Eating for Eye Health, Even on Our Busy Days

I don’t know how, but summertime always feels busier than when I’m working full time during the school year. It’s a phenomenon that I haven’t yet been able to completely understand. Needless to say, I’m running around like crazy lately. And, I’m feeling like the focus on my healthy eating habits has been slipping.

Preparing healthy meals

The endless doctor appointments and physicals, along with being the current sports and band chauffeur have me feeling overwhelmed. I feel like don’t have much time for preparing healthy meals as much as I’d like.

Look, I know how time-consuming it can truly be to chop all the fruits and veggies. Not to mention cooking meals that taste good, and don’t take up too much of our time, all while giving us the nutrients our eyes need.

Time management

Over the years, I have become sort of a time management guru because eating for the health of my eyes is just not something I’m willing to give up. No matter how difficult it can feel. I love to share my knowledge and routines. If you’re feeling the same way, you’re in luck because I’m here to share all of my tips for eating healthy – even on our busiest days.

Being organized and planning ahead

Planning and staying organized with my meal prep is really half the battle. I take a few minutes each week to figure out what meals I want to prepare (or which nights we will need to eat out). If we have soccer and band on a Tuesday evening, I know that I need to have a ready to go meal that day, like a stir fry, because I won't have time to make something from scratch.

Multitasking

Doing this also allows me to make a list of items I need at the store, which is a huge time saver for me as the main grocery shopper in our house. And, I've found that I can do this while multitasking.

I often make my grocery lists while waiting for my sons to finish soccer practice, or when I'm on my morning walk. I simply type my list into the notes on my phone. Super tip: You can make a checklist in the note app on you phone that allows you to cross off items like you would with a pen!

Meal prepping

Once I have all the items I need for my healthy meals, I take a few hours every Sunday morning to prepare it all. This includes chopping and storing everything so all I have to do is pull it out when I’m ready and cook it.

You may be busy Sunday mornings. If that’s the case, just find a day where you can find a few hours to listen to your favorite podcast or audio book and chop chop chop.

Workweek lunches

When I meal prep on Sundays, I also prepare all lunches for the busy work week. You can prepare salads, bag up small things like nuts or grapes, and have it ready to grab and go each morning. This is a huge time saver for me each day and allows me to spend my mornings working out.

For tips on preparing lunchtime salads for the week that don’t get soggy, take a look at this article Pre-made Workweek Lunch Salads.

Ready-to-go healthy snacks

One last tip I have for you is to prepare healthy snacks. I’ve found that when I wash and chop fruit, my family is a lot more likely to snack on it.

If I simply buy the fruit and leave it in the bag or container in the fridge, it will go bad every single time. Not only do I want my family to eat healthily, fruit can also be expensive so I don’t like to waste it.

Being busy doesn’t necessarily mean we have to give up healthy eating. These tricks work well for me, but feel free to adjust them to whatever works best for you and your family.

Eat well, live well.