Make Healthy Food Choices and Stay on Track with a Meal Planner

 

About eight months ago I made a radical diet change to improve my overall health and help me lose 10 pesky pounds I had been carrying around for a while. The eating plan was simple: no refined flour or sugar, no dairy, and lots of lean protein, veggies and complex carbohydrates, like sweet potatoes. That paired with a gym routine of three to four 60-minute workouts per week and I quickly dropped the excess weight (I actually ended up losing 16 pounds!) and felt better than I had in years.

The holidays, though, threw me off track. The office was loaded with sweet treats, popcorn tins and candy. I am a sucker for sugar.

Determined to get back into my healthy eating habits, I created this laminated meal planner for my refrigerator door. On it, I can list what I’ll have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the entire week. I can even include items for my grocery list, which really makes shopping once a week a lot easier. 

Here are the steps to create this custom meal planner:
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Make Resolutions as a Family in the New Year

 

I can’t believe it’s time to start thinking about a new year with new possibilities. New Year’s resolutions can be hard to maintain, so this year I came up with a fun idea for my family. We each contributed four resolutions so that at the beginning of each month we can draw one and help each other complete our resolutions throughout the year. This way we hold each other accountable and spend time together in the process.


Here are the steps to create a family New Year’s Resolutions box:


1.)   Select a box. I went to my local craft store and purchased a box. There are so many choices for creative boxes such as bright colored take out containers, different shapes, and plain white, so you can be as artistic as you want. I chose a star shaped box with a lid in my son’s favorite color. Any box with a lid, opening or hole cut in the top will work.