Successful Weight Loss Always Starts With A Meal Plan

Welcome to the New Year! This is the time of year when we all start making those resolutions - usually to eat healthier and get more exercise. Unfortunately, our resolutions tend to fall by the wayside far too soon, especially when we don't have a good plan to follow.

If you're trying to get rid of that holiday weight, and create a slimmer and trimmer you in 2016, it's important to start with a plan that is easy to stick to. Basically, if you have everything planned out, you don't have to keep thinking about what you are going to eat or how hungry you are.  When you plan your meals correctly, the weight loss becomes much more likely to happen.  Here are a few tips for meal planning for weight loss success.

Plan for Breakfast

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Breakfast is the meal that gets your metabolism running and, if done properly, can help you burn fat all day long. It is important to plan for breakfast because a rushed morning makes for poor food decisions. Planning for the morning is better done the night before. Now, this doesn't mean you need to pour your cereal and let it sit overnight, but you should have a good idea of what you want to eat when you wake up.

A tip for planning for breakfast is to take everything out the night before, like your utensils, cereal, and anything else that can be left out, and consolidate your cold ingredients in one space in the refrigerator. This will help you to be more efficient in the morning when your eyes are not quite open yet. If protein in the morning is a must-have on your diet, try hard-boiling eggs the night before, peeling them, and storing them in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator.  They are the perfect morning protein that even the sleepiest dieter can manage.

Set Up the Snacks

When we get hungry during the work day, those lunch room or cafeteria vending machines start calling our name, whispering sweet nothings. If you start a love affair with these vending machine vixens, you'll be sorry. While on a weight loss regimen, those giant boxes packed with unhealthy choices are your worst enemy. This is why it is so important to plan your snacks for the day. By bringing fruits and vegetables or other healthy options from home, you will be able to control your hunger and avoid the trips to the vending machines.

Great snacks for the workplace include an apple, popcorn, cut up veggies, cheese sticks, whole nuts, and yogurt. Not only will you feel better about the choices you make throughout the day, you will be able to stick to your weight loss goals for the long term. Small healthy snacks should be planned out for the day so you and your diet stay on track, and away from the vending machines.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Plan for Lunch and Dinner

When you don't have a plan in place for your main meals, chances are you could end up foraging in the refrigerator and coming up with a bowl of leftover mashed potatoes as a main course. Or worse yet, calling for pizza or driving through the fast food place. This will turn into a dieting disaster, so it is important to think about your meals ahead of time. When your diet consists of lots of vegetables, fruits, protein, and whole grains, and all you have in the refrigerator is cold spaghetti noodles, you are putting your diet in jeopardy. Fill your refrigerator and pantry full of healthy choices and write out your meal plan for the week.  If you fall off your diet routinely just because you didn't plan your meals, you may be sabotaging your diet.  Make the commitment, then make the plan.

When you take the time to plan your meals and snacks, you have a better shot at keeping up with your weight loss goals. By planning your breakfast, being sure to pack appropriate snacks, and planning your lunch and dinner, you will be able to fend off the evil vending machines, fast food lines, and unsuccessful attempts at foraging for healthy foods. Remember, the food you eat should be a choice, and not just what is available on a whim. Plan for your meals and plan for a healthier you this year!

3 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Planning Your Holiday Meal

The difference between taking the time to really plan your holiday meal, and flying by the seat of your pants, is that the first way will typically result in an amazing dinner and a great time with family and friends.  The second way, not so much.  You're bound to feel the stress, frustration and quite possibly end up serving a less than splendid meal. Failing to plan wisely will inevitably lead you to spending way beyond your budget, in both money and time.  In order to avoid this undesirable outcome, there are three points you must focus on; your time, your guests, and your skills.

How Much Time Do I Have?

Christmas tree. (Photo credit: Christopher S. Penn)

It's quite likely that the first time the phrase 'time is money' was uttered was during preparations for a holiday gathering. Being aware of how much time you have to prepare your holiday meal is of the utmost importance. If you don't get a good idea of how much time you can spend on the feast, you could end up having to skip parts of the menu.  Or you could end up spending extra money to change your menu to speed things up to fit the time you have.  So, be completely honest with yourself when you figure out how much time you have. No, you do not possess super powers.  It's better to get that straight right now so you aren't trying to magically bend and stretch time later.

