5 Life Hacks to Make Healthy Eating Easier

Life can feel overwhelming sometimes as it is, right? Then you go and decide you want to eat healthier to get rid of that frustrating belly bulge and improve your energy. For many people that can throw quite a wrench in their already stressful day, especially if you are one of those all-or-nothing types that needs everything to be perfect. (Not that I would know anything about that! J I hope you heard the sarcasm loud and clear!)

I was definitely an all-or-nothing gal which is why it was nothing for more than 10 years of adulthood. Don’t get me wrong, I would try different fad diets, do 1-3 weeks of a program, then find it overwhelming, only to give up before seeing any real results. Sound familiar?

Then you are in the right place! Killing the perfectionist in all of us that causes failure is the reason why I believe in and coach people to take baby steps. Baby steps that have a significant impact, but not overhauling someone’s life in one day! Drastic change never lasts.

So, let me clue you in on a few life hacks I personally use to keep my sanity and my health in peak condition.

1st Hack – Water – Go for the big one!

So, we have talked about how water is vitally important for literally just about every function in your body such as digestion, nutrient absorption, elimination, joint mobility, brain function, blood pressure regulation, etc.

Many people find it difficult to get in ½ of their body weight in ounces. A big part of that is that they are drinking from an 8-ounce glass. That means that if you are 150 pounds you need roughly 8 glasses of water per day. If you are doing the Gallon Challenge and striving for a gallon a day of water, you are looking at 16 – 8-ounce glasses. Holy cow that is a lot of trips to the faucet/water cooler!

Instead, use a 32-ounce glass to drink your water out of. This means that if you are consuming 63 ounces a day, you only need 2 glasses. Even if you are committing to a gallon, that is only 4 glasses a day to reach your goal. Much easier for your brain to envision it is possible if you have to make fewer trips!

#2 Life Hack - Vegetables  - Roast them!

 I have talked at length over the years about veggies and I think we all know how important they are, right?  I knew it but didn’t like them as a kid, so I never ate them as an adult, unless you count what they put on top of a burger or chicken sandwich. I suppose there was the occasional spinach dip or the veggies in sushi, but definitely not the 5-10 servings I have today.

One of the keys to eating veggies is to make them taste good!  If you are eating everything out of a can or steaming it, you are missing out on the enjoyment factor!

My favorite way to incorporate more in my diet is to roast a big batch of veggies a couple of times a week, eat them that night for dinner, and then add them to eggs, salads, and other dishes throughout the next few days.

One of my go-to combos is zucchini, yellow squash, sweet bell peppers, onion, and garlic, tossed lightly in olive oil, seasoned with some fresh cracked black pepper, and cooked at 375 for 20 minutes.  Yum!!

Life Hack #3 – Planning – Rotate! Have a set of 4-8 weekly meal plans that you can rotate.  Have them complete with grocery lists so all you have to do is rotate through the plans. This way you are not having to decide what you are going to make and when. It is already planned out for you. Now all you have to do is shop! 

Life Hack #3 – Shopping – Do as much online as possible! The last thing most anyone wants to do is spend hours shopping in a crowded grocery store, right?

Utilize online services like Kroger’s Click List, Thrive Market, Green Bean Delivery, Amazon, etc. In all of these, you can save your favorites, so you can shop in depth one time, decide what you want and favorite all of the things from that store you will use now and in the future. Many times you can even have a standing order of what you use each time you shop. It is so convenient and will save you a ton of time!

Life Hack #4 – Prepping meals – Shop, then prep immediately!

This is where most people go wrong and I hate to say it still happens to me! I have the absolute best of intentions to eat really well this week and yet, at the end of the week I am throwing away produce. What the heck?!

I bought everything I needed and then got busy. Life happened and I didn’t have the time or the energy in the morning or at the end of a long day to pull out all the veggies I needed to wash and cut up, so there they sat. I will use some frozen organic veggies instead because they are easy or sometimes I will grab dinner out so I don’t have to cook at all that day.

More weeks than not, I use everything I buy, but there are those few that it just doesn’t happen.

On the weeks I use all the produce I purchase, I prep it as soon as I bring it home/it’s delivered. I wash, chop, dice, and put them into storage containers and baggies so it is all ready to go when I need them. And let me tell you, life works SO much better those weeks. I eat well, sleep well and have amazing energy, not to mention a lot less frustration!!

Life Hack #5 – Freezer Meals! – Make meals and freeze them so all you have to do is crockpot, sauté or reheat.

This was an absolute godsend when I brought Riley home from the hospital. I had made a half dozen (which each fed me multiple times) the week before she was born.

I put all the ingredients together, some were precooked and others were completely raw. I placed the bags or pans in the freezer and then pulled them out one at a time the day before we were going to cook them.

I made a wonderful curry dish, a veggie casserole with ground chicken, marinara, and raw cheese, and a couple of Italian dishes to name a few. A couple of the ones that the recipes said to crockpot, I actually ended up cooking on the stove because I forgot to put them in the crockpot until about 6 pm. And I really didn’t want to eat at 10 pm. They turned out just fine!

The amazing part is that I didn’t have to decide what to make and I didn’t have to do any prep!!

A great resource for freezer meals is https://thefamilyfreezer.com/

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be a hassle or a nightmare. Start by trying out a couple of these life hacks and keep going from there.