Authors: Grace Cooper,Eva Mehler,Sarah Benson,Vicki Day,Andrea Libman,Aimee Long,Emma Melton,Paula Hess,Monique Lopez,Ingrid Watson
Tags: #Cookbooks; Food & Wine, #Kitchen Appliances, #Cast Iron, #Pressure Cookers, #Slow Cookers, #Special Diet, #Paleo, #Weight Loss, #Special Appliances, #Health; Fitness & Dieting, #Diets & Weight Loss, #Diets, #Low Fat
Time is a commodity we all wish we had a little more of. But usually any attempt to trim our waists means heaping items onto our to do lists: gym time, food prep time, logging our meals, counting points.
It’s become frustrating for you and may have even begun to impact the progress you’ve made following the Atkins Diet or caused you to think twice about even taking the first step in healthy weight loss.
Dedicating yourself to a healthy way of life doesn’t have to steal time from your already full schedule, however. There are many tricks you can incorporate into your lifestyle to help you stay on track, fulfill your goals and still enjoy some down time on a daily basis.
Once you feel confident and develop a routine, making progress in your weight loss goals will mean feeling healthy and physically fit.
Follow these time-saving tips to get in you in and out of the grocery store with no hassle and without the dreaded return trip for that one item that never made it into your shopping bag.
Make a list
s
— If you want to avoid having to go back for an item you’ve missed then you should start by making a list. While it seems like common sense, I can’t say it enough. Having a list and sticking to it prevents you from spending time (and money!) on impulse buys and getting distracted by sales and promotions that aren’t in your
healthy
food lists. Separate a piece of paper into four sections. Use the headlines: produce, meats, sundry, dairy and fill in your shopping items based on the recipes you are planning to prepare for the week. These four categories are often separated in your grocery store layout making it easier to find them in each isle.
Know your stor
e
— Nothing saves you time like knowing the layout of your grocery store and your grocers. When you know which isle and shelf each item is located in you’ll never find yourself searching each shelf for minutes on end. And knowing your grocer means you get the best advice on food selections and bargain purchases. Knowing your store also means you can identify the best times to shop, when check-out lines are minimal and crowds are slim.
Keep it busines
s
— Making your shopping trip into a family function doesn’t always work well when you’re trying to save time. Remember your goal is to stick to your list in an organized way. Don’t let wrangling your kids district you. If you do have to take a companion along on your trip, share the burden. Assign them a category on your shopping list and a basket, and put them to work.
Buy bul
k
— If it’s on your list and it’s a good deal…why not? Buying bulk often means not only saving money but avoiding having to load on that same item a week from now. While the time investment can be minimal, remember this will mean having to add some packaging and storing time to your schedule.
Shop onlin
e
— Yes, you can do your grocery shopping online! Check with your local grocers to see which offers this service, usually for a minimal delivery fee. It’s as simple as clicking on your item and scheduling a drop off time. Making sure, however, to continue to stick to your list.
You might have shaved off an hour from your grocery shopping trip with the tips listed about, but continuing to incorporate these tips into your routine will mean big time savers. Keep working at it. Just like you’ve made your healthy eating habits a routine, you can make the chore of shopping less of a black hole and more of a joy.
In my experience, the easiest place to incorporate time-saving tools into the Atkins Diet is in food preparation. Does it seem like you spend hours on end in your kitchen? Well, no more. Below you’ll find some of my favorite time saving tricks to ease you through recipe preparation and ultimately that will having you loving the sight of your kitchen again.
Package portions
— Nothing will keep you on track with the Atkins Diet like sticking to portions. And what’s better than having those portions already separated and ready for use. Separating your groceries into portions and storing them for use will also mean you waste less food and save you time when preparing a recipe as the item is already set for use. When it comes to vegetables, chopping them into bite-sized pieces and making premixed packages works wonders.
Precook
— Those items in your recipes that can be precooked should be obvious. Precook groceries like chicken and broccoli before packaging them in the proper portions. And when you are ready to incorporate them into the recipe just pull out and use. Items like garlic can be blended into a light paste and stored in bulk in a glass jar for weeks in your refrigerator.
Synchronize your recipe
s
— Pick recipes that incorporate similar items. When you do you can then precook and package in bulk to save you prep time in the future. If you choose three dishes that each uses kale, you’ll not only waste less you’ll save time in the end.
Clean as you g
o
— Your food and your kitchen tools. Cleaning as you go is as simple as having a bowl of warm water and soap at your side to wash vegetables and chopping knives, allowing you to move seamlessly from preparation of one food item to the next without risking your health.
Be efficient
— When you know your kitchen and where your tools are (not to mention how to use them) you’ll find yourself moving through food prep with ease. Invest in organizing your kitchen appliances and tools to have them easily at hand. Place those tools you most use next to your food prep area. Keep your knives sharp and your appliances clean.
Learn the art
— Food preparation is an art, but it doesn’t take a master chef to, well…master it. Let me break it down: water down onions in cold water to avoid crying while chopping; use a grater to soften frozen butter; soak apples and potatoes in a mixture of one part lemon juice on part water for at least three minutes to keep them from turning brown and to add an extra layer of flavor; use an ice cream scooper on squash and tomatoes to remove pesky seeds; freeze fresh herbs in olive oil in ice trays for easy one serving flavor mixes. Be open to those little tricks that not only save you time but keep your cooking space clean and organized.
