The Time Effect

I know…it’s been a couple of weeks since I have written, and I am sincerely sorry about that. College got in the way for a few days, but hopefully I will be back on track with almost weekly posts! We will continue our discussion of minerals later and talk about something that has been on my mind a lot the last couple of days: lack of time.

In my life…I have no life. No free time. Between 16 credits in school, 20 hours at work, and other important responsibilities, I don’t have a lot of spare time. Consequently, I like to plan my schedule in a way that allows me to get multiple things done at once. Seriously. I even read a book while walking around campus so I can read something besides textbooks during the day. And here is a picture from when I had a life and was able to read outside of class ;) But that’s beside the point! I like to have everything organized and planned out, right down to the last possible second of my day, even when I’m not ridiculously busy. I know this sounds pretty crazy, and yes, I am aware that there are times this probably isn’t healthy for me. But alas, it is what helps me sleep at night and get everything done at the same time.

The reason I tell you this is because I, of all people, have an excuse not to have time to eat a home-cooked meal. I don’t say this to be arrogant or self-pitying (I absolutely love my life), but I say this to get across one point: if time is what is keeping you from making nutritional changes, then maybe you need to consolidate your schedule. At the end of the day, time should NEVER get in the way when it comes to your health. Here are some things I do to make sure I get home cooked and high quality meals every day:

1.       Instead of watching Netflix on the couch, I put on a show while I am cooking and eating. I know I’m going to watch Netflix regardless of the time I have during the day, so I might as well be productive while watching it. This not only gives me a bit of time to relax, but my Netflix time has also been reduced. I suddenly have so much more time during the day to do what needs to get done! Like hours of time, not just a couple of minutes (I used to spend WAY too much time watching reruns of Chopped).

2.       Make sure to pre portion your cooked food as you put it away. Whenever I made a meal, I put the leftovers in individually portioned Tupperware containers. That way, when I am in a hurry, I can grab the Tupperware and head out the door. I also do this with fruits and vegetables. That way I don’t have an excuse not to eat them. 

3.       Make next-day preparation a part of your nightly routine. Get together your meals and snacks the night before so you’re not running around the kitchen in a rush the next day. I always find that when you’re trying to hurry, something goes wrong and you end up taking more time than intended (like when you need to print off an essay for class and the printer decides to jam…printers smell fear, I am 1000% sure). But if you spend 10 minutes the night before putting things together (this can be as simple as putting a granola bar next to a banana) so everything is in one spot, you can feel more at ease.

4.       Don’t be afraid to take food out of the house


with you. Many nutrition professionals would chastise me for saying this, but in today’s world, it is near impossible to sit at a table for every meal. I do this when I can, and it typically happens about 1 in every 4 meals, so not quite once a day. I also don’t have a family to support and care for, so I know this is a factor. The main reason nutrition professionals are against this practice is because eating-on-the-go is typically associated with fast food. But we are by-passing that! We have our meals cooked and prepared ahead of time so that there is no need to go through the drive-thru.

My favorite consequence of these tips is that they extinguish ‘grazing’ from our lives. Grazing happens when we don’t really eat a meal, but instead snack throughout the day. The things we snack on aren’t necessarily as good for us as a full meal. I know I like to snack on Veggie Straws and granola. Both of these things aren’t spectacularly good for you, so I make sure to balance them out with a good meal at some point during the day.

Grazing also occurs as we cook. Have you ever been so hungry that as you are cooking a meal, you are also snacking? Then by the time the food is done cooking, you are full. But you feel bad not eating the meal you just cooked, so you eat the meal anyways. Then you over-eat, leading to guilt. And guilt is an emotion that you should never feel towards food. That is when food starts to control you.

Having meals prepared beforehand allows us to escape this constant grazing! When you are hungry, you just grab your Tupperware container and eat. No waiting. No stress. Just yummy food inside of your tummy whenever you want it. And all it takes is prioritizing your time a bit better. I hope you all find the time you need to eat a home cooked meal.