Healthy Eating in a Busy World

Is one of your resolutions to eat healthier? So is mine! And 40 of my friends have pledged to try eating clean with me this January. I hope you will join me, too! Keep reading to learn how to eat clean-- despite everything else in life that may attempt to sabotage you.

I have chosen to eat clean for the entire month of January 2014. Now, I really want to eat clean the entire year of 2014, but I am trying to be realistic and take small steps.

Let's get a few things cleared up. I am NOT one of those people who cooks a full course meal every night and serves it to a happy family while we all gather around the table. I am NOT the person who shops at six different stores, taking advantage of coupons and sales and club cards. I am your typical military spouse: I have two kids, ages 3 and 5, a husband who occasionally works shift work. I have a part-time job working full-time days. I volunteer at least 10 hours a week; I exercise, I read, and I love my quiet time. But I can still feed my family healthy, unprocessed, clean foods for the month within our budget and without increasing my blood pressure. How? Let me share. Step 1: Define what your clean eating is going to look like. Some people follow the Whole 30 plan, others go gluten-free or dairy-free. The latest "fad" is Paleo. Chose what you want and how you want to do it. I go Paleo with a small amount of dairy. Chose what is important to you. Step 2: Plan your meals. You can use a website that plans for you, or scour Pinterest and the internet for recipes. I use a combination. I like Onceamonthmeals.com for planning. For a basic membership at $10 a month, they give you the recipes, the shopping list, the prep list, the directions, and even labels. You cook 3 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 8 dinners. If you upgrade to the $16 a month membership, you can swap out different portions of the meals and create your own recipe. Then you select how many people you are cooking for, and the spreadsheet does the math for how much of each ingredient you need. You make each meal twice, so you end up with 6 breakfasts, 8 lunches, and 16 dinners. For us, that's usually ⅔ of the month. For free ideas, you can use the recipes on Once a Month Meals. You only have access to the recipes only, not the shopping lists or portion calculator. Pinterest is a great place to find clean eating recipes. PaleOMG.com and whole9life.com have lists and ideas and recipes as well. Simply pick the ones you want to try and make one large list. You can do this for any time period you choose. Step 3: Grocery shop. I generally buy my meats once every few months from Costco, as well as anything else I can use in bulk. Its a 75+ minute trip home from Costco, so I pack my cooler and don't buy anything frozen. I try to buy my produce at one place, usually a store in town or, if I'm really lucky, Market on the Move or Bountiful Baskets. Market on the Move brings fresh produce to local areas for a donation of $10. Most people walk away with about 60lbs of produce. (It's a great place to volunteer as well.) Bountiful Baskets is very similar to community supported agriculture. For $15 you can get their seasonal basket. 50% vegetables and 50% fruits. If you can plan your menu around the produce you get at either place, then you are set! For everything else (or if I'm in a hurry) I hit the commissary. I try to shop the day before I do my prep. It's just too much to do everything in one day. Step 4: Prep food. I am a HUGE fan of my crock pot. Today I prepared 7 meals in the course of an hour for my crockpot. Chop veggies, add broth, divide meat, etc. There are some meals which require actually cooking on prep day, and I usually save them for last. The more food I can get out of the fridge and pantry and into the freezer the more accomplished I feel. Of course, if I have something that cooks for an hour, I can pop that in and then prep a few more meals. Label them, with any additional directions, and put them in your freezer. Crockpot Disclaimer: I use my crockpot because it is easier for me. I have 3 of them and it's an easy clean-up. Not all of these recipes are made in the crockpot. You can always choose things for the stove-top or the oven. I have a programmable crockpot and it works for me because when I do work, I work from 8am to 4pm, so by the time I get home dinner is done. No work for me that day. Find what works for you and explore your options. Maybe your local family assistance center/lending closet has a crockpot you can borrow to try out. Step 5: Remember to take things out of the freezer. My biggest downfall is forgetting to take something out the night before so it can thaw. But I'm getting better. On top of my planned and labeled meals, I always keep some ready to assemble meals frozen. Ground beef that I've already browned and seasoned with taco seasonings. Beef for stir-fry as well as a separate bag of sliced peppers and onions. Lots of bags of frozen broccoli, as it compliments any meal. I have already prepared my January meals list. I am going to go shopping between Christmas and New Years and have everything ready to go for my kick-off to clean eating on January 1st. My husband is completely on board with this clean eating, and my kids are pretty good eaters for being so young. Having food on hand in the freezer is the biggest saving grace of the busy lives we all lead. Still think I'm crazy? Try this for one week. Prep 5-6 dinners. See how much extra time you have and how calm your evenings can be. Just try it. You'll love it. And for more information about shopping at the commissary for clean food, check out this article! Give Military Spouse A Like