Preparing for a week of Paleo and planning

I know I have been talking about Paleo a lot lately...it is my life right now. While this post is going to be talking about paleo food it is more of a preparing for your week post. I have said repeatedly planning is key. Plan Plan Plan! One of the best ways to get through your week is having as much prepared on a Sunday that you possible can.

I an an extreme planner and list maker. Between working from home, preschool, babysitting, trying to start a small business, and managing my family I have to plan every moment of my day. Oh and exercise! I have to be disciplined and follow a routine or it goes to poo really fast. So planning is essential. So when I decided this was my year, I had to get myself to be a planner for my fitness and nutrition goals as well. I already planned family meals every week but I needed to plan all meals and have handy quick options available in the event that I need to eat on the fly. It is really easy to reach for something that won't help you reach your goals when you are starving and in a hurry {remember past doughnut}. To make sure I won't fail I spend one day a week planning and cooking and organizing. For me this day is Sunday, it tends to be our least active day. This is the day I make our grocery list, get the groceries and prepare foods for the week. This is even more necessary with a paleo diet. There isn't really a bar or protein shake I can grab and go. Everything take some sort of prep unless I grab some nuts and a raw fruit or vege.

My saving grace...planning center! Calendar, meal planner, grocery list pad, note pad for tid bits (and quotes)  and a daily docket planning my day. 

Start by meal planning for the week...

Write down your meals for the week and make your grocery list out of this. Make sure to plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. I like this planner because it has a place for lunch, dinner, and notes. I can remind myself when I need to thaw something or prepare something ahead of time. I also plan meals around the weather this time of year. If it is cold I am not eating salad so on my planner I write the weather down. I recheck this and tweak as needed. I don't want to make chili on a day when it decides to be 60. 

After you get your list done, go shop. Come back and prepare anything that will make your week easier. 

For example today I am making...

Bone Broth, paleo penicillin

Hard boiled eggs (half of which are pickling as we speak)

Hamburger & Sausage bites, perfect for a quick snack or breakfast protein source

Slow cooked Pot Roast, dinner tonight, dinner another night and lunch filler. 

I also would cut up any snack veggies and such but lately everything I get at Trader Joes has been prepared for me (love TJs). I organize my meats based on what days I am making what so I have things thawed when needed and frozen when not. I clear my fridge before we go to the grocery so that I only have what I need in there and old food is not taking up precious space. This also helps me utilize everything we have thus saving money for what could potentially be an expensive lifestyle. We buy exactly what we need for the week and eat what we buy. I always plan one Garbage Day during the week so that we can use up leftovers and aren't being wasteful. If I make something I think we won't finish before it goes bad or there is so much I know we will get sick of it, I freeze the leftovers. For example after shredding this huge roast I will probably freeze about 2 cups of the shredded meat to convert to something later like a soup or tacos. Try to keep your fridge organized and full of foods on your list. Use nice glass containers filled with quick grab foods (like burger bites)

I do buy things I do not eat for my kids. They are transitioning and have to learn a new way of snacking and such, I am not going to just drastically change their lives...subtle changes will have them not even realize their old foods are gone. This picture makes me hungry...

I recommend the batch cooking process. I learned this from Robin Miller who used to be on the food network. She was awesome (and actually ate a lot of paleo foods). She would do this batch cooking and had all kinds of ideas like chopping all of your onions at once and then freezing in portions. We do this I love it. Chop a bag of onions and put 1/2 cup in baggies and freeze. Not only does this make life easy but I tend to use less onion so they last longer. We also do this with mere pois {onions, carrots & celery} which I use a lot in my crock pot recipes. I have also seen a lot on Pinterest pins of batch preparation where you put all of your crock pot ingredients in a large freezer zip bag and freeze. Then on the day you want to cook it, pop it in the crock pot and presto...dinner. Much better option that fast food.  

Also keep your meals simple. Regardless of what your Home Ec teacher told you, dinner doesn't have to be a 5 course meal. I have started making combo meals {i.e.soups, casseroles, one dish things} with everything thrown in or I have meat and then 1 or 2 vege sides. You don't need a main item and 4 or 5 sides. A paleo plate is easy, half protein half fruits or vegetables. You can do this with any eating plan. Keep it simple. 

Planning is key, have I said this before? Planning is key. It is a pain in the a** I get it. There are 100 other things I would love to do but by spending half of my day doing this on a Sunday I free up hours during the week. I save money and feed my family healthy food by skipping the drive thru. I have become such a fan of planning I even got a coffee maker that makes my coffee while I hit my 10 minute snooze button. Silly I know but that 10 min is awesome! There are so many resources out there (and blogs) that can get you motivated for planning as well as ideas. I know I have mentioned this before but join Pinterest (and follow me) it is a great resource and I can find the things I am looking for without hours of combing the internet. I plan most of my meals based on things I find there tweaking them into paleo if I need it. 

Make this planning as fun as possible. I am always scoping out new list pads and fun lists to help me organize. I have the most awesome day planner that is aqua blue and pink and rocks. I also love dry erase boards so the meal planner (purchased at Target) was right up my alley. I was buying 4-5 meal planning pads a year before I found it. Check out apps too. I am more paper and pen visual person but I do integrate my phone as well. We use an app called Out of Milk when we shop. It is easier than toting around a paper and pen at the grocery. So I write things I need on the pad during the week and when I am planning and put the final list in the app. Mr. Minus can just tap the screen to mark things off of the list. It is great. I also use a daily docket you can get here which is a tentative plan and schedule of my day. I know I am pete the repeat but I need this many reminders to keep me in check and on track, I am high maintenance that way {actually I just have no self discipline}.

So get your butt planning and have a successful week!