Planning and Lunches

Yup, I'm a believer in planning. I think we can generally be wayyy more productive, successful with less effort with proper planning. What?

OK, so for the past month I have gained a tad. Not a lot, but continuing down this road of 'winging it' would eventually lead to not-so-good habits. What does lead to success is a half hour of half-ass penmanship while half watching 'Doctor Who' and half talking to my mother. What I did get was a meal plan for the week, a grocery list of items needed to get through the week, and lunch ideas for the girls.

How does this help:
1) I buy from my grocery list and don't have 'temptations' in the house.
2) I save money by not buying more than I need for the week.
3) I have the food I need to eat healthy.
4) I have everything I need to quickly prep meals, snacks and lunches quickly - saving time and energy throughout the week.

Just think what could be accomplished by planning in other areas of life. If you're not a planner (I never was) I highly recommend trying this out for a week or so. I don't plan cumbersome meals - I work and have small children. Today my lunch is 6pts, consisting of low fat chicken meatballs, rice, frozen vegetables and barbeque sauce.

As prep work, I tend to cook my rice in bulk - 2 days worth in the fridge and freeze the rest in serving sizes. Keep in mind that the frozen food manufacturers freeze cooked meat - so can you. It's easier to toss a 3oz cut of frozen chicken or steak into your lunch bag if it's been cooked within the past week or so than if it hasn't been cooked at all. I also tend to have a couple of frozen dinners on hand, but use them for emergencies vs. a staple.

For non-microwavable options, there's always sandwiches - yum. And a thermos of...just about anything you want to keep warm. Also, tuna (or other canned meat) mixed with mustard and/or mayo in a small container pops nicely on top of a rice cake. Amonds and an apple, whole wheat crackers with cheese and a bit of jelly, or a container of frozen fruit.

In order to facilitate all of this, I invest in 1/2C and 1C plastic containers and also pack a resealable baggie with plastic utensils and splenda packets and anything else I may need. I've also boughten good thermoses for my girls and sugar packets for their lunch boxes. A great lunch desert for them is a small container of strawberries that have spent the morning thawing topped with some sugar.