rushed or haven't planned in advance you may choose quick unhealthy options or stop at the supermarket 3-4 times during your week picking up things you need.  You may be preparing different meals to keep everyone happy which can be a huge time waster,  or you may be throwing out food that doesn't get eaten.   Meal planning for your week may save you time and money,  it may help you to eat healthy nutritious  home cooked meals and make you feel more organised.  So here is one way you might like to try to meal plan in order to  cater for your families tastes and lifestyle.

When you have a moment to plan, put the jug on, make yourself a cup of tea and start by looking through your favourite recipe books or, online for suitable recipes for your family.    Ask the rest of the family to contribute their ideas to if they are old enough.  Pick out healthy home cooked unprocessed meals that everyone is happy with.   So if they want burgers or pizza find a healthy home made recipe option, if you eat vegetarian look for vegetarian options.    Start to make a collection of around 20 recipes under different evening meal categories such as:

Roast meals,  
Pasta dishes,
Stir fries,  
Curries,  
Pies,
Soups,  
Mexican dishes,
Home made burgers,  
Home made Pizzas,  
Quick meal options 15 minutes or less,
Favourite salads, 
Favourite vegetables etc...  

Write down the meal, cook book and page number, or  website as a future reference to find it quickly when you  need it.   Store this list somewhere you can access it easily when you come to do your planning for the week.   

If you can find  20 recipes, this will allow for around 4 weeks meal planning with a variety of different options you change around over the weeks.    When you go to plan out your week,  split up the types of meals you offer from the  categories, like,  pasta night,  Mexican night, etc.  Plan which nights need to be quick easy options and who will be there for dinner.   Select your meals based on the above then list the ingredients onto your shopping list from the recipes you have selected, to ensure when you go shopping you will get everything  you need to cook for the week.

Include side vegetables or salad ingredients  that you know everyone likes.  Leave salads disassembled  when you prepare them so that family members can make it themselves, choosing from the options on the plate that they like, or, keep family favourite frozen vegetables in the freezer as quick side options.

Double a couple of recipes for the week,  the extra can be frozen as quick meal options for the following weeks when you don't have time to prepare meals.

If you are cooking roast meats buy larger sizes in order to use extra meat for lunches during the week.  

If you have kids 3years +  ask them to contribute to choosing one favourite meal for the week or giving them a choice of 3 meals they can choose from.   Ask question like,  what would you like as your favourite pasta meal this week, spaghetti, mac cheese or lasagna?  What soup flavour would you like,  pumpkin or Chicken?  What vegetables would you like to have with your roast this week peas or beans?  If you where to try one new vegetable this week what would you choose?   Giving them choices and not to many options helps them to feel involved and in control of their eating.

Get others in the family involved in cooking one or more nights during the week,  if possible.  Anybody can cook if they are able to read a recipe.

Here is an example of an evening meal plan for the week.

                                                                    Dinner Meal Plan     

                       Meal                                   Sides/Veges             Evening Activities             Recipe Book Pg no
Monday         Stir Fry                                Quinoa/Rice             After school activities    
Tuesday        Pasta dish                          Vege/Salad              Dad cooking /Mum out                                                                                                
Wednesday  Mexican dish (double)      Vege/Salad
Thursday      Prepared meal in freezer                                    School meeting/defrost meal
Friday           Curry (double)                      Quinoa/Rice           
Saturday      Pizza                                      Vege/Salad            Molly staying over
                                                                                                      kids help make their own
Sunday        Roast Meal (double)             Vege/Salad           Dad & kids cookings
   

      Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1000 percent
                                                                     return on energy!
                                                                           Brian Tracy






                                         
 






 

Have you booked a holiday for later in the year?  Are you already feeling excited as you count down the days until its time to pack up and go?  Are you anticipating some time out to relax or taking time out to enjoy a good book?   Are you thinking about the time you can spend with your family or friends and the great things you are going to see and do?    Maybe you are reliving the holiday you had over Christmas in your mind and remembering all the awesome thing you did.

The anticipation of looking forward to something in the future or reliving the experience from the past may make you feel happy,  but why not relax, unwind, play have adventures every day or every week?     You can't necessarily go on holiday every week,  but you can book time out into  your days and weeks that you can look forward to.   

Having something to look forward to in the future keeps life exciting.  But having something to look forward to each day and living in the moment makes life more interesting, fullfilling  and keeps you from burning out.   Why not have mini breaks everyday, enjoy the moments, express, share and relive the highlights of your day with your friends and family.  Lighten the load and focus on the good stuff!

