Monday musings: Being organised
A few days ago I received an email from a blog reader asking me about being organised and how this has helped me achieve some of my goals as well as keeping up healthy habits. I thought this topic would make an interesting Monday Musings post as it was actually something I had been thinking a bit about as recently I don’t feel like I’ve been as organised as usual and have felt myself getting a little stressed as a result.
I thought it would be a useful exercise to remind myself of some of the tips and tricks I use to make busy weeks run a little smoother!
Meal Plan
This is something I find invaluable. I know its not for everyone, but I find that taking a few minutes at the start of the week and before a grocery shop to plan out meals is a real time and money saver. I tend to do a quick review of the fridge, freezer and cupboards, as well as giving a brief thought to what fruit and veggies are in season at the moment and therefore likely to be on cheap at the shops, and plan around those.
I’ll usually add my workouts to my meal plan to ensure that I plan in some good post workout nutrition – for example making sure I’m having a protein rich meal after a body pump class or a nutrient dense recovery green smoothie post run. I’ll also add in evening work meetings, later nights and social occasions so I know when I have more time to prepare a meal, when I may be eating out, or when I need to take more food with me to work.
Diary workouts
As I usually add these into my meal plan – which to be honest ends up looking more like a schedule with meals in between, I don’t diary them separately. Actually having my workouts written down including what I’m doing and when I’m doing it, planned to fit in around everything else, is really helpful in sticking with exercise and being consistent.
Out fit plan
This is something I’m trying to do more as part of liberating my wardrobe! On a Sunday night I’ll quickly look in my wardrobe, check my diary for any work meetings that I may need to dress more smartly for, consider the weather (which is easier said than done at the moment!) and put together a couple of outfits ready to stick on in the morning. It saves so much time!
Batch cook
This is something I’ve started to slack on a bit recently, but I used to find that making up a big portion of veggie chilli, a soup or a curry was a great way to have meals on hand for busy nights. I would just make up a big pan of something and freeze in single meal size portions ready to be pulled out of the freezer on a morning to defrost ready for the evening.
Make planned leftovers
When I plan my meals I try and make sure that I either make up enough for another meal, or that I can use some of the ingredients in a simple easy way for lunch or dinner the next day. I tend to make up a dish for me and a dish for James, both with enough leftover to feed us the next evening. For example, I’ll make up a big pan of sausage with mushrooms, brown rice and tomato sauce for James and a Buddha bowl of chickpeas, rice and veggies for me, both enough for two servings, then I just steam some greens for both of us so the next evening all I need to do is steam up more greens or if I’m feeling really lazy I just wack on a handful of spinach!
Make up a ‘grain of the week’
Back when I first turned veggie and started to eat more grains I would make a ‘grain of the week’. This was a great way to experiment with new grains – each Sunday I would just cook up a big pan of grain – rice, quinoa, barley, millet etc and use them with meals during the week, including some breakfasts. It saved a lot of time as it could be eaten with one of the batch cooked frozen meals, a tin of beans and veggies, stir fried veggies etc.
Have ‘lazy’ alternatives available
I’ve recently found that in the absence of ‘grain of the week’ having a few of those packets of microwavable rice or quinoa in the cupboard a real stress saver. Quick cook carbs like whole grain pasta, soba noodles, whole grain couscous and bulgar alongside a cupboard stocked with tinned beans and soya beans in the freezer are oh so handy when you just can’t be arsed.
Prep lunches the night before
I know this is a bit of an obvious one but I always try and make my lunch the evening before, or if possible with certain things that will last well, at the weekend. For salads I’ll chop up the veg while I’m chopping the veg for the evening meal, multitasking at its best!
Make up a dip or dressing each week
Especially as I’ve started enjoying more raw foods, whipping up a quick dressing or dip (which can also be watered down into a dressing) has been useful in making my salads a lot more interesting, nutritious and satisfying as well as being great to eat with veggies and crackers as a quick snack.
With all that in mind there’s also a few things I’m going to try out over the next few weeks:
- Make use of the dehydrator – this weekend I made up a big batch of juice pulp crackers and my first batch of juice pulp bread – both of which will keep all week and make great accompaniments to lunches and dinners!
- Get back to making a grain of the week
- Experiment with multiple use meals like this one from Hipsterfood – a mix of lentils, spices and nuts that can form the base of a sandwich spread, a wrap, a burger, salad topping or Buddha bowl meal. I would love to try making up a giant pan full and eating throughout the week adding variety with different sauces and dressings. I bet it would be a very cheap way to eat too!
I know that a lot of that can just seem like a giant amount of hard work. Yes, it does take some commitment, but 1 hour on a Sunday afternoon spent cooking a pot of grain and blending up a dip is going to save you more time and stress in the long run. Plus I kinda enjoy my Sunday cook up sessions!
I’ve also found that using a tool like Evernote (which is free!) helps as I keep my meal / exercise plan, shopping list, wish lists, recipe inspiration, work to do list, er whole life, on that so I can access it on my work PC, home laptop and my iPhone on the go.
Are you a naturally well organised person or is it something you have to work at? What are your top organisation tips?
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