I try to eat healthy, I really do.
Each week I load up my shopping cart with healthy fruits and veggies. I look at ingredients lists and try to make the best choices of food for my family.
As I check out, I’m quite proud of my purchases and I feel good about how well I feed my family.
However….
Each week, I clean out our fridge and throw out most of the same produce that I so proudly bought the week before.
As I do this, I wonder why in the heck I we didn’t eat all this great stuff?! It feels like I’m throwing money away, and that hurts.
I get frustrated because I menu plan and I know what veggies we need for each dinner. However, it’s not the veggies for dinner that I don’t cook, it’s the rest of the produce that I think we’ll eat for lunches or snacks that go uneaten.
I can’t tell you how many bags of grapes I throw away each month, it makes me sick. And, my kids LOVE grapes. Why aren’t we eating them?!
The Light-bulb Moment
I was over at a friend’s house for a playdate and lunch a few months ago.
As we’re talking and preparing our lunches, she pulls out a gallon size bag of cut up carrot strips and puts a handful on each plate. Then, she pulls out another gallon bag of grapes that have been taken off the stems, washed, and are ready to eat. She grabs another handful of those and puts them on each of our plates.
Instantly, we have healthy sandwiches, with two sides of fresh produce. No peeling, no cutting, no washing required.
I tried to listen to what my friend was saying, but I was too awestruck by what I was seeing.
She’s already done the prepwork. She’s actually feeding her family the same fruits and veggies I buy and then throw away.
My friend has figured it out!
Do the prep first!
Over the past month, I’ve been taking a maximum of one hour a week, and prepping all my produce.
I wash, chop, peel, and refrigerate all our produce. They even have their own separate drawer from the veggies used for dinner.
Let em tell you, it has changed the away my family eats…and so much more!
Snacks and Lunch
Like most families, we snack.
Most of the time we grab what’s convenient. We used to grab chips, crackers, or anything that’s quick. Most of the time, quick snacks are not healthy snacks.
My husband and I know that fruit and veggies are healthier than the chips we inhale, but we don’t want to take the time to wash or chop them.
By having healthy snacks available, it’s just as easy to grab a handful of washed grape tomatoes or snap peas than the chips.
I love how easy and quick it is to make lunches for my boys! Now I make a sandwich or easy quesadilla, grab my bags of produce and lunch is on the table in no time!
I pack my son’s lunchbox super quick, and my husband is also taking healthier choices to work.
It feels awesome to finally be feeding my family nutritious food, and I’m no longer throwing money in trash each week! Go me!
Big Changes Are Happening
Over the past year, I have not done a very good job at taking care of myself physically.
It’s been a stressful year, and I’ve been taking comfort in sugar and junk.
We just moved into our new house, and I’m ready to start a new chapter.
With the help of my Fitbit 
I am proud to say that I have lost 6lbs in the past month! That’s a good healthy start for me.
Besides the weight-loss, I’ve also been feeling better…and so has my entire family.
Just by being more aware of what we eat, and having healthy foods easily available, we’ve all made big changes.
The most noticeable difference is that we’ve been staying fuller longer.
My husband came in from work yesterday and told me how happy he was that he no longer walked in angry and irritable due to hunger. He has even noticed less hunger headaches.
Because my husband and I are both less hangry, we have more fun with our kids. We’re not barking orders and being as impatient as we can sometimes be before dinner. A full tummy, and maintaining good blood sugar levels are good things!
We feel like better parents all because I take one hour a week to prep healthy foods for my family. I’d say that one hour is worth it!
Do you have any tips to get your family eating healthy foods? I’m always looking for great ideas!
Other helpful tips for better health
My favorite tool for adding produce into my diet
Definitely makes such a difference doesn’t it when you can just reach for stuff cut up and ready to go. Is my only way of getting veg on the table everyday.
I can so relate to this! I am going to try doing this and see how it goes! It can only be easier right???
Yes! It can be easier! Good luck, I hope it helps 🙂
Hooray on positive changes! I have a friend who raves about The Fresh 20, which basically is a meal plan service that has you prep all the produce at the beginning of the week so that dinner comes together quickly each night. I took the idea, and have been washing and cutting all my leafy greens, and washing all the fruit before it goes in the fruit bowl. Like you, I’ve found it’s a great way to make healthy foods convenient.
If you wash the fruits and veggies ahead, be careful how they’re stored. My daughter cuts and washes her lunch salad fixings, dries them as much as possible, and lines one-serving containers with paper towels, with another paper towel under the lid, and then grabs one as she’s packing her lunch. Be careful with grapes–washing them ahead and leaving them wet is not good for them; they spoil much faster. They could be put dry into single-meal open bowls and they’re pretty fast to dump into a colander or strainer on their way to the table. Romaine lettuce washed and then torn rather than cut lasts longer than chopped iceberg (as well as being more nutritious).
Thanks for the tips!!