If you want to save time in your daily routine, the first step is to know exactly how much time you are spending on following through with the Atkins Diet. Once you have an idea of how many hours you are spending on this goal you can build a schedule that allows you use that time more effectively and potentially cut down on the time you are using.
Take a moment to think through your weekly routine. When do you go shopping and how much time to do you spend at your grocery store? How long does it take you to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner? How much time between beginning to prepare dinner and sitting down to eat with your family? Map out every minute, and be thorough.
Now analyze your routine. Where does most of your time go? These are the areas where you have more time saving potential.
Below you’ll find my suggested monthly schedule to keep grocery shopping and preliminary food preparation to five hours a week. Try incorporating this into your schedule and then make adjustments based on your already established routine. I suggest placing meal planning and list building at the end of the week, and grouping shopping, meal prep, packaging and storing. Remember that the goal is to make sticking to the Atkins Diet less stressful and more fulfilling.
In this chapter we’ve covered some tips in cutting your time in the grocer’s isles and tricks to help you perfect your food preparation skills. In addition, you’ve gotten a look at an initial schedule to help you start incorporating some of those tools. Remember that all of these suggestions should be adapted to help suite your lifestyle. Experiment with what works and what doesn’t, then build your own routine around those points that make the most sense in your life.
Technology is a wonderful thing. And lately, technology has become a tool that the busiest people use to simplify their lives. While you might think that attitude is reserved for busy professionals and office gurus, the truth is that you can incorporate some of the latest technologies into your kitchen to help you cut down on the time you spend there.
Hand blende
r
— These super sleek blenders, also known as “immersion blenders” mean you can mix, puree, and blend right in the pot without messy transfers and without plugging into an electrical outlet.
Flexible cutting boar
d
— Chopping, scooping and dumping has become old school. With a flexible cutting board you just chop and dump. These boards are made of playable plastic that allow you to bend them into scoops for easy transport across the kitchen; not to mention how easy it is to pour vegetables right into a broth. And having more than one is bonus.
Digital tong and thermomete
r
— Now you can turn your meats and vegetables on the stove top or grill while checking the temperature to make sure they are cooked well. Going for as low at $15, this tool will have you producing well cooked meats and tender veggies.
Bag re-seale
r
— These gadgets reseal any commercial bag, from that bag of potato chips you cheated on to the plastic bag of salad greens you are storing.
Spiral cutte
r
— You can Julien cut your favorite salad ingredients for a pretty and refreshing meal all in one step. Even better is this tool is small and can be stored in the tightest drawer.
Salad spinner
— Use it to dry washed veggies and greens, mix up tasty salads and to store extra food. It may take up some room in your cupboard but its versatility makes up for its bulkiness.
Food scal
e
— Why guess when accuracy is at your fingertips? You can even find cutting board versions with food scales incorporated into them. Bonus: you can purchase liquid measuring cup with a food scale incorporated as well.
Palm peeler
— Cut down time wielding that old fashioned peeler. The palm peeler fits in your hand and requires minimal pressure to peel your fruits and veggies. They are also typically dishwasher safe.
Kitchen funne
l
— It’s not just for oil changes. A kitchen funnel is smaller than a colander yet works in the same way, saving you from having to scoop up those lost pieces of food from your sink.
Handless ziplock bag holde
r
— This little gadget will hold up your ziplock bag as you fill it. Meaning less mess and hassle as you store precooked and prepped food.
Yes, there is! Apps are a great way to stay mobile and organized as you work your Atkins Diet success. I recommend the apps below as tools to help you get organized and stay focused on your weight loss goals.
Atkins Carb Counte
r
— This free app does it all; from help you create customized eating plans based on which phase you are in to tracking your carb intake. You can view your results by the day, week or month and your progress is charted for you to easily view. It also recommends nearby restaurants that are Atkins Diet friendly.
Atkins Diet Recipe
s
— Available both on iTunes and Google Play, this app has Atkins Diet inspired and approved recipes for each phase. You’ll get the added benefit of pre-made shopping lists.
DailyBur
n
— Because a healthy lifestyle means incorporating exercise into your daily routine, but tracking your workouts is time consuming you’ll want this free app. The DailyBurn helps you easily enter your workouts, with sections for types of exercise and calories burned. It also provides you with assessment tools that analyze what you’ve accomplished daily and weekly.
Atkins Diet Recipe+
— This app provides over one thousand Atkins inspired recipes. Although it’s not free, it’s a great resource for those following the Atkins Diet and New Atkins Diet.
Our Grocerie
s
— Because sometimes you are working with a spouse or significant other to feed your family, this app will let you organize your grocery list with them in mind. With on email address multiple users can add or remove items from a shopping list to keep each person updated on what’s available in the refrigerator and pantry.
Now that you’ve got a great start on incorporating technology and some popular kitchen tools into your routine to save you time and effort, you’ll want to move on to putting them to use. The following chapter will provide you some recipes to start testing your time-saving savvy on.