Looking for more time, money and sanity? Want to live a more nutritious life? Well, then it’s time you gave Meal Mapping a try.
If you’re like most Americans, there are three things in life you wish you had more of – time, rest/relaxation, and delicious, nourishing meals. But instead of having all of those things, you’re usually sacrificing one or two of them to get more of the other. Does this sound familiar? There’s never enough time in the day, never enough moments for restoration and certainly not enough nutritious foods on the table. It’s a bold thought to believe you could have more, but is it really so far-fetched? Not necessarily, especially when you begin practicing the art of Meal Mapping.
Meal Mapping is designed to help free up your life. That means more time to do the things you love, all while enjoying the wholesome, nourishing meals you’ve planned for the week. In the first post you learned the basics on how Meal Mapping works, carve out about 30 minutes of your day, one day a week and use that time to “map out your meals” for the week. Find recipes, build meals and make your grocery list. It’s just that simple!
Meal mapping means no more time wasted on daily treks to the grocery store to pick up additional ingredients (Including those unnecessary items like chips or snack foods that somehow make it into your cart). No more time spent at the end of the day (a horrible time for decision making) trying to decide what to eat or make and no more wandering the aisles at the grocery store attempting to “come up” with the perfect meal. See, meal mapping just saved you hours of time! And we all need more of that, right?
Now that you have all of that extra time on your hands, how about fitting more relaxation into your life? Take those extra minutes and hours to nurture your mind, body and soul. Find ways to channel your stress (which doesn’t include meal planning anymore!) and practice mediation, yoga or partake in some kind of physical activity.
You’ve got more time and you’re feeling relaxed, so how about that nourishment component? Well, that’s done too, because you figured that out in those 30 minutes you took to map out your meals. When you planned those meals, you knew you needed nourishing foods that would make you feel great. You made sure there were plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, dairy and whole grains on the menu. By taking the time to map out those meals, you already invested in that nutritional insurance.
Sara Haas is a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) based in Chicago, Illinois. She works primarily as a freelance consultant dietitian and chef, and writes on her own blog at www.sarahaasrdn.com. She’s been helping people for almost 15 years to understand the importance of nutrition on health and well-being. She can be seen on television doing cooking segments, or on the radio lending her voice for nutrition-related PSA’s, or even in some of your favorite publications giving tips on nutrition.
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