3 Ways to Reduce Food Stress

Preparation is key.  But preparation will look different to everyone, so finding out what works for you is important.   

Below are 3 different ideas for you to take the stress out of healthy eating.  Because its got to be easy! 

1. Meal Prep 

Basic right? If you can find time through your week to bulk make 1-2 meals and freeze them, then you really are set for the whole week.  It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but healthy is a must.   

General meal prepping is perfect for the super time poor people, and if you can manage to eat the same thing for the whole week then this will fit in with you! Again, I generally recommend to make a few different dishes and freeze them, as this just gives you some variety. 

And this is a great way to control portions as well.  You are able to measure out perfectly portioned meals in this one cook up removing the risk of overindulging all together.  

And how much you want to meal prep is up to you.  Lunch is a great one to do, as this is what people generally struggle with, as it’s all to tempting to not make anything from home and just pop down to the cafe on the corner for a sneaky lunch. But you can meal prep every meal, including snacks if you want to! 

2.  Pre-plan your meals

For those of you that meal prep doesn’t sound like the most appealing option, I urge you to write down your meals for the week- lunches, snacks, breakfasts and dinners - the ingredients you need and only shop for these items! If you have all of the ingredients in the house, making that he althy meal is so much easier and convenient.  It removes the quick supermarket trips for one item which inevitably results in another $40 worth of groceries plus 1 or more cheeky chocolate bars that find their way into the basket. 

This gives you the flexibility to get creative with your food, including lots of variety and lots of different flavours and evokes the passion for food, which can be such a social thing as well as providing fuel for your body. 

The beauty with doing this is that you also don’t end up with those extra things in the house like chips and biscuits, eliminating any risk for binging of an evening.  But it also helps to reduce waste, you will be less likely to be throwing food out if you have planned for how you are going to use all of it. 

3. Prep food groups. 

This is my personal favourite way to prep for the week.  I prep certain things at the start of the week, making it easy to grab things on the go. I generally recommend that you prep the areas that you find the hardest.  If you find snacks challenging, then making some healthy snacks and having them on hand for the week ahead will help to reduce any stress around what to eat.  

I love to prep my protein for the week.  Slow cooking a large amount of meat and keeping it in the fridge for an easy addition to any salad or veggie bowl through the week is super easy and it always keeps me full.  Or making up a big pot of beans to have on toast or as a side to anything is another way to ensure that I am getting plenty of protein through my week. Something as simple as freezing bananas for smoothies for the week can also make a big difference. 

Roasting or steaming a heap of veggies and having them on hand to add to rice or quinoa is again, another really easy step to take to make food choices easier. 

So try and think what would make your life easier and prep for it.  Another great snack option for people is hard boiling 7-10 eggs and having them in the fridge for the week- so easy to grab and have a protein and nutrient dense snack served up instantly.