Let me tell you something- I HATE cooking!!
Yes, you read that subject line right… I am a dietitian and I hate cooking!
People ask me all the time for recipes, meal ideas, meal prep options and I cringe because I am the WORST when it comes to taking the “time” to build out healthy meals and look at recipes. I am all about SIMPLE options! I am talking about bagged salads, rotisserie chickens, 90 second rice packets, etc. Anything I can microwave and throw together in <5 minutes. You know why? Because to me, there are so many other things in life to worry about than what I am eating.
So you are probably wondering… how do you stay on top of your nutrition and health when you don’t like to cook?
#1 piece of advice I can give you is that I mitigate the need to make decisions about food during my week.
I am too focused on being a mom, wife, and business owner M-F to care about my food choices.
So, what do I do then? This is my strategy:
- I spend Thursday’s meal planning my following week. I write out what I am going to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
- I create my grocery list and have my groceries delivered on Friday or Saturday morning.
- I meal prep or bulk cook a couple items on the weekend OR make sure I have “bulk” easy healthy items on hand (for ex: store bought hard boiled eggs, bagged salads, rotisserie chicken, can of black beans). A lot of times I purposely make Sunday dinner something I can make a bunch of (crockpot meal, sheet pan, etc.) so we have leftovers for lunch until Wednesday. I also always cook extra at dinner!
- I accommodate my “meal prep” and meals to fit my schedule. I will spell out if I need a quick option or if I have time to cook.
- I sit the morning of or night before and put in the note section of my phone what I am going to eat the next day. I brain dump it all out before the day starts so I don't have to make any choices throughout the day.
This may sound like a lot but I am literally making 1 decision before the day starts vs a million during my day!
IT IS SAVING ME TIME!
There is a statistic out there… and don't quote me on this....but it says something along the lines of for every 1 minute of prep you save 6 minutes during your week. I am all about saving time and energy in places that don't fill up my cup- what about you?
Want to learn how to save time, mental energy, and get extremely consistent with your nutrition? The Gray30 will walk you through my 4 step Gray Method to make you extremely prepared without all the extra stress!
-Emily