Yes, you have to realistically figure out how much time you have. But, there's more. You also have to know how much time the food takes to go from store to table.  If you have ten hours you can spend to prepare your holiday feast, and the menu takes twenty hours to shop, cook, and serve, something's got to give. If you think you can squeeze twenty hours worth of food preparation into ten hours, then you are a magician and don't need any help from me!  However, if you're not a magician and you're still going to try this trick at home, it's quite likely you will find yourself rushing around spending valuable time trying to gather ingredients to substitute for menu items you wanted to have but ran out of time to prepare. This could put a huge burden on your time, your money, and your sanity. Don't make the mistake of under-estimating how much time it takes to prepare for your feast and celebration.

What Do My Guests Want And Need?

You would think this is a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how something so simple can make such a big difference in the way your holiday feast turns out.  For instance, do your guests like to snack, mingle, chat, and then snack some more?  If so, why not focus on that approach rather than a huge sit-down meal?  After all that nibbling and mingling, if you lead your guests to a big seven course dinner, you may be putting a halt to the fun and putting your huge meal away untouched. However, if your guests are the kind who like to come in, sit down, and dig into a big meal, then by all means skip all the appetizers and get your meal on the table.  This keeps you from wasting money preparing a bunch of snacks when it's the meal everyone is looking forward to anyway.

Knowing your guests also means knowing their likes and dislikes. This doesn't mean you have to cater all your dishes to individual tastes, but try to reach a general consensus so you don't feel like you're running a restaurant, or spending money like a restaurant. Skip the rosemary potatoes if your guests are lukewarm with their responses when asked.  And, yes, I did say ask.  It's quite appropriate when you issue an invitation to a dinner to ask your guests if they have any preferences, dietary needs, or even allergies.  Go ahead and be specific and tell them what you plan to have on the menu and if anything could cause a problem.  It's all part of being a good host.

Crab served. Christmas dinner. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Where Do My Skills Fit In?

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to cook an over-the-top meal and dumping it into the trash just because you reached way beyond your skills. Avoid creating culinary disasters by knowing your abilities. You don't want to spend a lot of money, or time, on a holiday meal that is a vision of loveliness in the foodie magazine but has no basis in reality in your kitchen. The holiday meal is no time to experiment.  Find trusted recipes and use them.  If you want to try something new, stay within your range of skills and try them out beforehand if possible.  If you're the least bit nervous, stick with what you know. Your guests will always appreciate your tried-and-true dishes.

By being aware of your time, knowing your guests, and being true to your skill set, not only will you have a great holiday meal, you will also keep your budget intact. And that all leads to a fun, relaxing holiday celebration for everyone, including you!

Eating Healthy On the Go

People use many excuses to give reason to why they are not eating healthy foods. One of the most common of these excuses is that they have no time to worry about choosing the best foods and cooking them for themselves and their families. These people usually grab fast food or take-out instead of healthier foods, and these quick dinner fixes are full of bad fats and cholesterol, sugar, and empty calories. However, no matter how little time you have to spend in the kitchen and at the supermarket, there are ways in which you can eat in a healthy way without much time. Learning how to eat healthily even when you're super busy can make all the difference in perfecting your diet.

Image via Wikipedia

Eating healthy foods begins with healthy ingredients, but if you are short on time, you may find that spending lots of time time in the grocery store does not fit into your schedule. To maximize your time, plan ahead for two weeks at a time. Instead of having to go to the store every time you need an ingredient, make a list and keep your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry stocked with good, healthy ingredients. You can make your shopping list during a meeting, while eating lunch, or while you are on the phone. A list will also help you cut back on impulse buying, which is when we purchase a lot of the foods that are bad for us.

Along with planning your shopping list, plan your meals as well. If you find little time to cook during the week, you can instead try making a few healthy meals in advance on the weekend and than putting them in your freezer. Before you go to work in the morning, simply stick the frozen dinner in the refrigerator to thaw and then pop into the oven to cook when you get home from work. This will help you avoid having to pick up fast food. Keep healthy drinks on hand at home as well instead of purchasing soda.

Healthy eating on the run isn't always easy. However, putting a tad bit more time into planning ahead and cooking your own meals from scratch is worth the extra effort, because you’ll be living a longer and healthier life in the end.

Cooking for One - News & Articles

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For those attempting the challenge (or joys) of cooking for one, here are some good articles you may wish to check out. From recipe suggestions, to special tips and ideas specific to the single cook, there is lots of good information to be found on the topic. You can also find many good recipe books for single cooks on Amazon.com.

