Over the years I have found that one of the best ways to stay on track is to set yourself up for success every way possible. One of the best ways to do this when it comes to food is to keep your pantry and fridge stocked up with things on plan for you. It also makes such a world of difference in saving you time and making your life easier.
Today I am sharing some of the things I do to set myself up for success to stay on plan with food. A little planning and preparation is everything when it comes to staying on plan with food. It is so easy to get derailed when we aren’t prepared and have no plan. Some of the things I do monthly and weekly to keep myself on plan:
- Bulk buy and pre-bag proteins.
- Stock up on staples.
- Don’t Buy Foods that Tempt you.
When I got divorced, I went through a period of time where it was really challenging to make ends meet. After taking on the full responsibility of all the bills when my ex-husband left, my paycheck was spread really thin. So, it was really hard to buy groceries and I had to really be thoughtful and do really good planning to make sure I could stretch my grocery budget as far as possible.
About four months after my divorce, my sister and nephew moved in with my oldest and I. We were both going through similar situations and we had to get somewhat strategic about expenses. This led us to learning the best way to stock up on certain staples for the month, while having some flexibility for fresh foods week to week. Though it was stressful at the time, it laid a solid foundation for planning meals and keeping costs down. Over time, we just kept with it even as we both increased our incomes. Later, as I got back to nutrition and exercise after having my youngest, I continued to follow some of the shopping approaches I’d learned when I was on a tighter budget, because I found it was also really helpful with staying on track with my food when I got back to working off the baby weight after I had my youngest.
Over the past decade or so, I’ve developed some tried and true ways to shop and stock up at home that keeps me on track.
- Bulk buy and pre-bag proteins.
There are a couple reasons for this. One, and more obvious is it helps you stay on plan if you keep foods that are, well, on plan on hand. This way you have options for meals and snacks already in your kitchen. The second reason is you don’t have to shop as often, or for as much each shopping trip. For example, I use chicken and turkey a lot in my cooking. One of the things I have found works well for me is bulk buying and freezing chicken or other lean meats. So, if you have a warehouse store, like Costco you can go to, I recommend getting your go to proteins from a place like this, breaking it down into meal size amounts and freezing it. Here is what I like to do:
- Buy one to two rotisserie chickens and break them down. I remove the skin and toss it. Then I halve the chicken, take the meat off each half and bag it in a gallon ziplock freezer bag. This is easily enough to use in a family size meal for things like tacos, enchiladas, pastas, and casseroles that call for pre-cooked meat. All you have to do is take one bag out of the freezer the night before you plan to use it.
- Buy the large packages of raw chicken breasts. I have found with these two chicken breasts per meal is generally enough. I break down the package and wrap each breast in plastic wrap, then bag two to four in a gallon ziplock freezer bag and freeze them. This is usually plenty for a month. Again, you just take out what you will need for the next evening’s meal the night before as you need.
- Buy the pre-packed tilapia fillets. I have found these in several different bulk stores and they have the fillets vacuum sealed separate, which makes it super easy to take what you need as you need through the month.
- Large bags of frozen shrimp. Simply take out the amount you need and put it in a bag and put it in the fridge the night before you need it.
- Last, I also do this with lunch meat. As you may know, the bulk stores usually sell large two-packs of deli turkey or ham, so you can freeze one and leave one in the fridge.
- Stock up on staples.
Similar to the proteins, I like to stock up on staples frequently. It just seems to make life easier when you don’t have to buy all the things every time you go to the store. In my house, some of the things I always like to have on hand are pasta, rice, pinto beans, tomato sauce, and broths. I have found you can save money buying these in bulk, but you can also find them on sale at the grocery store. For example, my grocery store often has sales on pasta where you can get several packages half off. Similarly, they often have buy one get one on things like sauces. So, I like to grab these deals when I see them to keep stocked up on my staples. It has saved me many times when life happens. - Don’t buy foods that tempt you.
Sometimes this is easier said than done. However, I can guarantee you it is much harder to resist indulging or overindulging on things that do not help you reach your body goals when you keep them in the house. So I have found the best thing to do is not buy them at all. For example, one of my all time weaknesses is Cheez-its. I fricking love those stupid crackers and I cannot stay out of them if they are in the house, so I don’t keep them in the house. This doesn’t have to mean you don’t ever have things you like in the house that maybe aren’t considered “healthy.” For example, there are some things I love that I have no problem eating in moderation or skipping most of the time. But we all have those things that if they are around we will eat them, so do yourself a favor and leave these at the store.
So, these are some of my grocery shopping strategies for staying on track and making my day-to-day life a little easier. I hope you give some of these a try and find them helpful.
I would love to hear from you, so please share your thoughts in the comments. If you find this helpful and want to continue the pursuit of faith, fitness, and joy with me, please like and subscribe. You can also find Faith Fitness Joy on Facebook and Instagram or check out the Faith Fitness Joy podcast. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you in the comments and on the socials!