Habits for a New Year or: What Coach Mike and Barack Obama Have In Common
Healthy Time-Saving Strategies for the New Year
We are a few days into this new year, so the take-backs on new years resolutions are no longer ok. We all want to save time and money that we can spend on things we want to accomplish this year. Or in my case, pay off the 100,000 mile auto work I just had to drop XD.
Start the day right.
I don’t like making breakfast. It’s easy, probably involves the fewest ingredients out of our three daily meals, but I just don’t like making it. I like drinking coffee, reading, and planning out my day, and making breakfast disrupts everything! I’ve heard President Obama used to wear the same suit every day to reduce the number of decisions he had to make that day. That’s what we are trying to do with breakfast.
One of the best ways to save time in the morning and avoid the breakfast drudgery is to plan ahead. Spending a few extra minutes on a weeklong breakfast casserole can save you valuable time, mental energy, and maybe give you a few extra Zs before you start your day. One of our favorite recipes is the Easy Breakfast Casserole (http://paleomg.com/easy-breakfast-casserole/) from the food blog PaleOMG. Ingredients include eggs, sweet potatoes, breakfast sausage, onions, and spinach. Also, this is a perfect time to shout out Neese’s breakfast sausages. CF Chapel Hill is in no way affiliated with Neese’s, but we wish we were!! It’s just too good and can be found at Harris Teeter (luckily it’s near the gym!).
Stop wasting money on lunch.
I love Chipotle as much as the next CFer, but sometimes we need to be real with ourselves. Despite the travesty that is their not-even-as-good-as-store-bought queso, their guacamole is still amazing, which means you’re paying at least $9 per meal. Prepping your lunch is a great way to save time and money. Trader Joe’s has been selling quality stuff at a reasonable price before Whole Foods was even a twinkle in Jeff Bezos’s eye. Go there, buy enough for the week, and save money.
Simple dinners can be delicious.
What if I told you that you could make incredibly delicious dinners with almost zero effort. Enter, the slow cooker. All you need is a nice cut of meat (fattier cuts will braise better, think rich French foods) and a little planning ahead. Other cheap and delicious meals include $5 rotisserie chickens that you can get from any grocery store. Last night we made butternut squash and chicken mash (http://www.thefoodee.com/recipe/7265/). A little planning goes a long way!