It’s the weekend, and Friends are the Worst!
Here are some ways to navigate weekends with friends, meal prep and nutritional band-aids.
You want to be with people you love - the foods and drinks are extra.
Pre-game by eating a meal before you go, so you don't give into the less healthy options. Make sure you have one of your favorite snacks or meals waiting for you when you get home.
Make an appetizer or side dish you know you can eat. No one has to know it's a nutritional home run. Click on the Task tab for links to appetizer recipes.
Order club soda, iced tea, or water with lemon. Request it in a wine glass or a rocks glass. If visiting friends, pack your own sparkling water or compatible beverage. Conceal it in a thermal stemless wine glass. No one can see what's inside, so they won't get inquisitive.
Strategies for Dealing with "The Unsupportives"
Loved ones should be supportive of your efforts to improve your health or better your quality of life, even if they don't agree with your specific choices, but you may face some resentment.
If you're being pressured to "relax, have just one, or are being outright sabotaged, try these strategies:
Directly confront the behavior. Politely point out their peer-pressure ways, and let them know it's not cool. You don't judge their choices (how many of those nachos did they eat?) and would like it reciprocated.
Invite inquiring minds to google it and ask you questions if they are interested in participating; otherwise, it will probably turn into a debate.
Go head-to-head! Why not? If you're being challenged, preach! Diplomatically, use it as an opportunity to educate people. They will either take a sincere interest or change the subject and walk away. Either way, it's a win. Convo over.
Socialize with friends outside of food. Go for a hike or take an exercise class together, but make the activity time something that doesn't involve food or drinks.(OK, maybe a coffee.)
Plan as Much as You Need
Some people like to meal prep a week’s worth of dinners over a weekend. Others prefer to prep a few side dishes and cook their proteins at mealtime. Whatever method you choose, planning meals is not just a great habit to get into; it keeps you organized and saves time and money in the long run. Could you imagine a restaurant not planning a menu, ordering ingredients, or pre-cooking time-consuming items? It would be so disorganized no one would ever eat there.
These meal prep tips keep things simple and relatively quick:
Double your efforts and save half the time. If you’re making a recipe, double it and freeze half for another time. If you do this with one meal each day, you will quickly have several days worth of meals accumulated in the freezer to reheat and eat.
Cook proteins in advance. Some proteins work well to reheat and eat, so cook extras like shredded chicken breast, ground beef, breakfast sausage, or pork shoulder. All of these can be prepared in an instant pot or slow cooker, portioned, and stored in containers. They are all great for topping salads, adding to sauces, serving over roasted vegetables, or scrambling into eggs.
Pre-Cook Vegetables and Potatoes. Roast veggies or potatoes in the oven or air fryer, tossed with a little olive oil, as they reheat well. Cubed, roasted potatoes of any kind are great to have on hand to add to breakfast scrambles, salad bowls, or soups.
Batch Cook. Make a big batch of your favorite soups, stews, and casseroles, divide it into smaller portions, and freeze and thaw as needed.
Don’t Meal Prep at All! If you have a well-balanced grocery haul, you can easily broil, pan-fry, or grill a protein (chicken breast, steak, or pork chop) and roast a vegetable at the same time. Both can be finished in under 30 minutes. Remember to pull a protein from the freezer the night before and move it to the refrigerator to defrost. (This takes less time than it does to cook pasta or order takeout.)
Bone broth is a wonderful base for any soup. Add leftover veggies and chopped or shredded proteins. Fresh ginger and coconut aminos give it an Asian-style flavor, or lemon and fresh herbs make it Mediterranean. Season the way you like.
