Preparation is the Name of the Game.

One of the biggest difficulties I see my clients experience is falling into the trap of making a quick decision on a less optimal meal due to poor preparation and planning. If I asked 100 people where they plan to be tomorrow at 9 am or even noon, most of them, maybe 90 of that 100 would say they know exactly where they will be. Maybe in bed, maybe at their child's soccer game, or sipping coffee reading the newspaper. However many of them (read YOU) couldn't tell me what you plan to eat tomorrow as a mid morning snack or what you'll be having for lunch time.

Having the right foods in your home when it is time to make a meal or snack is key to not falling victim to blood sugar lows and hangry trips through the drive thru. This becomes even more important when you are feeding more than just you (like spouses, kids, relatives, etc). When it comes to weight loss, it is EVEN more important for you in continuing to reach your goals to have the right foods, READY to go, when it's time to eat to take the question out of the equation. How do you do this? PLANNING. A little shopping, some chopping, and believe it or not, you will have better success at losing weight and better success at managing your food costs.

This morning I looked again at the bowl of black grapes I bought at Whole Foods on sale last Sunday afternoon. They were bursting with juice then, organic, and deep purple all the way through. Of course I bought them. I ate them a few times as a pre-workout source of energy, but them I lost interest. I think I spent $6.00 on those little round guys. I couldn't let them go to waste. I also took advantage of super cheep organic prewashed greens on the same trip which I had not yet done justice to, and they were just sitting in my fridge. So what to do, what to do? Oh just a little preparation, I made premade smoothie packets. I grabbed 9 ziplock bags, three bananas, all those grapes, my spinach and kale prewashed greens and other ingredients I throw in my smoothies: pumpkin seeds, flax seed meal, and 2 strawberries per bag. 

Not only are 9 smoothies just waiting to be made, in order to make them I will only  need to open my freezer briefly, instead of 2 or 3 times to get out all of my ingredients wasting precious energy dollars to keep that bad boy cold. I also salvaged my grapes that weren't quite to bursting with juice, as growing mushy, but no fear- they will be delicious in my smoothies, without the texture to battle with. So, next time I want a smoothie, i'll just need to grab my coconut milk or organic whole milk, a little greek yogurt or protein powder, and bam! It'll be that much easier.

I plan to write a few posts on preparation in the next few days... so stay tuned. In the mean time, why don't you prep yourself some green smoothie packets out of the fruit sitting in your kitchen.

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