Real Life Real Faith Mommy Matters January Issue | Page 4

managing time, money & Choices

Patience Collins

When you are short on time, doing things on a budget and have limited choices, it can be difficult to prepare healthy meals for your family. Over time, this can have a devastating effect on the health of your entire family.

Time, money and choices are the three main factors to consider when cultivating a health-conscious kitchen. When these three components are implemented properly making healthy meals for your family can be done with grace and ease.

Time is a major factor when it comes to eating healthy. When we are short on time, we are less likely to make healthy food choices and the “anything goes policy”, is what moms resort to when it comes to feeding their families. By managing your time with meal planning and pre-prepping, you can save time and fortify the health of your family.

Meal planning and prepping for healthy meals is a big time saver because you know in advance what you will be eating each day, which will keep you from preparing an unhealthy last minute meal. It will also allow you to shop for the things you need ahead of time.

Money is another factor to consider when creating healthy meals. Cost effective measures such as price comparison between stores will help you shop the best deals for your money. Also asking about competitive pricing at the register, upon checkout, will also help save money because most stores will honor the lower price of a competing store to keep your business. Buy your most frequently used food items, in bulk, to save you time and money in the long run by store and by getting a bargain on surplus. Last, but not least, shop for items that are considered to be the manager’s special. These items generally are significantly reduced which will cut your cost in half

Meal planning also aides in the shopping process because you are armed with a shopping list that tells you exactly what you will need, which eliminates unnecessary time spent aimlessly wondering from isle to isle. This makes your trip to the store purposeful and less time consuming. Moreover, meal planning allows you to schedule your meals at a time when the family can sit and enjoy it together. Prepping for meals is also another great time management tool.

Washing fruits and vegetables in advance and storing them already sliced and diced aides in the actual meal preparation process. Pre-cooking things like ground turkey for at least two meals is a great idea because all you need to do is add it to the main portion of what you are preparing.

In 2012, Patience L. Collins established A Fruitful Perspective, a company which teaches simple and effective ways of detoxifying the body using the essence of Mother Nature. She is a Certified Conscious Language Life-Up Grade Coach.