Do It Anyway!

My friends and I went to Jungle Jims this weekend to explore all the healthy foods we could not get at our typical chain stores. Oh, that is another post! I have pictures and plenty to share on that later this week! I ended up with food from Jungle Jims and since they are more expensive on organics than Kroger I also had to go Krogering yesterday after my son's basketball game. Now, keep in mind my son had basketball and we had to leave at 1:15. We got back at 5:00 and he had baseball practice from 6-8! Our typical lifestyle plan would have been to run through the drive thru at some fast food place and we all would have sucked down a ton of calories, cholesterol, and fat. I am committed to this lifestyle change so I knew I had to have something ready when we got home. I did not "feel" like doing it before his game but I did it anyway. I decided on putting baked potatoes in my slow cooker. I have two slow cookers so in the other I put in asparagus and mushrooms. Which by the way is my new favorite veggie combo! YUM! I had some cut up honeydew in the fridge and that was dessert. I will tell you when I came home I was so glad it was ready for us to eat! I had ran to Kroger so I had produce everywhere in my kitchen! My fridge was a hot mess! I just tossed in all the produce bags. We ate dinner and it was great. Although I was not feeling like making it earlier, I was so relieved it was ready when we got home. I loved that feeling afterward. I love watching my son be able to be excited to go from basketball to baseball and have seen a new energy in him. Parents of the basketball team were even asking me what we were doing with him because he has slimmed down and has become a lot faster. He was not over weight but he is down 5lbs. He is a big boy by nature it has done him good to lose a little. It has increased his energy, sports ability, & his overall health! 

My husband took him to baseball and I was left with all this on the counter & island, not to mention a hot mess in the fridge which I refuse to show you....

It was Sunday and I just wanted to have a glass of wine and read my new book. I was in no mood to clean out the fridge let alone try and figure out what the heck I was going to do with all this food! I remembered how good it felt to have had dinner ready after basketball. I knew what our crazy week was ahead. With me working, kids having homework, basketball, baseball, and gymnastics. My daughter and I are also taking a yoga class 2 nights a week, & my husband coaching high school basketball tournaments. I would be stressing myself out all week trying to clean and prepare our dinners, & the kids lunches with my kitchen the way it was. I knew I would feel better this entire week if I just did it now. Even though I was sacrificing my Sunday evening I knew it would give me peace through the week. So I began washing, chopping, & getting things done. I took EVERYTHING out of my fridge cleaned it & began planning. 

Some tips and tricks I did that will save time this week....

I washed & chopped up my veggies & herbs for my minestrone soup & placed in freezer bag. I will put in slow cooker later this week. It's ready to be tossed in. I will add broth, beans, turn it on low & dinner will be ready when we are without the hassle!

Washed & cut the strawberries and placed back in the original container I washed out. Now they are ready for me to toss in kids lunch boxes this week!

Washed up all the produce and placed in bags so they are ready to go! Saves me a lot of time during the week night. I also juice so I placed my juicing veggies in a separate bag labeled juice! I can find everything easier in these clear bags and they take up less space in the fridge. They are washed and ready to be tossed in my juicer or a salad, or in a dish for dinner!

 

 

I had a lot of fruit so I decided to prepare the watermelon, honeydew, blueberries, & mango's as a fruit salad in this awesome BPA free container. It is ready for desserts or to toss in kids lunches! It also took way less space in my fridge this way!

 

 

My finished fridge with all my healthy foods ready to go for the week! Man it feels good to have done this!

I washed apples & pears and placed them with the oranges in a container. The rule in our house is that the kids can have fruit and veggies at anytime and never have to ask. They are ready for them to grab when they get hungry. I also have to mention that I find the canning mason jars so handy for so many things. Saving space & keeping things fresh for one! They are perfect for tomatoes, blueberries, juice, salsa, etc. We eat a lot of produce so I don't can them we eat them too fast but for storing and keeping fresh until we do I have found them to be amazing! 

It took me 2 hours to clean out my fridge, wash, chop, plan and put away everything. It sounds like a lot & trust me I was NOT wanting to do it, especially on a Sunday after a busy weekend. I am however, so glad I did. I am fully committed to this lifestyle and sacrificing 2 hours on a Sunday was not really that big of a deal when I think of all the stress it will prevent me during weeknight dinners. Everything is ready to go & all I have to do is prepare it. It's like my old quick boxed or frozen meals I would go to when I was in a hurry only they are full of complete nutrition for me and my family. Healthy food does not have to take a ton of time and a lot of stress just some planning and dedication!

Hope these ideas help you a little with your weeknight dinners. Mom's never get much of a break so let's make it easier on us and take that extra down time we rarely get to plan ahead knowing it will give us more extra time in the long run & less stress. We never really feel like doing it but tell yourself to do it anyway! Tonight after dinner I am going to have that glass of wine & read my book. After all I feel I deserve it!