Many of us leave something to be desired when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. We love excuses, and one of our favorites is ‘’I’m too busy.’’ Too busy to eat right, too busy to exercise, too busy to go to the grocery store, too busy to cook. Well, I am here to give you a little kick in the behind—you are never too busy to be healthy. It is not about becoming perfect, it is about making good choices most of the time. A commitment to preparing more meals at home can make a significant difference in your health, and shift your eating habits from bad to good, or at least better. As someone who used to tout the ‘’busy’’ excuse as a reason why I relied on take-out and chemical-laden convenience products, here are some ways I kicked this bad habit and became the healthy eater I am today. Make a Plan It is amazing how much power the simple act of writing something down has in actually making you do the thing you are putting to paper. It sets an intention that you are more likely to follow through on. This applies to everything from clarifying your life purpose to planning your meals for the week. When I made the decision to eat healthier, no excuses, the first thing I did was write out a list of meals I wanted to prepare for the week. Then I took this list to the grocery store and bought everything I needed in one shot. You do not necessarily have to make a new dish each night—soups, stews or casseroles can be made into a few meals that can carry you through a few days. Stock the House Having nothing in the house is a great way to justify ordering pizza for the third time that week; you are tired after a long day, and there is not a morsel to eat. You have been really busy and you have not ‘’had time’’ to go to the supermarket. The solution to this problem is to stock your home with some long-lasting items that can serve as the basis of a healthy meal. So, if you fall a bit off track with your weekly meal planning, there is always something on hand to throw together. Get some pasta, sauces, beans, frozen vegetables, vegetables that keep for awhile, such as onions and potatoes,rice and anything else that strikes your fancy. When I started keeping these types of foods in my home, I drastically cut back on pizza and other take-out foods. My desire to eat healthy was more easily indulged when it was easier for me to do so. Set Aside Prep Time It has been a long day and you are tired—you are not in the mood for chopping vegetables or making the pasta sauce. You are starving and do not want to wait 45 minutes for the rice to cook. You can avoid this problem by batching together your prep activities into a couple of hours on a Sunday. Then when it comes time to actually cook, you have very little to do. Chop up all the vegetables you may need; prepare the casserole; make the pasta sauce; boil the rice; make the soup stock. You will be in ‘’cooking’ mode and get everything done much more quickly than you anticipate. About the Author:Kelli Cooper is a freelance writer who blogs about all things food and cooking. She is a big fan of Cilantro the Cooks Shop for their great cookware and other products. Photo Credit Google+
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