Have I introduced my new blogger friend Steph from Confessions of a Meal Plan Addict yet? If I haven’t, it is long overdue. Steph is a cook once – eat all week guru! This woman has single-handedly changed the way my family is prepping and eating our lunch and dinners (baby steps — breakfast will be tackled next). This is no small feat as our eating and shopping habits were very disorganized.
What makes HER able to inspire these changes? Well, she has done it herself, and she shares how easy it is to do! Plus, she is funny as hell and one determined gal! Two of the many characteristics I look for in a friend.
I will be sharing the little changes I am making to help my family give up the junk food and ordering out habit. If you are looking for inspiration… you need to follow Steph. Really!
Connect with Steph || website || twitter || Instagram || facebook ||
Baby Step #1- Salad bar in the fridge
My first mission was to increase the veggie intake of my family. I have found a squishy mess of rotted vegetables in the back of my fridge more times than I care to admit. The best way to make sure we all eat more veggies, and there are no squishy messy surprises in the fridge, is to prepare our groceries as soon as we get home. If the veggies are ready to go, the kids will eat them. I have caught the teenager grabbing a handful of chopped carrots on the way to paddling. I have also witnessed the anti-vegetable husband eating daily salads! I call it a win.
There is always the basics in my fridge for salads. That includes (and is not limited to):
- Chopped Salad (stays fresh in a glass container)
- Chopped Celery – cubed for salad and to add to recipes
- Sticks of Celery – for lunches and snacks
- Chopped Carrots – cubed for salad and recipes
- Sticks of Carrots – for lunches and snacks
- Asparagus – sometimes roasted for salads and sides for dinner
- Cabbage – great to add to salads. Use leftovers for an apple + cabbage salad the kids love
- Chopped Broccoli- for both salads and sides for dinner
- Chopped Cauliflower – for salads and sides for dinner
- Cucumbers – sliced for salads and snacking
- Peppers – diced for salads and quartered for snacking
- Eggs – boiled and ready for snacks, sandwiches and for salads
We will add or omit (price dependant – $8 cauliflower!?) veggies every week. Mushrooms (roasted with asparagus YUM!), kale, brussel sprouts, green beans, shredded or roasted beets, cubed cheeses, sprouts are all prepped and ready to use making meal prep a snap!
We mix the protein up daily. I have premade steak, chicken, ham, tuna, chickpeas or edamame beans to add to our salads.
Bonus side effects I never really expected:
Feeling better – When I mentioned this to Steph she said, “Eat better. Feel better.” and I thought “Duh! of course.”. We were eating out a lot and that means we had no control over the ingredients that were used.
Not feeling hungry after eating – Never failed. We would order pizza and wings and the kids would say they are still hungry 30 minutes after dinner. Now with meal prep (baby steps version) there is always a meal plan and veggies (ready to go) for a faster-than-pizza dinner. Really.
My fussy 9-year-old LOVES brussel sprouts – Huh, well that was a surprise.
My fussy hubby is enjoying edamame – This is HUGE! This man grew up on meat, corn and potatoes. That’s it! Something green was always looked at like the enemy. I call this a HUGE win.
The teenager is listening – The teenage is in high-performance sports and is learning that food is fuel. Feed your body junk and you will not get the results on the track, on the water or on the ice that you want. My pet peeve about hockey tournaments is eating crappy arena food. There are 3 arenas that we have been to that have ok food choices. That is it… 3… all run by the same chef too. That means that the kids would eat junk… very counter productive. I started bringing our salad-bar-in-the-fridge in a cooler with us. Add some tortillas, chicken and they are eating filling wraps between games instead of fries and pop. End rant!
Saving money: We are eating all of the veggies we buy. No more throwing out perfectly good food we let go to waste. We have cut down on the eating out and ordering in. Now we eat out when we want. Not because we have only rotting vegetables in the fridge.
That sums up my first step in the Meal Prep lifestyle. So far, it has been easy and the reward is quick. Why didn’t we do this earlier??
