Time-Saving Tips for Whole Foods
Time-Saving Tips for Whole Foods
Let’s face it. Most people are busy. They work at least eight hours per day and sleep another eight hours. That leaves at most eight hours of free time per day during the work week. When you think about it that isn’t a lot of time. Unfortunately one of the things that discourages people from following a whole foods diet is the fear that preparing food from scratch will take too much time. While it does take time to prepare food from scratch, you can minimize the preparation time with a few simple tricks.
The most important time saving tip when you are using whole foods is to plan ahead. Before you go grocery shopping make a meal plan. If you are really pressed for time then plan for meals that go together quickly. Some people find that they have success with creating a 14 or 28 day meal plan and simply rotating through it. For other people this is not enough variety or creativity. Whether or not that works for you, you should have at least one week of meals in mind when you go grocery shopping. Try to base your meal plan on produce that is in season and on sale as this will help to keep your costs down and provide natural variety. Choosing meals that have similar ingredients also will mean less preparation time when you get home.
After you have planned your meals and gone grocery shopping, do as much of your preparation as possible at one time. Chop carrots, onions, and other vegetables and store them in containers or plastic bags. Wash fruit and chop or wash lettuce. Hard boil and peel a few eggs. If you are planning several meals with beans soak and cook a batch of beans during the weekend and use them during the week. You can even freeze cooked beans in plastic bags and defrost them again when you are ready to use them. Using just a few of these tips will help to minimize your preparation time while still allowing you to maintain a whole foods diet.