If we as moms of littles don’t put ourselves first, then it’s only a matter of time before we enter burnout – a state of ongoing overwhelm, fatigue, and emotional exhaustion. And then how do we show up for our kids? Certainly not the way we want to.
And we don’t have a choice to actually do the showing up… but how we show up is everything. And we simply can’t show up fully, feeling energized and vibrant, when we’re not taking care of ourselves and nurturing our well-being.
What We Need To Do
We must take care of ourselves first before anyone else, because if we don’t, we will be in subpar health, feeling run down, and unable to fully enjoy our days (or our life as a mom). Plus, when we’re already physically or emotionally drained, we can’t really take care of others.
But oh right, we need to take care of others… being a mom is a constant, 24/7 thing; we have no choice! And when you feel like absolute crap and yet you still have to take care of these other beings, ugh, that just feels… terrible.
But How?
But how do we actually accomplish this in our busy #momlife days?
Enter: the mom hacks, or rather, the 7 healthy eating hacks for moms of littles.
I’m sharing the first one with you today, but if you want all 7, then you’ve gotta sign up for my FREE webinar happening on November 14, 2024.
For today, here’s the first of 7 healthy eating hacks for moms of littles:
Plan Your Meals
(and create a grocery list at the same time)
*yawn* Okay, this may sound boring, but believe you me, it makes ALL the difference in how we feel, literally throughout the entire week.
Planning your meals highly reduces the amount of stress it takes when you’re trying to figure out what to eat in the moment. All of us moms know how that feels… you’re standing in the kitchen, staring at the contents of your fridge and hoping – just hoping! – something jumps out at you and says “make me!”
Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen, so we’re left to figure it out all on our own. And then we realize we have no meat or fish defrosted and it’s already… 4:00, shoot! Okay, it’s off to the pantry to make mac and cheese from a box… for the second time this week. Oops.
Listen, I’m not saying to never have the mac and cheese (we do over here!), but the point is to be intentional about it. If you’ve planned to have that mac and cheese, then it feels dang GOOD to cook it up. But when you’re doing it as a last resort all too often, it gets stressful and can lead to feeling inadequate because you just can’t seem to get it together enough to get a healthy meal on the table for the fam.
The thing about planning out your meals (and I’m talking weekday dinners, not every meal), is that it completely takes the guesswork out of what to make… and that frees up SO MUCH mental space and brain bandwidth. This leaves you feeling so much more free to focus on other things (like hello, enjoying life!).
Sounds dramatic, but it’s true. Just try it for one week and note how much better you feel each and every day.
How To Do It
It’s so simple – just write down, either on paper or in a google doc, the five meals you will serve that week, Monday to Friday. Include leftovers – because hello! Real life – and don’t overcomplicate it. Check what you have in the freezer, fridge, and pantry, and decide based on that.
As you choose your meals, write down a grocery list of things you’ll need in order to complete those meals. After all, nothing is worse than being in the middle of cooking up a storm only to realize you don’t actually have any left of one of your main ingredients!
Decide ahead of time, and then enjoy the heck out of your week because all you have to do is follow the plan.
And don’t worry – of course things can be switched up as needed. Your hubby brought home steaks he must cook on the barbecue? No problem! Have that tonight and adjust elsewhere if needed (or just skip the meal you were going to have altogether).
The Bottom Line
Mama, if we don’t invest in our health and well-being, we will simply not feel or be our absolute best. We will go through life living subpar days… and not-a-one person benefits from that.
It’s time to start feeling SO much better, the way you freaking know you can feel. It’s time to have enough energy to live life to the fullest, the way you’ve always wanted to.
Start by planning your meals for the week, and join my free webinar to learn the 6 other healthy eating hacks every mom needs to know… especially us busy moms of littles. I hope to see you there.
xo, Laura 🙂
Click HERE to sign up for the webinar