Let’s face it, letting go of the leisure of summer and getting back into a fall routine can be rough! For us, fall includes getting the kids up and going earlier, breakfast for all, packing school lunches, thinking about after-school snacks, and planning for evening dinner. We don’t want to be caught off guard and resort to making unhealthy choices, so planning is key.
Starting out with healthy ingredients in the fridge and pantry is a great start! Customers tell us all the time that since they began receiving Klesick’s fruit and vegetable boxes, their family has been eating more nutritiously! We love hearing that!
Don’t let the busyness and hungry-belly time crunch push you into a corner! Stay ahead of it so you’re not tempted to compromise your nutritional values! When you get your produce box, take a few minutes to prep some of your vegetables so that the items are quick and convenient to use! You can always chop up cauliflower and broccoli and then store in a sealed container. You can scrub or peel carrots so they’re ready for dinner or a quick snack. Also, evaluate the items for longevity. Some of the pit-fruit, berries, or tender greens are best enjoyed within a few days after delivery!
Take a few minutes and think about how you can add more fruit and vegetables to your meals. Make a list of healthy choices and post it on your fridge so you can peak at it when you lack inspiration. Our breakfasts often include a huge bowl of cut up mixed fruit and berries, topped with plain yogurt and a sprinkle of chopped nuts or homemade granola, so I make sure we always have fruit choices on hand. We also enjoy veggie omelets to go with Tristan’s homemade sourdough bread! Having pre-chopped or even pre-cooked vegetables ready to go make a morning omelet practically a fast food!
For school lunches, we try to keep our kid’s favorite raw vegetables on hand; cucumbers, carrots, and peppers! Our kids pretty much have them every day, so ordering these items as an add-on works great because then we’re sure to have enough for the whole week.
After school snacks usually come straight from our HUGE fruit basket! The kids can take their pick! We also keep cut up veggies and a choice of dips, ready and available, in the fridge.
We keep our dinners nutritious, but simple, and we rarely use recipes. At our house, we make a lot of veggie stir-fries served with meat or beans, over rice. We also love to make a huge tray of roasted vegetables and serve as a main dish, or side, or over a salad. We also make a lot of soups, stews, and salads! Once you get comfortable with any of these dishes, they are all super easy to quickly throw together, and you can even make enough to use as a base for the next day’s meal! Do as much prep work when you have free time so, when the pressure comes at mealtime, you are ready to take it on!
Eating healthy is totally achievable in the midst of a busy schedule, but we’ve learned that having good ingredients on hand, and a little pre-planning, sure helps!
-Joelle Klesick
