Healthy Meal
Prepping Easier
Healthfully Beautiful
5 Tools That Will Make Healthy Meal-Prepping Easier
Eating healthy and sticking to it every day can definitely be challenging especially if you lead a busy life. It takes commitment, it takes the desire to truly better yourself (even in times of weakness), and it takes time. It is not at all about deprivation, it’s about nurturing your body, giving it the vitamins and nutrients it craves to run properly, and staying away from things that are detrimental to your health such as artificial sugars which are in most processed foods and deplete your body of nutrients. This means making a lot of food yourself so that you know what exactly is going into it and you can control what is not going into it. A busy lifestyle requires a lot of planning and a lot of preparing food in advance to ensure you stay on track and always have something healthy and nutritious readily available to you for every meal. This is where these five tools come in. They have all helped me immensely, saved me a lot of time, and I use and rely on each of them every single day. On the path to a healthier, happier, and more beautiful you (both inside and out) you can always use a little help and definitely a lot of time saving tricks. Here are five tools that will help you on your daily journey towards a healthier you.
A Blender- This is probably my most used tool in my kitchen. I use it for juicing, I use it for smoothies, and I use it for protein shakes. It is really difficult to sit down and eat a full cup of spinach and a full cup of kale all at once. I know I cannot do it, and I definitely couldn’t do it with out adding some dressing for taste. But when I blend them with water in my blender to create a green juice and add other tasty and beneficial ingredients such as lemon juice I have a delicious green juice that I can drink and skip the digestion to ensure the nutrients are fully delivered straight into my system for optimal benefits. It is easy to add several ingredients to your green juice that are hugely beneficial to your health, beauty, and overall well being. Most people do not eat the recommended serving of fruits and veggies per day, but once you start blending them into an easy to digest juice it becomes super easy to get the recommended serving per day and then some. You will start to really feel the benefits of giving your body the vitamins and nutrients it needs daily by gaining more energy and focus, healthier skin nails and hair, easier digestion and a faster metabolism, less hunger and sugar cravings, better hydration, and better sleep. Juicing is one of the best things you can do for yourself and for your health, and a blender makes it extremely easy.
Glass Jars- Glass Jars are super inexpensive and accessible (I get mine right at Target). They also really help when food prepping because they keep your food fresh for longer because glass is much more airtight. Glass is also much safer than plastic tupperware which can sometimes contain toxic chemicals like BPA which can leak into your food, not to mention how bad plastic is for the environment. Glass does much better with heat and cold as well, this means you can put hot food into them, you can freeze them, and you can put them into the dishwasher to save yourself some cleaning time. They are really great for storing green juices because they’re the perfect size, keep the juice fresh and you can just drink right out of the cool glass which is quick and easy if you are in a hurry and it is also refreshing. They’re also great for holding lunches or meals that you have prepped in advance. If you are beginning a healthier diet or even if you are already living healthfully but lead a very busy life, food prepping is something that will save you a ton of time and make your life much easier. I know first hand as someone who works full time with very little free time on weekdays it is usually not easy to find something healthy for takeout or find the time to cook everyday. This is where prepping salads or meals in jars for lunch that I can just grab on the go and juices in jars that I can just grab and drink in the morning while I get ready really saves me time and helps me to stay true to my healthy lifestyle.
A Food Processor- Speaking of food prep, a food processor will help to make your time prepping food much easier by doing all of the chopping for you. It also come in handy with making your own sauces or purees like pesto or even homemade hummus. When I am making salads for lunch I like to add many different veggies as toppings such as red peppers, carrots, cucumbers, celery etc. but when I was doing all of the chopping myself for multiple days of lunches it would take forever. Having a food processor has cut down my food prepping time and just my cooking time in general by instantly chopping anything that I need to be chopped.
A Juicer- I prefer the small hand held one. I got mine at Target for under 10 dollars. It is really beneficial for you to add lemon juice to your green juices, and I even add it to homemade salad dressings. This juicer ensures you get all of the juice, and none of the seeds, because even one seed could make a green juice taste really bitter. It is also highly recommended that you begin each day by immediately drinking a warm lemon water. This will speed up your metabolism and kickstart your body’s detoxification process. I use my juicer each morning to squeeze the juice from half a lemon to add to my warm water. I find the small handheld one to be much quicker than using an actual Juicer, and easier to clean.
Reusable Water Bottles- Like I mentioned before plastic that is not BPA free is harmful to you and to the environment so it is much better to stick with safe and reusable water bottles. These are essential, because you need to make sure you are drinking enough water everyday. You can figure out the minimum amount of water you need per day by dividing your body weight in half and that is how many fluid ounces of water you need per day. Water will help flush out any toxins along with make your skin look much more healthy and hydrated amongst other things. Water truly is so important for anyone looking to optimize their health and beauty. You will also need portable bottles for when you are on the go to transport your juices and shakes. This is another thing I do to save time, and using a metal bottle like my Yeti ensures the liquid stays cold for hours. If I don’t have time to enjoy a healthy vitamin filled protein shake in the morning I simple just take it on the go with me and enjoy it once I am at my desk. If you are someone who doesn’t have time for breakfast, making a shake is a really easy way to still have a vitamin packed breakfast that you don’t need to sit for a long period of time to enjoy. I like to add spinach, chia seeds, and a little cacao to my Vega vegan protein powder to up my vitamin intake but you can customize yours to add whatever you’d like depending on what vitamins you are in need of and what you are looking to achieve.
When it comes to clean cooking I am all about convenience and time saving tips so that there are no excuses to not eat healthy! The above 5 things all save me time, and have helped me to be easily and conveniently be healthy everyday. Weather you are just starting out on your health journey and need guidance or you are just looking for some time saving tips, implementing these five tools will most definitely be beneficial to your life and help you to optimize your nutrition on a daily basis.