Healthy Eating For Busy Families - 7 Time Saving Tips to Healthier Eating Habits

You are what you eat. We have all heard that phrase at least once in our lives. It's time to really understand what that means.

Think about this for a moment. The cells of your body regenerate themselves. Every cell in your body has a life span of up to 10 years, which means that 10 years from now, every cell in your body will be different than the cells that make up your body today. Your body needs building materials in order to create new cells, and that building material comes from the food you consume. You are, literally, what you eat.

How many of your cells today are made from fast food burgers and fries, potato chips, and other nutritiously void foods? If you do not give your body the proper nutrition then it will build new cells from what ever material it has at hand.

Many people today say their number one reason for eating highly processed "fast" foods is that they simply have no time to prepare healthy meals. I am here to help with 7 tips to eat well in a time crunch.

1. Plan ahead- Busy people can have schedules thrown off by something as simple as a meeting that runs a little late, or a traffic detour. Plan your meals a week ahead, and buy groceries for those meals so you only need to go to the grocery store once a week. Unplanned trips to the grocery store can eat up your time.
2. Have a properly equipped kitchen- Have a variety of sharpened knives, a blender, 4 cutting boards of various sizes, bowls, casserole dishes, a good garlic press, sharp vegetable peelers and a microwave. I also have a chopper similar to the Slap Chop that you see on TV for super easy mincing. The proper tools, clean and ready to use can shave valuable minutes off of meal preparation.
3. Have your freezer stocked with bags of frozen vegetables, berries, mango and other fruits. Keep a well stocked spice rack, and keep plenty of fresh garlic, limes, lemons and condiments on hand.
4. When you have 10 minutes, make carrot sticks- Whenever you have a few moments, grab that bag of carrots, or bunch of celery, a cutting board and a knife, and start chopping. Having fresh cut carrots, celery, peppers, broccoli, romaine lettuce in a freezer bag or airtight container in the fridge will mean you always have a healthy snack on hand, and the ingredients for your next casserole are half prepared already. I do prefer bags because they take up less room, but containers are more earth friendly. I am not a big fan of already cut up apples, or carrots from the supermarket. Usually they applied some kind of preservative to the food that I don't think it's necessary for you to eat.
5. Double up- When you are making a meal, double the amount you will need and freeze it. You will be glad you have it the next time you have just half an hour until Johnny's softball game, and a hungry family.
6. Learn what makes a healthy meal so the guesswork is gone when you don't have time to think. Most people get more than enough protein, fat and grains. It tends to be the veggies that disappear from the menu of the time deprived family, and that's usually because the veggies take more work.
7. Keep fruit in plain sight- My counter is loaded with fresh fruit all year round. I have a fruit stand with apples, oranges, kiwi, plums, bananas. I only buy 2 or 3 pieces of each when I shop at the beginning of the week. Many fruits will last a week on the counter, and actually taste better at room temperature. I also keep the less healthy snacks out of sight in an inconvenient cupboard. This makes the fruit easier and quicker. My family's fruit consumption went up by 5 times with this simple tip alone.

Hopefully you see how, with just a little planning, you can be on the path to healthier eating habits in record time.

Shelley Penney is a retired registered nurse with a continued, insatiable thirst for health and wellness information. Although Shelley hails from traditional medical training, she is always searching for ways in which the natural world of healing herbs, foods and supplements can intersect with traditional medicine and benefit us all.
Visit Shelley on the web www.ShelleyPenney.com

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