I’m sitting on my couch right now, and I could not be happier to be anywhere else in the whole world right now. I had one of the busiest weeks of my life last week. And now, I’d like to talk about Easy Time-Savers to Keep Your Healthy Diet on Track!
Besides working completely full-time for my clients, I had to “fit in” several national print magazine interviews and taping a few segments for EXTRA. But the big twist in the week was a dinner I made for 14 wonderful, creative and inspirational people! As fun as it was, I had to make all the food myself, starting to sprout and prepare early in the week. It really was, well, a lot of work!!
In the midst of the craziness, I still insist on taking care of myself and eating the right nutritious foods to support my body and keep me on top of my game. But what to do when I have so very precious little itty bitty time?
So here are some of my time-saving measures that I wanted to share with you, that help keep me sane and healthy during the especially crazy times:
1. I wash, dry, destem and tear up the curly or lacinato kale for my kale salads, and store in reusable containers.
Kale salads make me feel really strong and full of vitality and I eat them very often. But when I get home exhausted, I don’t always want to take the time to go through all the necessary steps to prepare the kale for salads. I try to load up the prepared kale on Sunday and maybe mid-way through the week, so I have that happy experience of seeing already ready kale sitting there for me when I open up the fridge!
2. I chop up a salad vegetable mix separate to the kale.
I keep them separate, as it stays fresher that way and prevents excessive moisture, and therefore sogginess and moldiness. When I make my salads, I just throw in kale from the first container, then reach my hand in this container and throw a couple of handfuls in. I include whatever veggies I’m in the mood for. Lately it has been purple cabbage, carrots, red peppers, celery and radishes. I really can’t be bothered with washing and chopping for even 10 minutes when I’ve been making food all day for clients and racing around like a banshee! It is so simple but it really is a life-saver, and it ensures my salads are colorful with a wide variety of antioxidant and mineral-rich plant foods. I don’t pre-cup up avocado as it would oxidize and get brown and ugly. :)
3. I freeze Glowing Green Smoothies in daily servings and thaw them out the night before.
I give it a good stir the next morning and I’m good to go. I know what it is like to not have time to make it every single morning! Enzymes hold up pretty well in the cold so you don’t have to worry you are losing nutrition by freezing your smoothies.
4. I make very detailed shopping lists. Grouped into sections of the grocery store: produce (the vast majority), spices, liquid condiments (nama shoyu, etc.), almond milk, etc.
I can get in and out of the market in record time now, because I systematically work every aisle row by row- instead of circling back and forth and forgetting things in certain sections, and have to go back! This is key because I’m in there grabbing at least a few things for my clients just about every day. If you know you can be in and out of there in only a few minutes, it may also keep you from dreading going as much, so you actually do go more often and consistently have good food on hand!
5. I never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink!
Well never say never… but I try! :) Not only is it bad Feng Shui, but I feel that the energy of being set back a step leaches into the next morning and day and just your dietary schedule off on the wrong foot. I don’t have a dishwasher in either of my LA and NY apartments, so maybe for those of you that are lucky enough to have one, this doesn’t apply to you…but in general the kitchen should be perfectly tidy every evening so the next day is off to a great, ambitious start to make a lot of your own food and make good choices!
This upcoming week will be busy, but thankfully not quite as crazy as last week. :) I’ll be shopping, and pre-chopping up ‘ma greens tomorrow night! Hope you are taking care!
Lots of love,
Kimberly
First, Thank thank thank you, For taking some behind the scenes shots of Micheal Bays new Transformers 3. That is so cool.
Any how I never knew that leaving your kitchen messy can be bad Feng Shui and the thing is I do have a Dishwasher. But often I am just to lazy to care and do my dishes and clean my kitchen when I get up. Thank you for telling us this. I have enough bad karma in my life as it is. So maybe this will help.
Since your one of those types who washs her veggies. I heard something I hope you can clear up. A friend told me when you get Broccoli you should always soak it for 12 hours before using it because it gets the bugs out. She swears whenever her parents did it there were loads of bugs drawn out of the Broccoli. So I am wondering is this true? Should we soak our Broccoli?
Great idea on freezing and defrosting the smoothies. I’m going to try that! I absolutely love drinking them. They just make your body feel so alive. :)
yes! freezing is great to ensure that we get it every single day!
Hey Forest, wow soaking for 12 hours! I definitely don’t do that… some like to soak produce for 2 hours or so with grapefruit seed extract, raw apple cider vinegar or another veggie wash, especially if it is not organic, to help draw out pesticides and heavy metals.
These are such helpful tips! I made a batch of your Glowing Green Smoothie and put Monday’s cup in the fridge, and Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s in the freezer.
Do you have food suggestions as replacements for the “Gu” product? After reading your blog entries I’m reconsidering my dependence on them during my long runs.
OK Thank you. I appreciate your answering. Because of the store I buy my vegies at I will soak them in Apple cider viniger. Again thank you.
Love this post! SO helpful–I also categorize my grocery list, and it does help so much! I’m going to try the salad and green smoothie tip!
great! yes give it a whirl. I think you’ll find it works really well!
