Tuesday Morning Tidy: Food Shopping and Prep

Along with my focus on healthier eating, I've had to be more thoughtful about how I shop and prepare for the work and school week ahead. I don't meal prep, but since I am a snacker and need to bring my lunch to work most days, I like to have some healthy options ready to grab and go.

Breakfast

Variety is key for me, or I can't keep it up, so I have been alternating between Mush and VeggiesMadeGreat muffins. I buy both of these at Costco, and they're easy to grab and go. The Dave's Killer Honey Almond snack bars and Perfect Bars are good options in a pinch.

Lunch

If I'm working from home, my go-to lunch is a tuna packet with squeeze guacamole, a sprinkle of "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning and a handful of pita chips. If I'm in the office, I like a snacky lunch with a bunch of healthy items like hard boiled eggs, organic carrots, dried fruit, hummus, cucumbers, etc.

Snacks

The final category that needs to be easy to grab on a busy morning is...snacks. I love to snack! It's my downfall if I don't prepare, so this is especially important. Right now, grapes are my fave. But I also just grabbed some single-serve crunchy chickpeas and blueberry almonds.

Every Sunday, I prep food for the week ahead.

• I aways wash and cut fruit and cucumbers. The whole family eats these, so we need a lot! About two lbs. of strawberries will last us the week, and one-two English cucumbers sliced is right.

• Carrots and grapes go in small containers for individual portions.

• I hard boil eggs, enough for a big dinner salad and a lunch or two (6-8 eggs).

That's about it. I don't try and make meals ahead of time, but I do have them planned and ingredients purchased for the week ahead. We always have the following on hand to add to salads, veggie bowls and tacos:

• black beans

• peppers

• avocado/squeeze guacamole

• slivered almonds/chopped pecans

• cherry tomatoes

• Frozen broccoli and cauliflower

It's not a perfect solution, and we still order pizza weekly, but I have found this planning to be a sustainable solution for our family.