The Skipping Meals Series, Part 3: Lack of Preparation or Time + Recipe Ideas

Welcome to Part 3 of my Skipping Meals series! Today I will be talking about lack of preparation or time when it comes to skipping meals. I’ll also be sharing some recipe ideas to help you get food into your belly with ease. If you missed Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, please read those first before diving into today’s post:

• Part 1: Why Skipping Meals Leads to Binging and Overeating
• Part 2: Balancing Blood Sugar by Nourishing Our Bodies Early in the Day

Skipping Meals Due to Lack of Preparation or Time

One of the big reasons that so many women (and men) skip breakfast in the morning is because of lack of time or preparation. We often think of breakfasts as having to be these very big, time-consuming meals and that is the last thing we have time for on a busy morning. So many of us wake up and hit the ground running without much time to think about food.

That’s why preparation is key! Someone once said that “a failure to plan is a plan to fail.” That is so true in all aspects of life. When it comes to eating healthy, nourishing food in today’s hectic world, preparation is going to be a life-saver. I use a method called “batch cooking” where I will make a large batch of different recipes and then portion them up for later dates and store them in the fridge or freezer.

Preparing meals for the week doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. As a matter of fact, it’s something that I personally do every week and I strongly encourage my clients to do as well. Those that take the time to prepare food for the week on Sunday (or whatever day works into your schedule) will find themselves better equipped to stick with their health plans and meet their health and life goals.

Remember, this can be easy. You don’t need any fancy equipment, membership services, etc. All you need is a pen, piece of paper, quick trip to the store, and a little extra time on one day of the week. Your goal is going to be to create a list that shows you exactly what you can eat for breakfast each day of the week (bonus points and sanity-saving if you plan out lunches and dinners too). But for the sake of this article, we’re talking about breakfast.

I personally try to do a round of batch cooking on Sundays (sometimes every other Sunday depending on what my freezer is stocked with). I spend a couple hours preparing things that can easily be reheated for breakfasts and lunches. I typically cook dinner fresh a couple times per week and then we will eat the leftovers for the next night’s dinners.

I really try to keep it simple. I am in a stage of life where I am busy and I don’t have time to do a lot of cooking like I used to. So having my fridge and freezer stocked with fast and easy meals that need little or no preparation the day of is a life-saver for me. Investing a couple hours per week into creating meals that I can eat throughout the upcoming week is what helps keep me on track with my health goals.

Recipe Ideas for Batch Cooking

Remember that breakfast can be whatever you want. It can be soup, salad, hashes, quiches, burgers, smoothies, even leftovers from dinner the night before. Breakfast doesn’t always have to be eggs and bacon. I see too many people keeping themselves in a “breakfast box” thinking that breakfast food can only be a certain type of food. Not so!

I eat a lot of “hash” type breakfasts. Some days I’ll have a piece of avocado toast to go along with it. Other days I may eat a piece of fried meatloaf and veggies or a burger with veggies. I also make my own homemade sausage using ground meats and lots of spices. Then, I form them into patties, cook, and then portion for meals throughout the week.

But hash is one of my favorites. Probably because it is crazy easy to make. It just takes a handful of ingredients and makes a large pan full of food to keep you going throughout the week. Hash is so customizable so I’ll just share my basic recipe here. Feel free to play around with the proportions and ingredients.

Basic “Hash” Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground meat of your choice (I alternate between beef, turkey, bison, and chicken)
• 3-6 cloves of garlic, minced (depending on how much garlic you like)
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 5-6 cups of chopped veggies of your choice (you can use any veggie you like here – I’ve used almost everything in my hashes)
• Seasonings of your choice (whatever you like — turmeric, cumin, coriander, all-purpose, Cajun, etc.)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Healthy oil for cooking (coconut, avocado, olive oil, butter, ghee, etc.)

Instructions

1. Saute the meat until lightly browned.
2. Add the garlic and onion and cook until the onion has softened a little.
3. Add the other veggies, seasonings, salt, and pepper and cook until the veggies have just started to soften. Don’t overcook this since you’re going to be re-heating them.
4. Remove from heat, portion into storage containers (I love these glass storage containers) and stick in the fridge or freezer. Don’t forget to label them so you remember what’s in there.

Here are some other breakfast ideas that I eat regularly in my home:

• Broccoli Cheese Quiche
• Fluffy Crustless Quiche
• High-Protein Superfood Breakfast Brownies
• Taco Egg Muffins
• Easy Instant Pot Bacon Broccoli Frittata
• Grass-Fed Beef and Vegetable Stew
• Slow Cooker Paleo Chicken Stew
• Chelo Kebabs with Cucumber Yogurt
• Basic Grass-Fed Meatloaf (fried in a little coconut oil until the outsides are browned and then served with veggies)
• Basic Grass-Fed Beef Meatballs (paired with sauteed veggies)
• Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Action Steps – Removing Time and Preparation Barriers

Now it’s your turn. This week, I really want to encourage you to sit down and plan out your breakfasts for the next week. Go to the store, get the items you need, come back and spend an hour or two fixing the meals you’ll need to keep you on track throughout the week. It may feel overwhelming, adding one more thing to your routine, but I am confident that you will quickly notice the benefits of eating breakfast and how you feel throughout the rest of the day.

Preparation is going to be key to eating enough healthy food throughout the day and making sure you stay on track with your health goals. You may also find that your overeating and binging at night starts to subside once your body recognizes that it will get fed and doesn’t have to panic about starvation.

Remember that so much in life is beyond our control, but this is something that we very much CAN control if we are willing to do the work. Choosing to invest an hour or two (or three) per week into creating meals that will be fast and easy during our busy week is an empowered choice we can make for our health.

Stay tuned for parts 4 and 5 coming over the next couple weeks. We will be covering:

• Part 4: Why Does The Thought of Food in the Morning Leave You Feeling Queasy?
• Part 5: The Effect of Skipping Meals on Weight Loss

If you haven’t already, please read:

• Part 1: Why Skipping Meals Leads to Binging and Overeating
• Part 2: Balancing Blood Sugar by Nourishing Our Bodies Early in the Day

If you are ready to finally make peace with food, body, and health, I would love to invite you to join my 7-day Food & Body Freedom eCourse. It’s completely free and will introduce you to a whole new world of food, body, and health freedom. Discover how to finally make peace with the scale, learn to love your body, and reclaim your energy so you can approach health and life from a truly grounded and empowered place. Join us for free here. I can’t wait to see you in the course. ❤

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out! And always, always, always remember that this is about progress, not perfection.