Thanks so much for these tips! They are very helpful! Have you found any particular containers that keep produce fresher for longer? That is always my challenge when I try to save time by buying in advance – I can’t keep things fresh for very long in my fridge. Thank you!
Best,
Summer
I like recloseable glass containers the best!
Hi Kim,
Can you tell me exactly which brand and model of glass containers do you use to freeze your green smoothies? How much head room do you leave in each container? I am worried that they might break due to expansion.
Thanks very much!
Melody
Kim,
Do you think you could do a post on skin care? Specifically, what you recommend we do for our faces?
I enjoyed your posts on clay masks, and getting/not getting sun on your face, but it’s been a while since you talked about daily facial care routines, and products you recommend.
Hi Selena. Thanks for the idea. I will do that soon! Someone else asked me about skincare recently as well… I’ll take some shifts from food soon. :)
Take care and visit me again!
Perfect timing, Kimberly! The last few weeks we’ve been short-handed, which means I’ve been filling in for a bunch of other lawyers, having multiple trials each day–last week I finally got so run down and depressed, and figured out that I hadn’t eaten in 2 days…these hints are great for me, since there’s no end in sight for the busy days. Thank you for always caring about your readers’ well-being! Cannot wait for your book!!
Thanks Morgan!! I hope you are doing well!! I know you are really busy being a lawyer, but do please take care of yourself. Take the time to have your Glowing Green Smoothie every day!! Love, Kimberly
Hi Kimberly,
This is a somewhat strange question, but I was wondering how “important/vital” you think your vitamix is. I’ve been attempting green smoothies with a normal blender and while not bad, it’s pretty grainy and coarse. I’m a graduate student so before I spend half my monthly stipend on a blender, I wanted to see if you really feel its worth the investment. That being said, I do love your blog!
Hi Christina!
I know the Vitamix is really pricey AND I know what it’s like to be a student on a budget…but that being said I can wholeheartedly say that the Vitamix will change your life! As a student you are really busy as well I’m sure, and it takes a fraction of time to clean and make your Glowing Green Smoothie in the Vitamix… not to mention of course that it is not heating up the produce at all and you are able to extract the maximum nutrition from the plant foods. If you nose around their site there may be some cheaper, refurbished ones which are just as good! I think it is the most important piece of kitchen equipment to invest in.
Love, Kimberly
Christina, I agree with Kimberly you can find refurbished ones. But I will add you can also find a Vitamix At yard sales and Goodwill stores as well as Salvation army stores. I bought mine at a yard sale five years ago and mine is a Stainless Steel model. I paid I think 10 bucks for it. But whatever you spend you wont regret getting it.
Christina, Vita-mix has a payment plan good on any blender on their site. You pay 1/2 down, then two more equal installments. Def worth every penny. I rarely use my stove these days! I bought the smaller carafe, and will be ordering the big guy to make big batches of green smoothies, and other superfood drinks:). Use Kim’s Promo code when u call vita-mix and they will ship for free:)
Kim,
I thought your boom was very well rounded And have been recommending to many of our clients who are in our detox programa that they buy it:)
Thanks for your east to understand info, and honest opinions!
Tara
Hi Kimberly,
What type of containers do you use to put the Glowing Green Smoothie in for the freezer? How long does it last in there?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Alexa! I put them in glass containers, that are individually-sized for one portion. I don’t recommend freezing plastic.
How long does the green smoohtie last when frozen? Up to a week? It would be so GREAT to prepare for those times I know I can’t allcoate to chopping and blending and cleaning, plus my kids love them :) Thanks Kim!
Hi Jennifer! It would definitely keep frozen for at least a week. The enzymes won’t be destroyed in the cold. So you can make it just once a week for your family!!
It just so happens that food prep has become my Tuesday night routine after I pick up at my CSA. I’ll come home from work to grab some tote bags then walk over to my pick-up location. Once I get home, I brew some tea for drinking, put on some tunes and begin the process. I tend to sing and dance a lot while I soak, spin and pat dry my leafy veggies, pre-chop and ziplock bag my celery and carrot sticks for snacking and travel. I like to store my green and tender veggies in the Debbie Meyer’s Green Bags so I can see what I have and how much is left, plus it’s super easy to grab handfuls of (hand torn) greens when making smoothies or salads. If I have time after all that, I’ll can some raw veg so they can ferment, cook a few grains and bean/nuts just so I have some cooked food options and lastly, I’ll prepare my lunch and snacks for the next day(s). This keeps me going until the weekend when I have more time to “enjoy” myself (for some odd reason, I’ve always enjoyed cooking/preparing food, especially for others to try and ESPECIALLY keeping with this diet to show all the wonderful, tasty options available when eating live foods). Preparing everything beforehand also helps with entertaining as you never know when someone will stop by (the Jewish Grandma in me doesn’t allow for someone to exit my home without a full belly).
I didn’t mean to step on anyone’s toes by going on a rant about my processes but sometimes it helps to “plan a date” with yourself in order to get your food together considering you’re doing something beneficial for yourself and/or your family.