Preparation is key

I like to be able to open the frig or cabinet and grab and go. I usually do a lot of prep work on grocery day. Last Saturday I spent 3 hours in the kitchen doing prep for the meatloaf, making hubby's breakfast burritos for the freezer, chopping vegies and fruit and more. Whew!

My biggest tip for Weight Watchers people is to take your points calculator with you grocery shopping!!!   I cannot even tell you how much stuff I put back after I took the time to calculate the points per serving and realized that "low cal-low fat" snack would cost me 4 points! I typically keep my snacks to 2 points, MAYBE 3.  LOTS of things I thought were good healthy options went quickly back to the shelf. Take the time - read the labels & calculate the points BEFORE you buy it and bring it home.

After doing Weight Watchers now....4 times....I have learned that as soon as I get home from the grocery, I need to do this routine (a lot of which you can do simultaneously)..and yes...its a lot of work, but just once! Then you are good to go all week!

1) Put the berries (all berries- strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries) into a vinegar bath. I fill up the sink about 1/3 full with cool water and add a cup or so of white vinegar. Let the fruit soak while you do other things, then take it all out and put it back into its containers. No need to rinse. The vinegar is so diluted you won't taste it. This keeps your berries fresher longer. I hate nothing more than spending $5 for a little pack of raspberries and then finding them moldy 2 days later. This vinegar wash prevents that. Plus, all your berries are washed and ready to eat, as well! And berries are SOOO good for you! :-)

2) I go ahead and slice up 3 or so bell peppers (yellow, red & orange) and divide them out into 6-8 baggies. To those baggies, I add some sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, carrots and maybe some celery. (I usually don't add cucumber, as cucumber slices can get slimy fast). These pre-portioned vegies keep 4-5 days. I usually grab one to go with my lunch each day and maybe as a later afternoon snack, as well. I don't have a lot of time on my lunch break, so the faster I can assemble a healthy meal, the better!

3) Chop up any melons - like cantelope, honeydew or watermelon and put into separate tupperware containers. Again -easy to grab and ready to eat!

4) Pre-portion other snacks. I love the small Quaker rice cake things - the chocolate ones, the apple cinnamon ones, etc....13 little cakes are 1 serving, so I put 13 into a ziplock bag, write the amount of points on it and easy, peasy....quick grab snack! This can be done with any food that comes in a box or bag. Pre-portioning is KEY and don't eat out of the box/bag, as its TOO easy to several portions this way and not even realize it.

5) Keep apples, bananas and oranges in a bowl on the countertop or kitchen table. Its in your face, so to say, to make a good snack choice!

6) Slice up celery and put it into a separate tubberware container. I love having celery ready at hand for anytime I might need a little peanut butter pick me up! I Love PB on celery! So do my kids!

7) Hard boiled eggs are a quick protein fix and I lately I've been boiling a dozen at a time on grocery day. Hubby is doing a high-protein diet, so he is going through eggs like crazy, but regardless, they are a good, healthy food...even better when you discard the yolks and just eat the egg whites. ;-)

8) Water- load up the frig with as much bottled water as will fit in it. Its an easy grab-n-go drink.

and some other tips...

9) Popcorn - 100 Calorie smart pop bags. Love them. Popcorn can be a huge hunger-killer. I always have popcorn on hand in my cabinet!

10) Pre-packaged tuna. Lots of people don't like tuna, but I love it. A quick lunch is a pre-packaged 90-calore pack of tuna (my favorite is Hickory smoked), about 2 chopped up sweet pickles and a little bit of Low fat, Olive Oil Mayo (maybe a Tbsp?). Mix it up and eat on whole-grain crackers or on a whole-grain wrap. These are great for a quick lunch prep! Hubby likes them b/c its something he can grab when he has to travel out of time and make whereever he is. He adds a hard boiled egg to his tuna salad.

Hope those tips help...even if its just making your kitchen a little healthier! And FYI - my kids are NOT 100% on board with my "diet" as they call it. I haven't completely cut out all of their snacks. They love Stouffer's "Whales", granola bars, apple sauce, and ice cream (although I now have them just about completely switched to the WW Snack size fudge bars!). They are still growing and both are active and neither one drink soda. I'll allow them a few extra calories here and there! :-)  I pack their lunch usually 3 out of 5 days at school and I always include at least one vegie serving and one fruit serving (and sometimes 2 fruits - 1 for snack and 1 for lunch). They do eat them, too! Dinner time is still a major struggle, though. So, just know that my family is normal...I have resistent kids. Baby steps.