Healthy Living Tips: Planning Ahead

At the beginning of the year, I bought a marker board and it changed my life. True story. I have everything in one place--my meal plan for that week, grocery needs that come up so I don't forget to put them on my main list, upcoming events, etc, etc. I'm learning that to eat the way I want and need to, it doesn't just happen. I have to plan out how my week will go.
 For instance, I have music practice once a week on Tuesdays at 6:00pm. That means I have to be out the door with the kids at 5:30 and this interferes with us eating dinner at a normal time. If I wait until afterwards, I'll be starving and tempted to pull through a fast food drive-through and blow it on a burger and fries. So Tuesdays is my Crockpot or soup day. I make a meal in the morning and it either cooks in the crockpot or simmers on the stove all day. That evening, we'll eat a little earlier than normal but this way I know dinner will be ready, I can get out the door when I need to and stick to the food that I want to eat.
 Sunday's are the same way. We eat a big lunch after church and then leave for the evening service around 5:00. At that time, I'm not hungry, but after church I'm famished and more than willing to eat the first thing that comes along! So I've started snacking on the way to church. It might be veggies and dip, fruit and some cheese or crackers with peanut butter. It's always small, but it's something to curb the hunger so after church I can eat a normal sized meal rather than gorging on everything in sight. ;)
 Eating and living a healthy lifestyle is not always convenient. It's way too easy to grab pre-packaged, processed foods to snack on or run through a drive-through and have a meal in 1.8 minutes. Making a well rounded, nourishing meal takes planning and time, but if we are willing to think and plan ahead, it will be well worth it in the end!