Given the busy lifestyles that we lead, it can be difficult to consistently make healthy food choices. More and more people are finding that just because they’ve decided that their health is a priority—a critical first step– doesn’t mean that the seemingly endless list of things vowing for their attention suddenly cooperates and starts to decrease. On the contrary, eating healthy likely adds to your To Do list, such that finding the time to prepare wholesome meals is a real challenge. So how are some choosing to resolve the issue?
Meal Preparation Considerations
Before looking at a suggested resolution, it can actually be helpful to list some objectives that meal planners most often consider. In no particular order, many strive to serve food that is:
- Reasonably tasty;
- nutritious;
- easily and quickly prepared (i.e. as few ingredients and steps as possible);
- budget-friendly;
- prepared by a trustworthy source.
Additionally, in the mind of every meal preparer is a lifestyle assessment: Do they actually like preparing meals? If you’re not a Chef Antoine with a passion for cooking, then the clearer objective related to #3 above is that you would like your meal choices to allow you to spend more time doing the activities that you enjoy.
So, is it possible to achieve all of these objectives? Tweaking my diet plan in the last week gave me the opportunity to explore this question and what my colleague calls the “Process of Cooking”.
A Sample Diet Objective
I’ve recently made the decision to give raw veganism another try for detoxification. I’ve tried before but couldn’t stick to it for any length of time for a few reasons: 1. I didn’t have enough variety and got bored of green smoothies; 2. It may sound silly, but I didn’t realize that “raw veganism” is what I was trying to pursue and knowing that term actually helps with researching for variety and other helpful tips; and 3. Raw food preparation takes a lot of time of which we never seem to have enough. There is so much chopping, cutting and peeling involved when preparing raw fruits and vegetables for consumption. Thus, I kept falling off the wagon, so to speak, including because not-so-healthy options were part of my mindset and readily available.
This time around, my research led me to zucchini noodles, an option that I easily chose. Still, I then had to decide what kind of “raw food sauce” I was going to put on them? The delicious-looking recipes that I found on YouTube mostly involve a lot of ingredients and much time to prepare—for me, this was an unacceptable violation of objective #3 above! My schedule is too busy and as such, I won’t enjoy making the sauces and I’m bound to fall off the wagon again.
“Prepared” Natural Foods
Its not rocket science to see that I need a little help to implement this diet change — some reasonable way to cut the time and effort involved. It occurred to me that there are a lot of prepared natural sauces on the market, as well as my choice of pre-chopped fruits and vegetables. I’m already buying chopped, frozen fruits and avocados for my smoothies. It would be a simple extension to also buy prepared sauces for the zucchini noodles, as long as they use whole, natural, recognizable ingredients, especially natural preservatives, like lemon juice, vinegar(s) or sea salt. They should also have no added sugar and a reasonable expiry date.
In considering the issue, I realized that it is better to prepare these foods myself, to ensure freshness and the true natural state of the ingredients. This may be a big priority for you, especially if you’re a little suspicious of food producers from time to time, as I am. However, if you’re like me, you’re also laser- focused when you want to achieve something. Thus, I quickly faced the truth that I wasn’t achieving my goals in part because I was trying to do everything myself. I realized that there must be a faster way to make sure that this [objective] “gets done”.…And there is: Let someone else prepare some of it!
This is not such a novel idea, but it can be a missed option if you’re mindset is not focused on the right priority. In my case, I had to wrap my mind around the fact that achieving the health benefits of the detoxification process (including the weight loss and improved skin complexion) is a greater priority for me than saving money and having the “wannabe-Martha-Stewart-type” bragging rights of making the food myself!
Once that was decided, the ideas started to flow. I remembered that one of the recipes was for an avocado sauce which, when I made it, was absolutely delicious on zucchini noodles! Yet again, it was an effort to prepare due to the number of ingredients and time involved. Well, I had found an excellent guacamole made with natural ingredients at Whole Foods some time ago that would be a great substitute for homemade avocado sauce, if not better. The particular brand that I like is pricey when compared to others. However, given that this is currently a short-term diet change AND I’m not spending money on so many other foods like baked goods, meats, and processed foods, I would really just be diverting my money to these options while I pursue the ultimate rewards that raw veganism offers. For these reasons, I decided that it’s worth a try.
Some of my other favourite sauces are hummus and salsa, wonderful natural versions of which I have either recently found or used for a few years from my local health store(s). Why not try them on the zucchini noodles, I mused? Thus, at this point, it looks like the “natural sauce” issue is resolved…Now on to a Delicious Detox!
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Andrea P. Kelly is a Lawyer and Notary Public at www.AndreaKellyLaw.com with practice focus in Estate Planning and Administration, including wills, estates, trusts and powers of attorney. Her battle and victory over rheumatoid arthritis using natural health alternatives was a pivotal, life changing experience. Andrea`s desire to help people find solutions to life`s problems, particularly those suffering from chronic illnesses, was birthed as www.PearlsOfWisdomForAbundantLife.com. Whereas she spent the first part of her career helping people to die well, she now wants to help people to live well. |
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