Often we focus on all the things we have to get done, all the places we have to be, all the people we have to keep happy.    How can you focus on creating some  time for yourself to  enjoy more of what makes you happy?  

If you are thinking I just don't have the time.  Ask yourself is your happiness and health a priority to you?
Health is wealth, without your health you will have all the time in the world but won't be able to do the things you love.  So make your health and happiness a priority, make time for yourself and don't wait until your next holiday to relax, unwind, play, have an adventure or enjoy the things you love. 

What has been the highlight for you this week?
What moments do you want to retell, relive and share with someone?
What are you looking forward to tomorrow or next week?
Whats one thing that you enjoy doing or somewhere you would like to go or experience in the coming weeks? 
How can you schedule some time  into your day to do something just for you that makes you happy?












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 For breakfast, or around 3pm in the afternoon when you may feel low in energy try a super food smoothie to pick you up and give you that energy kick you need.  So simple,  quick and easy and full of nutrients that your body needs to provide you with energy to be the super mum you are. That is super mum, as in  a great mum, defined by your values, not super mum as in gets everything done perfectly and keeps everyone happy all the time. (Like unicorns  these mum's don't exist.)

Here is a base recipe for you to try there are so many options out there but you can change this one up to fit with your tastes.   Observe how you feel before you drink it and 1/2 an hour after.  Do you notice a difference in your mood and energy levels?

General formula for making a green energy boosting  super food smoothie
2-3 cups of greens           +             ½ -1 cups of berries         +            1-2 cups of liquid
Use any leafy greens        +             ½-1 banana for sweetener          milks, water, coconut water         
Other greens                                                                                                                    
Broccoli
Cucumber
Celery
 
Flavor helpers – to mask the leafy green if you find the flavor to strong
Cinnamon – vanilla – raw cacao – fresh ginger – lime juice – lemon juice – fresh mint leaves
Add any extra energy boosting super food powders below
 
Super foods are now one of the biggest health trends in NZ.   However, its my personal belief that you do not need to eat super foods that have been packaged or bought in from the other side of the world.  There are many super foods that you can grow yourself in your back garden, or, buy from your local supermarket or vege store.   Packaged super foods just give you a convenient option and some  aren’t grown in NZ. 

Here is a recipe using the base above that may help you to feel like a super mum with nutrients  your body can use to help you be energized.
 
Green smoothie (mixed in a high speed blender)
½ banana (I keep frozen bananas in the freezer)
½ cup of blueberries, raspberries or mixed berries (super foods)(I keep frozen)
1 cup or large handful of spinach, kale, silverbeet, leafy parsley, broccoli (any green leafy vegetables) (all superfoods)
1 stick of celery
½ cup cucumber
2 cups of coconut water or water (coconut water is a super food, you can buy it powdered and add water)
You could add extra packaged super foods for extra energy boosting.

So what makes a food a super food?  It is a food that contains the highest nutrient levels for its density and the least negative properties such as saturated fat and salt.  It is a wholefood (not processed or very little processing,) usually picked straight from a tree or plucked from the ground.  It has a food synergy, which means, it has two or more nutrients that work together to achieve a health benefit.  On their own the nutrients couldn’t achieve the same result.  A super food is simple, simple to eat and needs no or little preparation to eat it and has a positive effect on your health.

Packaged powdered super foods specially good for increasing energy (add to smoothies or other recipes) are
Maca  -  Spriullina  -  Cacao - Beetroot – Berries – Greens - Matcha green tea

Convenient super food option
This is a good emergency option when you need a quick energy boost but don’t have the fruits or vegetables, blender, or in the right place to mix up a smoothie.    
Simply have a green packaged super food mix available in your cupboard at home or leave one at work, or take one with you when you are traveling.  Mix with water or milk, or coconut water.   You won’t need a blender just a shaker or stir well.  (Some taste better than other it’s a personal taste preference.) 

Are you procrastinating and just not feeling motivated to get back into work or start on your health goals for the year? 

You might think you know what you want to be doing but you keep delaying or postponing getting started.  You might be thinking, i'll start tomorrow when i'm feeling more motivated, have more energy or more time to think about it.   However when tomorrow comes  you still don't feel  motivated, have the energy or the time  and something else distracts you again.

Procrastination is the habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.
Napoleon Hill

So why does this happen and how can you get motivated to start?