Kelly says
May 20, 2016 at 11:33 amI really needed to read this. We are in the exact same boat you were in before you started this. I am going to share this with my husband and get started. I’m also going to follow Steph. Thanks for sharing this.
Judy Cowan says
May 20, 2016 at 3:04 pmWhat a great idea! I am definitely going to try doing this, hate buying and then throwing out veggies because we never get around to eating them.
Gingermommy says
May 20, 2016 at 3:46 pmThis is such a great idea! I find I am more likely to eat fresh and healthy when it is easily accessible
kristen visser says
May 20, 2016 at 3:57 pmwhat an excellent idea and way to get your kids eating more veggies! to take the time to prep and prepare them right when you get home from grocery shopping makes it so much easier throughout the week. I need to start doing this instead of just throwing everything into the crisper
coffeewithjulie says
May 20, 2016 at 11:02 pmIf it’s easy to grab and go, for sure I would eat it too! Very smart. I’ve heard of people cutting up carrots and whatnot, but not as far as lettuce and cabbage. I need to start doing this!
heidi c. says
May 23, 2016 at 2:11 amMy kids love raw veggies so this would be a great idea for our family to try. Your veggies look so bright and fresh and appetizing!
Hafsa says
May 23, 2016 at 3:20 pmYou shared a great idea for kids! keep sharing your wonderful ideas!
Carole D. says
May 23, 2016 at 6:19 pmThat is a great idea! I need that in my fridge. I will do one this week!
Amy Worrell says
May 24, 2016 at 11:31 amThis looks amazing. Taking the time to do the prep probably also saves you money. The amount of times I find myself throwing out bad vegetables is frustrating. Need to get myself organized.
Aeryn Lynne says
May 24, 2016 at 1:38 pmI LOVE that salad bar idea, WOW! It would definitely make it easier to grab our fave fixings if they’re all set up and ready to go for each meal, so thanks for the inspiration! <3
And I hear ya about the cauliflower, omg!! How on earth did it become $8??? We're now trying to grow them in the backyard, lol.
Suzanne Rudge says
May 24, 2016 at 2:51 pmThis post is very timely for me as this is something I have wanted to do for some time. I am going to show this to my hubby and kids so they can help. It will be a tough challenge, but worth it in the end.
Leeanne C says
May 25, 2016 at 10:46 amI really do like these ideas for food preparation and having foods that can fill a teenager without having to order pizza and saying I’m hungry in 30 mins. Having a salad bar right in your own fridge.
Heather Lynne says
May 25, 2016 at 11:28 amThis sounds like such a good way to approach food. I always wish things were more ready to go!
paula schuck says
May 25, 2016 at 12:58 pmI actually need to do this too. My kids love vegetables and fruits and they are great at reaching for those as long as I have them washed and ready to go. I also love edamame. So do the kids. Dinners are where we get stuck often running out to rehearsals as we are tonight. Then I have a meeting and we hand off the kids downtowns and husband takes the younger daughter to her therapy riding lesson which means we have no time at all until 7:30 or much later when I get in. UGH. I need to go wash some of the vegetables right now and make sure they are ready to grab for tonight. Great advice. Also following Steph.
Cheryl says
May 27, 2016 at 7:29 amWhat a great idea!! Keeps the junk food snacking to a min!! I so need to do ore of this especially now that summer is coming.
Lynda Cook says
May 27, 2016 at 7:51 pmThis is a great idea that everyone should start doing, I find my veggies get eaten up more too if they are all cleaned and cut up and ready
kathy downey says
June 4, 2016 at 4:14 pmI love spending the day shopping then washing cutting and putting everything in the fridge its fast and easy.I can throw together a beautiful salad in seconds
Treen Goodwin says
June 13, 2016 at 8:59 amwow great idea , this is awesome , i would def eat healthier this way m thanks for the great idea !
