Re-Set Your Schedule

As yet another summer starts to come to an end and the “school year” starts to roll out in motion, we need to make sure our healthy habits with activity and nutrition are set up for success. Being prepared at the beginning of the week will help keep you motivated to stay on track with your activity and nutrition. The biggest key to being successful in this with your whole family is getting them involved.

Grocery shopping and food prep can be a lot for one person to take on for an entire family, so why not have a little fun along the way and teach your children the necessary food skills of life.

Grocery Shopping: Make a list, sticking to the perimeter of the grocery store as best as possible. Ask your children what their favourite fruits and vegetables are. Introduce them to a new fruit or veg in the grocery store. Let them pick the apples, and correct them if they pick up a bruised one (it happens, but we learn!)

Meal Preparation: Spending 1-2 hours on a Sunday evening is key to making sure we make the right choices each day and not reach for the wrong choice when we’ve gone too long without food, or don’t have an idea what we may want. Simple things such as making a cold pasta salad (pasta, chick peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese), roasting some vegetables, baking some chicken tenders, washing and bagging individual vegetable portions (baby carrots, cucumbers, peppers, cherry tomatoes, celery, broccoli), making a large portion of oatmeal, or baking some Morning muffins will have you ready and set for the week. You can choose to make a lasagna or two and have ready for your evening, or freeze one for a later busy week. Start with a few preparation items, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll be making so much more in the same time in later weeks, and develop new efficient ways to go about the preparation. Just as important here, get the kids involved. Depending on their ages, there are so many tasks they can help with: washing vegetables and fruit, measuring out ingredients, washing the dishes, assisting Mom and Dad, etc.

Make an activity calendar: Take a look at your week ahead and plan out when your activity is going to take place, when the kids will have activity, and most importantly when you can plan activities together as a family. Make sure to include after school activity for the kids outdoors, as this is the most important time to be active and there are tons of things to do in all types of weather. Post the calendar on the fridge or an area where everyone will be able to see it.