Cooking for One | a ¢ent's view
A bit of prose, a bit of poetry, a bit of truth-telling.
Publish Date: 01/07/2011 23:15
http://acentsview.com/2011/01/07/cooking-for-one/

Cooking For One Can Be A Challenge – Consider Meal Sharing!
It is a fact however, that people who live alone have a hard time cooking a proper meal for themselves, who lose the “Chef” and just have the “Solo”. Just do a search on Amazon for “Cooking for one” and you'll get 1075 results for ...
Publish Date: 01/05/2011 13:43
http://kilbornwellness.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/cooking-for-one-can-be-a-challenge-consider-meal-sharing/

Cooking Tips For Singles |
Cooking Tips For Singles. All food is separated into portion-size bags, especially commercially bagged veggies and frozen meats, and yes I buy in bulk when there are specials. Fresh chicken (pieces) is usually cooked in bulk and frozen. ...
Publish Date: 08/11/2010 3:00
http://www.ca-oe.org/121-cooking-tips-for-singles.html

Food and Drink » Cooking Tips For Singles
I love cooking, I choose several of my favorite meals, purchase my ingredients and containers that suit the type of meal you are cooking and then cook and freeze. Another great cooking tips for singles! I make delicious hamburgers from ...
Publish Date: 01/07/2011 9:05
http://lynksurf.info/cooking-tips-for-singles/

Cooking for One

This month we will focus on a couple of different common scenarios where cooking from scratch may seem a challenge - namely, when you are cooking for a very small number, or picky eaters!  This week, we tackle the challenges of cooking for one.

Cover of Cooking for OneIt is often frustrating to attempt to plan meals that are designed for one. But we are seeing more and more recipe books and Internet websites that are dedicated to the act of cooking for one. Divorce and the death of spouses or grown children leaving for college are all reasons that someone accustomed to cooking for more than one would suddenly need to learn how to adjust all the cooking practices utilized before into a streamlined plan of cooking that is more efficient for one person.

The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make cooking for one a challenge rather than a trial. Use this opportunity to try new and exciting cuisines. Perhaps one of the greatest things about cooking for one is the fact that it isn't quite as expensive as cooking for two. This means that you have a little more money in the grocery budget with which to plan and prepare your meals.

One thing you may want to keep in mind however is that when cooking for one, you may also want to prepare foods that are freezable. It may save more time (and in the end money) if you cook the full 2-4 servings that most recipes call for and freeze the leftovers in single serving portions for a later point in time. This leaves you with a freezer full of foods for those nights when the thought of cooking just seems beyond your capabilities. This also leaves you with doing the work once and enjoying the fruits of your efforts many times over. This is a great position to be in if you ask me.

We are finding more and more recipes and cookbooks that are designed around the concept of cooking for one. No matter what situation placed you in the position of cooking for one, there is no reason that you shouldn't enjoy great food that is exciting and pleasant simply because you are dining alone. There is no harm in enjoying a fabulous meal with a glass of wine and great music even if you're the only one there to enjoy it! I started cooking for myself in college, and at first, I didn't really care for it.... So I didn't cook that much unless I had friends coming over.  But once I was really out on my own I really started experimenting with new foods (and I moved to Louisiana, which didn't hurt!), and found that I absolutely LOVE cooking for myself - trying new recipes, new techniques, new spices and flavors, etc. I really don't think I would have become such a creative cook if I was trying to please someone else's palate.

Image by jgodsey via FlickrRemember you are what you eat and if you relegate yourself to boring meals that lack excitement and spice you will find it hard to keep motivated to make yourself meals. However if you decide to reach out and try new and exciting dishes with every meal you prepare when cooking for one, it will show in the way you embrace life in other areas as well. While we should not live to eat, we should also not limit ourselves to eating to live. Enjoy the foods you prepare whether the portions are large or small in size.

If you do not want to invest heavily in cookbooks that relate to cooking for one, it is quite possible that your local public library will have a few from which you can find some excellent recipes tips and resources. While you are there be sure to check out their selection of exotic food cookbooks in order to spice things up a bit. You never know what treasures you may discover on the shelves or your local library. You may even find local resources on classes that center on the idea of cooking for one. If the library proves to be a bust as far as resources go, the Internet is full of recipes, tips, and hints for those who are cooking for one.

This week, we will also feature some more ideas and recipes for cooking from scratch, solo, so be sure to check back on this blog in a day or two. And be sure to come back next week, if you're more interested in cooking for two!

Some Good Cooking-For-One Resources: