Any business plan or project requires a structured, yet simple, planning approach! Integrating healthy lifestyle habits is no exception. Interestingly, the more balanced and nutritious the food choices and combinations you make, the more efficient and productive you will be when developing meals and snacks for the week. More specifically, calories from plant proteins, good fats (fish, nut butter, various oils) and colorful vegetables contain several essential ingredients for the production of energy by your cells and the development of neurotransmitters by your brain.

Step 1: Have everything on hand

Cooking without essential ingredients is frustrating! Even more so when the goal is to eat well while saving time. My simplest and most effective tip: stock up on my essentials. Here is a list of some of these foods and ways to use them. Make sure to replenish these reserves when they are used up, in order to always benefit from a diversity of foods and save time.

The Pantry

Take advantage of foods that have a longer shelf life for weeks when meal contents have not been predetermined. What you see:

Canned and packaged legumes are perfect for adding protein to meal salads, making homemade hummus or roasted chickpeas to snack on as a snack. I love sprinkling red lentils into soups and stews to enrich them with fiber and protein in a simple and effective way. They are very digestible and quick to cook. Canned fish are an ally for sandwich preparations, adding protein to a meal salad or on a pizza. I have particularly adopted sardines and mackerel grilled in a pan or on the BBQ; the family loves them.

The freezer

Ideally, you should invest in a single freezer and, in addition to putting in extra cooked portions for days when you are in a hurry, you should find in it:

Various proteins such as pre-cut chicken breasts to add to a stir-fry or on nachos. Seafood and fish fillets are quick to defrost in cold water and are interesting proteins for one-pot meals. Let's not forget edamame beans which, added to a stir-fry, for a salty snack or to colour a Buddha bowl, can be prepared in three minutes in the microwave. Frozen vegetables which turn out to be our best friends when fresh vegetables are too expensive or scarce. We prepare them steamed, we add them to a stir-fry, a smoothie, a spaghetti sauce, a chili or a stew.

Step 2: Plan

From experience, it is rare that we manage to keep up the rhythm of menus planned to the letter according to an established calendar such as: we eat this meal on Tuesdays and that one on Thursdays. Why? This type of tool is probably not the right one for you, quite simply! By having everything on hand, you will now have the basics. The entrepreneur, athlete, mother and nutritionist that I am always does it this way: I determine three recipes in advance in order to add to the essentials the foods that I need to make them. Added to these recipes are a few quick meals prepared with my essentials (see step #1 above) and one or two classics that the whole family likes or that meet the taste of the moment. I like to use the Fridge Check , Out of Milk and MenuHebdo apps, but between you and me, there comes a time when we create our own tools and personally, the good old grocery list in the pen and key drawer allows me to update my essentials and the new foods to buy based on specials and chosen recipes.

For those who prefer meal planners, the one from the OLO Foundation is interesting, as is the one offered by the company Les Belles Combines .

Step 3: Carry out in a structured way

The ingredients are available, the recipes are determined, now all that's left is to cook on your own schedule and double the recipes to stock the freezer.

Personally, I love to do a combination of both ways of doing things: cooking casseroles, cold salads and hearty soups on the weekend, while I only prepare the ingredients for sheet pan meals or dishes that require 10-15 minutes of cooking without having to go to the cooking step for the latter.

This routine allows me to maximize my precious time, to focus on projects related to my work and to be a 100% available mom in important moments.

And on the overall health side, these few tips will limit access to ready-to-eat meals that are sometimes unbalanced.

Happy back to school!