4 TIPS FOR EATING WELL IN 2018
Do you need to organize your everyday life? If you haven't done so, click here to receive advice from other organized parents. And don't forget to download the free app Coorganiz, to easily share your calendar, useful documents and the important things to do.
Now that the New Year has popped its head around the door, it’s time to keep up with your good resolutions. If there is one topic that comes up every year, it’s eating well. And let’s not fool ourselves; we never really know how to tackle this problem. Full of promise for the first few weeks, the reality of our daily lives tends to catch up with us all too quickly.
So, this year we have decided not to let things get on top of us. How? Quite simply by being well-organised!
- EAT WITH THE SEASONS
The first key to eating well is to make the most of the fruit and vegetables that are in season. Why? Because they are the ones that best respond to our nutritional needs at the time when we need them most. In winter, we need to be able to face the cold. That is why we need to fill up on food that is nourishing and rich in vitamins (vitamin C in particular).
It’s a good thing, because carrots, cabbage, leeks, parsnips and citrus fruit are exactly the kind of fruit and vegetables that are jam packed with vitamins and minerals! Nature knows best after all.
2. PLAN YOUR MEALS
Who among us has never asked the question “What shall we eat tonight?” an hour before sitting down to dinner? Between the traffic jams on the way home, the children to pick up and the empty fridge, you need to be made of strong stuff to come up with a balanced meal that you didn’t already make last week and that is also going to be a feast for everyone at the table.
Stop asking yourself the same question every evening… plan ahead!
Take 20-30 minutes over the weekend to plan all your meals for the week ahead, with the assistance of a list of seasonal fruit and vegetables. Come up with all the original recipe ideas you can think of and you can take the time to make them balanced meals.
You can use the help of Coorganiz to plan the meals every evening or at lunchtime – that way everyone is up to date at the right time!
3. OPTIMISE THE GROCERY SHOPPING CHORE
Once you have planned your meals for the coming week, it makes preparing the shopping list a whole lot easier. A detailed list of groceries in your hand is the best way to not waste time in the aisles of the supermarket! You can focus on the essentials, buying the right amounts for each meal that you have come up with and you won’t get side-tracked by the non-essential items that you didn’t plan for. With Coorganiz, you can create a shopping list task so that you won’t forget anything and you, your partner or your adored teenagers can add whatever they feel like on the spur of the moment!
A little extra tip: avoid throwing tackling the shopping on an empty stomach because that’s the best way to succumb to your favourite ready-made meals or snacks.
4. COOK AS A TEAM
The recipe is all set and the fridge is full, now all you have to do is get to work on preparing the meal! Gather the whole tribe in the kitchen to put dinner together – it’s some quality time together. Everyone grabs an apron and shares the tasks.
The younger children can wash the vegetables, weigh ingredients and mix them together.
The older ones are responsible for chopping and cooking.
Some little time-saving tips: take out everything you need before you begin (ingredients and utensils), start the cooking at the start of the recipe (pre-heat the oven, boil the water…), chop the vegetables into smaller pieces so that they cook more quickly, use the cooking times to move ahead with the next steps in the recipe (or wash the dishes!)…
Now you are fully equipped to start eating well this year. And if you want to be certain that you can win the challenge, bring an ally on board. There are many solutions that can help you to plan, do the shopping and cook seasonal produce quickly. Our favourite is Quitoque and their organic vegetable and fruit boxes that will delight the entire family.
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