Often we are planning  our future in our head, thinking about goals, thinking about what life could be like if we just had the time, motivation or energy.  You can see the value in taking action and can see the long term benefits, however,  you are being distracted in the present moment by the things that come up everyday, or, maybe give you instant gratification.

You may want to cook healthier meals at home but you are rushed and tired and it's easier to pick up takeaways or buy processed food.    Or,  you would like to exercise regularly but  sitting down and relaxing with a glass of wine at the end of the day seems more enticing.   You know you should be more prepared before going into work meetings, but you get distracted by other tasks so you continue to feel more pressured and disorganised in the meetings.

Taking action is the key!  Motivation often grows once you make a start not before.  You need to take some kind of action in order to start to feel motivated and the momentum can grow from there.   The energy often follows especially when making health changes and when you know clearly what the real reason is behind why its important for you,  you will find the time because it will become a priority.

Here are some strategies that may help you to stop procrastinating and help you to take some action to get you started and get you feeling motivated. 

Make starting easier!

If you are setting new goals or starting new behaviours start small.   Don't make your goals so big that they seem to hard.   Keep it simple!

For example, if you want to cut back on coffee and are currently drinking 6 cups a day.  Break the goal down into steps over a series of weeks.  You are more likely to succeed and create a lasting behavioural change.

Step 1:   Buy tea bags, or water bottle this week
Step 2:   Drink 1 cup of herbal tea  at lunch time instead of coffee this week
Step 3:   Drink 1cup of herbal tea for breakfast and one cup of herbal tea with lunch next week
continue.....

Prioritise and remove distractions!

If you starting back at work and are feeling overwhelmed by the work load after having a break,  make a list of the 5-6 top priority items and then prioritise them from 1-6.   Break your priority tasks down into smaller steps and start with the first step.    As distractions come up ignore them, or if you can't ignore them, deal with them, then return to your top priority item and the step you are up to until that task  is completed.  Then continue through your list repeating the steps. 

Break your day up into blocks of time and focus on one task at a time, remembering to take breaks after 90-120 minutes of concentration.  Set an alarm to remind yourself to take breaks.  At the end of your day re-organise your list so you can start again tomorrow focusing on your 5-6 top priority task to be completed in your day.   Distractions are likely to happen, but if you can remain focused and keep bringing yourself back to one task at a time in priority order,  you will feel more productive and achieve more over the course of the week.


Reward yourself in the present time

You can increase the likely hood of getting started by rewarding yourself in the present moment for taking action  that will benefit you in the future.  

I will meet up with a friend for coffee at 11am after I have focused on writing my proposal for 90 minutes. 

I will take the family to the movies tonight with the money I have saved from not buying takeaways. 

I will buy a funky new pair of walking shoes so I can walk to and from the train every day and exercise for 40 minutes rather than take the car.

Consequences!

You can also make the consequences of procrastinating more immediate in the present moment.  Think about what the outcome will be if you don't start today.

If I get that fatty takeaway I'm going to get heartburn again and not feel well.
If I don't exercise today I'm not going to sleep well tonight.
If I don't go to bed by 10pm, i'm going to be so tired and won't be at my best for my meeting with my boss.
If I keep answering the phone and replying to text, I'm not going to get my proposal finished in time and might disappoint the customer.

Change up your environment!

If you are trying to start a new habit or behaviour it can be useful to change your environment in order to encourage that behaviour.  If you are wanting to eat healthier make sure you have plenty of healthy food options in your home, lunchbox, car, or office.    If you are wanting to drink more water, buy a drink bottle and carry it with you wherever you go.    If you want to wake up earlier to get more organised set an alarm clock and put it on the other side of the room so you have to get up when it goes off.  If you want to stop drinking coffee first thing in the morning,  put out the tea cup and herbal tea bags next to the jug and remove the coffee machine.  If you need to focus more at work, turn off your phone or remove Facebook and text alarms, or other distractions.

If you commit to nothing you will be distracted by everything.  So knowing clearly what it is you are wanting to achieve, and why its important to you will make it easier to get started.  Taking  some small first steps and actions  will help create your momentum and get you feeling motivated.  

Having set backs is normal when you are getting started or changing behaviours.  Having a clear plan with clear strategies and someone to be  accountable to and  support you through change will help you stay on track.    

I would love to work with you as your wellness coach and help you to achieve your goals!
Ring today to book your FREE no obligation discovery session to discuss your current challenges!
Ph 0274773025
email info@wellnesscoach.co.nz

"Living your health and wellness lifestyle"

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