Becoming a "real adult" as I like to call it, is nowhere near as fun as it seemed growing up. You have so many more responsibilities that you could have ever imagined, and there are plenty of days when it will be overwhelming. I believe I am #Adulting (or at least the world is not on fire burning around me). Finding a balance of eating healthy and creating a successful routine is what I am working towards now.
In order to set you up with a chance to make smart, delicious choices, we can start with your fridge. Try to clean your fridge from clutter. Go through and check expiration dates and anything you see in the fridge that will not be used. Next, take time to wipe out everything inside so we have a fresh slate to start our healthy lunches from. Wipe down the shelves, rise out your crisper drawers and following cleaning on to your freezer. Now we are ready to refill and reorganize!
Now that we have our fridge organized, let's talk about what to pack in these lunches. The key to any meal is always meal-prepping. After shopping, come home and prepackage snacks into serving sizes that can be grab and go snacks. The food pyramid has been replaced by MyPlate —your guide for healthy eating is shown below in the image. This helps to see which food groups are important for each meal. Since our focus is on lunch, you can see that we will need four different categories for a healthy meal. For fruits, you have multiple options: fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruits. Proteins can be found in lean meats and poultry. Find your preference between fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds. When it comes to grains, try to go for whole grains; And for veggies, focus on more green dark or orange veggies. You can also use dry beans and peas to fill up your veggies, if preferred.
Use this as a guide to help pack healthy lunches along with keeping this information in mind next time you are dining out. Eating healthy does not have to be an undesirable task. Keep an open mind and look for new options until you find healthy options you love!
For parents: to help your kids, pack their own healthy lunch create an easy DIY station inside your fridge with different baskets or the drawers inside the fridge labeled to help kids pack a healthy balanced lunch!
Small changes can truely add to a better routine of your adult lifestyle. Each tip mentioned in this article can be added in slowly in order to create a strong foundation for your healthy lifestyle. I love to come home to prepacked snacks that I don't have to prepare or cut up after work. Spend some time on your Sunday's making different options for yourself this week!