Nicole B says
June 17, 2016 at 9:33 amI am going to have to try this. It will help us choose healthier options!
danielle bartlett says
June 19, 2016 at 10:55 amThis is a great idea! The hardest part of putting together a meal is prepping it when tired. While my husband & I had gotten into the habit of preparing meats into ziploc freezer bags after shopping at Costco, we never thought of doing the same with veggies. Thanks!
K Yee says
July 13, 2016 at 3:26 pmI am reading this on the right day. Had to throw out two types of squishy veggies last night. Thank you for sharing this and all of the information.
Wanda Tracey says
July 13, 2016 at 9:28 pmWow!That was a smart idea and a great way to get the family to eat more veggies.
They look so colorful and appetizing when they are all freshly cut and together like that.
Leslie Crosbie says
July 14, 2016 at 6:11 pmI love eating salads but end up wasting so many of the veggies that I dont make salads often. Thanks for the idea!
Melinda says
August 10, 2016 at 4:09 pmGreat idea! I love to prep vegetables so it easy to grab and go!
Leslie Crosbie says
August 25, 2016 at 2:14 amGreat idea and simple too! I love salads but it is a pain making them!
jan says
August 30, 2016 at 2:18 pmLove this idea. I will have cut carrots, celery and radishes in the fridge to sway me from eating chips or crackers, but this is brilliant!
Laurie P says
September 2, 2016 at 12:06 pmI’m lucky to have 2 kids that love their veggies. I try to keep a fresh variety in the fridge of chopped and ready for use goodies! I think I’ve been a little spoiled by my parents this summer as they have a massive garden, with an impressive variety and the bonus is it’s all organic and free to me 🙂 My favorites have been the purple beans and carrots, and heirloom tomatoes.
Laurent L says
September 3, 2016 at 7:48 amI like this idea a lot. Having fresh vegetables as the first thing you see in your fridge is smart. I’m going to try this.
Steph says
September 12, 2016 at 12:40 pmI started doing this as well and find it makes such a difference!!! The worst part about eating veggies is washing it all, or peeling and cutting everything. So I come home from grocery shopping and I portion everything out and get everything ready so that when I need a snack its really easy to grab something healthy!
G K says
October 12, 2016 at 10:36 pmI love this! Having a variety of veggies at hand is perfect for salads and so many other dishes like stir-fry.
shelly peterson says
October 14, 2016 at 6:36 amThis sounds like a really great idea. This would definitely help with making sure the family is eating better.
Wanda Tracey says
October 24, 2016 at 9:42 pmThis is a perfect idea to entice the family to eat healthier.You do get more nourishment from raw vegetables.WTG!!!
Cheryl says
October 25, 2016 at 7:56 amI love this idea!! We eat far too much junk as a family I so have to do this!!
Joyce S says
December 18, 2016 at 3:06 pmthis is really a great plan especially since I love salads! now to get it in action!
Elizabeth Matthiesen says
January 7, 2017 at 11:56 pmFor me the main difficulty is that most portions are too large for me to eat before they go off. Cucumbers are a good example of that – unless I eat salad every day for a week about 1/3rd has to be thrown away. Bean sprouts are the same, way too many for me in a bag, so about 1/2 to 1/3 goes in the compost.
Thankfully I can buy a lot of things loose like sprouts, mushrooms, onions, potatoes etc. that helps a lot.
kathy downey says
January 26, 2017 at 8:55 amThanks for sharing your ideas,this would help us choose healthier options!
Calvin F. says
February 10, 2017 at 4:24 pmGood idea to increase intake of fruits and veggies.
kathy downey says
April 13, 2017 at 4:08 pmI followed your lead on this and i’m surprised how many veggies are getting eaten by the whole family,thanks again !
kathy downey says
May 28, 2017 at 10:57 ami am so happy i followed you tips,we have cut down waste by 99% and that’s a huge savings.
kathy downey says
September 29, 2017 at 7:34 amI am so happy i read this post and followed your instructions i have so much less waste!
kathy downey says
January 13, 2018 at 12:03 pmWhat a wonderful way to start 2018,thanks so much !