Sunday Detox

It is Sunday, so for me, it is the day to start my week off fresh.  And honestly, it is not typically the most fun of days, especially if it is during the school year when you need to plan out lunches and snacks for the kids to take to school.  Thankfully, it is summertime and quite honestly, without my Sunday detox, the week would be full of garbage (as in a not-so-clean fridge), not the cleanest choices of foods and surely not enough fresh fruits and veggies.

 

 

Let’s talk detox -my way!

Today I started with the fruit and veggie bin and found grapes and strawberries.  First I asked the kids if they wanted them for lunch.  They agreed on the grapes but nixed the berries, so I rinsed them off and tossed them into the berry freezer bag.  I always, try to rescue the fresh fruits and veggies before they go bad (well, hopefuly they don’t even reach that stage). There isn’t anything better than having fresh, frozen produce for our smoothies.  Oh, and the fruits can also be used for pancakes, sweet breads and muffins.

While rummaging through, I had to throw out a few small containers of cooked meats.  All foods cannot be kept after a certain amount of days and I am not about to make my family ill due to trying to avoid food waste.  In addition, at least every 2-3 weeks, I will look through my freezer.  This week everything was just fine, but some things you can look for are items that may have freezer burn and if you label your leftovers, look for food items that have reached their expire date.

Take a look at your condiments every few weeks because they all have dates on them for freshness.  I am also fairly consistent with opening the condiment bottles up and checking for cleanliness around the tops (in my eyes it’s rather disgusting to see crusted food residue).

Not that it was something I did today, but don’t forget to take a look in your pantry.  Look at your spices, your baking essentials, oils, vinegars and nut butters.  Check the expire dates.  You may be surprised by what has expired or maybe there is a food item you are no longer using due to changes in food preferences.

Remember as you are going through it all, you are cleaning shelves, cabinet doors, handles as well as pantry floor space.  In the end, you will absolutely love the cleanliness and find it much easier to reach for healthier options.

Now that everything is clean and you have rid your pantry, cabinets and refrigerator of expired and unhealthy foods, it is time to plan out a few meals.  Typically I plan for all lunches and breakfasts since they are fairly similar each day except for a different veggie or fruit.  For dinners, I plan at the very least, three meals.  With my family, there are many nights for which it is just the kids and I and we typically hit the coast on the weekends so I plan out those beach-friendly meals the day before we head out.  I am also fairly good at making a list of staples throughout the week that I may have run out of such as honey, an array of nuts and cinnamon (I am a freak about adding cinnamon to my raw cereal as well as smoothies).  So those are some items that are automatically added to the list of new foods for the week.

Here is a small list of some staple items you may want to grab to add some flare to your everyday chicken and rice.  The veggies should be bought precut to make your life easier, or you could buy the frozen ones especially if you make a lot stir fry dishes and omelets.

 

 

 

If you are looking for more ways to make meal planning and healthy eating less complex in your household, be sure to sign up for my newsletter where I will be sharing more about my everyday adventures in the kitchen.