Planning ahead is key when it comes to avoiding processed food, and in my second cookbook 100 Days of Real Food: Fast & Fabulous I’m sharing exactly how to do just that – including meal plans, shopping lists, snapshots of how to buy real food, food prep guides, and 100 beautifully-photographed quick and easy recipes. In general, though, there are several lifestyle changes you can make that will go a long way when it comes to avoiding processed food.
So get ready to clean up your act by kicking these bad food habits to the curb and, trust me, when it comes to the health of your family, you’ll be so glad you did!
Want to Save this Recipe?
Enter your email below & we’ll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
5 Bad Food Habits to Break
- Not having a dinner plan for the week.
Your dinner plan doesn’t have to be complicated, but just jotting down at least five simple meals you can cook the upcoming week (and purchasing the ingredients, of course) can make all the difference. Even if your family can’t all eat dinner at the same time on busy weeknights, don’t let that get in your way of preparing a wholesome meal that can be reheated later!
– - Buying the processed stuff.
It’s hard to dig your hand into that bag of messy cheese puffs if it never made it from the store to your house in the first place. Now, this is not a complete “out of sight, out of mind” promise, but I think you can eventually get pretty darn close. There are some simple ways to avoid processed food that you can start doing today.
– - Not being armed with healthy snacks on the go.
When out running errands or toting kids to and from activities, it’s inevitable that hunger will strike. So be prepared with a stash of wholesome, filling snacks– such as trail mix, Larabars, whole-grain crackers, or an apple or banana. Having a few “emergency” options in your glove box or purse will help satisfy your hunger until you can get back home for your next meal.
– - Not knowing what your next meal will be.
On that note, if you get caught hungry – or worse, hangry – with no plan for your next meal, you’ll become desperate and lower your standards just to eat something. So rather than being tempted by the drive-thru, mentally have an idea of what you’ll do for your next meal (i.e., leftovers from dinner last night, defrost something you previously made in the freezer, eat what you’ve packed in the cooler in your backseat) so you can be prepared when that time comes. Better yet, write it down! See how I use my Meal Planner to stay on top of my weekly meals, including school lunches.
– - Not having prepared real food on hand.
I often say, if you just got back from grocery shopping and your kitchen still appears to have no “food” – just ingredients! – then you’re doing something right. But that means it’s up to you to spend a little time (on the weekend or whenever it’s convenient) turning all those fresh ingredients into something edible. Whether you simply boil eggs and pasta or whip up some homemade muffins and chicken salad, it’s important to start the week with wholesome items you can grab and go.
Check out my second cookbook for more fast & fabulous make-ahead ideas along with some helpful food storage charts on pages 35 – 41. The goal with this one is to make your life easier! :)
Which bad food habit are you going to break first? Let me know in the comments!
Need some ideas for dinner this week to help get you started on those healthier habits? Take a peek at what I feed my family with this FREE Weekly Real Food Dinner Plan, complete with 5 dinners, side items, and a treat.
Healthy snacks is a winner! specially if you have kids, it’s important to always carry some in your bag. Thank you!
I have a hard time with meal planning because I’m the kind of person who doesn’t know what I want to eat until about 5 minutes before I eat it. I also have a hard time forcing myself to eat something if I don’t want it (no matter how much I may love the food at other times) as it makes my stomach turn. I’m generally not a picky eater as I’ll eat most anything, and I’m a planner everywhere else in life, but I’m a spontaneous eater. Unfortunately, that has made it hard for me to change my way of eating or to diet in the past,
If you are planning to live a healthy life and want to reduce some fat then you have to follow some given below simple tips.
1) Try to eat curd and Paneer in the Breakfast.
2) Drink Lots of Hot Water.
3) Avoid Pizzas, Berger and Other Oily Food Products.
4) Eat Some Papaya in the Dinner.
5) Avoid Sweet Food Products
6) Do not Forget a Morning Walk
Newly single this past year after 31 years of married life and preparing a meal for one is UGH.
One thing to help with meal plan and the grocery list is an app called cozi. You put your recepies in tell which days you’ll eat what and from their make the grocery list. You can use it on your home computer and smart phone.
Cozi is an awesome app! I’ve been using it for years for calendar, meal planning and shopping lists. Even my husband uses it! :)
I’m good with planning my week out, but sometimes I underestimate how much time and energy it will take to make a dish. I’m LOVING Fast and Fabulous for that very reason.
I need to have 5 day dinner plan as some days I just don’t feel like cooking a big meal when I get home from work. I am tired or stressed.
I’m going to start planning breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It just takes a little bit of extra time. Thanks to this wonderful, well researched, cookbook, It’s going to be so easy.
Thanks Lisa!!
I have to get better with having a dinner plan! I got my book yesterday. I love it!
I have a hard time with planning meals for the week because I’m either trying to focus too much on the ‘balance’ of everything and/or trying to make sure that I varietize it up and not overload on the same thing – same fruits/vegetables for each meal. And then trying to find things I like or at least are willing to try. Such a huge trial and error thing and now always having the time to devote to it. Definitely a struggle but truly want the success behind the struggles!! :-]
That was NOT having the time to devote to it…..
Not having a dinner plan for the week.
I keep trying to be French. No snacking, except at 4 p.m. (dinner is at 7 or 8, so you need a hit in the afternoon). Snacks can be fruit or a piece of dark chocolate.
And everything else is homemade.
The homemade part is going well, but I snack too much, even if it is mostly fruit.