Sometimes the day, week, month, or even year just seem to fly by. We still have 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, but sometimes it doesn't seem like enough. When it comes to efficient use of time or looking at your productivity, you may find that you've spent 20 hours in front of the television or looking on the internet and not even realized it. Make the moments count by finding time to care for yourself too!
I wanted to speak about time since a lack of it is often a barrier (or excuse) as to why people are eating out more often or eating less healthy items. Yes, I can understand that you don't have to do the dishes when you go out, but why not make that a group/family activity and talk about your day, or use one of the modern conveniences such as a dishwasher to help you out. We've lost the family meal and sitting down together to enjoy it. I know we're busy, but this is important to our health in so many ways - the choices, the conversation, and the skills that get passed on.
And keep in mind that healthy doesn't have to mean that it takes hours or all day to cook. There are many healthy meals and snacks that come together in minutes. To help speed things along (if that's important to you), you can even do some of the prep work ahead of time. I often have a few meals going at once when I find time to be in the kitchen - last night for example, we roasted pork tenderloin and veggies (for lunch today and tomorrow) while putting together a black bean/quinoa/vegetable dish, and cooking our supper of eggs for sandwiches with a variety of vegetables. That will get us through a few days that we may be busier and means that we have the option to heat up leftovers instead of cooking from scratch at every meal. Take advantage of the time - while you're cooking your entree you can chop veggies for snacks, or throw together a vegetable frittata, or put on the rice cooker and use leftovers from tonight in a stir fry tomorrow.
Big batching it and making a few meals in one go is something I consistently do to help us eat at home more, have lunches for work, and have time to spend together (in and out of the kitchen).
What are your time saving techniques?
Enjoy each moment,
Steph Langdon, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com
