I recently went to a Women's Business Network event at the City of Monash. While sitting there, attentively listening to the fabulous speaker Amanda Rose as she presented on having an authentic business and tips for being a woman in business, it dawned on me that her words rang true not only for women in business but also for women feeding themselves and/or their families. Here are the key messages and how they relate to healthy eating. 

1. Believe in yourself

Believe that you can do it. Whether that is run a business, learn to cook, learn to love veggies, teach your kids to love veggies. It is all possible. But it all starts with your believing you can. When you serve dinner, assume that everyone will eat it, or at least try it. And if they don't, then believe that they will tomorrow. 

2. Find your passion

When it comes to eating healthy food  this comes naturally to me. Sometimes I may even be a little too passionate (is there such a thing?).  Our kids are our future and we need to raise healthy eaters so that they can shine now and in the future. Raise sustainable, health conscious individuals who value their health and the health of their planet. Who realise that when you feed your body healthy foods (most of the time), your body will have more energy, be able to concentrate and think better and be less likely to develop lifestyle diseases.  This is all true for yourself too. Be passionate about your own health. Whatever you do and whoever you are, feed your body well, you deserve it! 

This passion drives me to cook when I'm tired. Drives me to keep offering "least favourite" foods at dinner times (with favourites too). 

3. Never give up 

Ever! Never give up cooking healthy meals, never give up offering your kids veggies (even if they claim to hate them), never give up trying new foods yourself! Never give up aiming to fill your plate with half veggies. Never give up slowly eating more whole foods and less highly packaged foods. You will never get there if you give up. You have so much to gain! 

4. Don't accept no for an answer! 

If you get a "no" I don't want to eat/try that, try again tomorrow or the next day. You may get a no to mashed pumpkin but try pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, roast pumpkin and keep trying till you get a yes.  If you tell yourself "no I can't cook" you never will try and learn! I've made plenty a disastrous meal in my time. 

Both Amanda and my husband say when it comes to sales "keep calling until you get the sale", well keep offering until you get the sale! And keep trying different foods yourself. If you are not a competent cook, just keep trying!  

5. Hard work

People have dreams and aspirations but when people achieve those visions it is through hard work! Sometimes cooking and washing dishes is hard work, thinking of what to cook each week is draining, serving dinner and it not being eaten is hard. Learning to cook can be hard. But good things come to those who work hard!  When you have the believe and the passion, it's easier to cope with the hard work. 

Believe, be passionate, never give up, don't except no for an answer and work hard and you will achieve.... 

I'v written posts about meal planning before (and after about a month of not planning), I'm writing this blog mostly as a reminder to myself. I'm going to plan this week's meals, here is the what and why of my meal planning. 

Why do I meal plan?
1. Reduces my stress. Knowing what to cook and knowing that I have the ingredients in the house makes life so much easier, especially at 5pm with 4 tired kids in tow. Personally I find the thinking about what to cook, worse than the actual cooking. And you have to do it everyday! 
2. Helps me ensure we have a balanced diet. Being organised is really the key to healthy eating. The weeks I don't meal plan, I often forget to put in a fish dish or we don't eat nearly as many vegetarian meals as I would like. This way I can plan for the dietary goals I am currently working on.  
3.  Saves time and money at the supermarket. When I meal plan, I shop from a shopping list. I'm good at sticking to the list. I head to the supermarket every 1-2 weeks and the fruit shop and butcher about twice a week. When I don't meal plan, I find myself at the supermarket nearly every day. Working without a list means there is much more room for 'extras' to sneak into the trolley 
4. I put the meal plan on the fridge. The kids read it and look forward to their favorite meals and complain less about a less favourite meal. Because the menu is written down they tend not to ask "Is this all, can I have something else?" 

How do I meal plan?
1. I plan my busy days first. The ones where I am out of the house working or the ones where there is a mass of kids activities. I plan quick, easy meals on these days
2. I fill in the gaps and rotate between proteins and grains. Rotating fish, eggs, beans, red meat and chicken. Grains can vary between potatoes, pasta, rice, polenta, quinoa, couscous
3. Plan a new dish when I know I have time 
4. Aim to balance my plate with 1/2 veggies, 1/4 grains and 1/4 meat/eggs/beans/fish

This week's plan (actually I'm going to do two weeks as I'm feeling inspired) 

Monday: Pumpkin soup, salmon patties, kale chips and salad 
Tuesday: Tofu stir-fry noodles 
Wednesday: Japanese inspired soup (veggie, tofu and potato).  Moroccan chicken and  veggie grattin 
Thursday: Soy sausages and steamed veggies 
Friday: Porcupine meatballs on carrot and zucchini noodles 
Saturday : Minestrone soup and home-made pizza  
Sunday:  Oven baked fish and chips with salad

Monday: Mushroom and barely soup, roast chicken and veggies, zucchini fritters
Tuesday: Slow cooked lamb and apricots on polenta 
Wednesday: Zucchini and cauliflower soup, leftover stews made into pies 
Thursday: Tuna pasta and salad  
Friday: Mexican wraps (quorn strips, guacamole, salad veg, cheese) on home-made tortillas 
Saturday: Try a new recipe (maybe a soup too): TBC (bean, egg or fish based) 
Sunday: Gozeleme and salad 

Ok, I'll now print this off and put on the fridge and create a shopping list. 

What's on your menu this week?

In the middle of a busy day with still so much work to be completed and you reach into your secret lolly stash for support? 

Here are 5 pick-me up foods to reach for which will reenergise those braincells for far longer:

1. Fruit and veggies
Keep a stash of fresh fruit and veggies on your desk. Apples, mandarines, carrots, tomatoes, red capsicums, bananas (buy some ripe and greenish ones) will easily last the week.  

2. Dried fruit and nut mix 
Make up a delicious mixture and put it in portion controlled sealed tubs. About 16-20 nuts (8 for larger nuts like walnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia) and add 1.5 table spoons of dried fruit. You can also add some seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds). 

3. Low fat yoghurt 
I find dairy is often lacking in my diet so I use snacks as an opportunity to increase my intake. Glass of lite milk, 2 pieces of reduced fat cheese or some plain yoghurt with some frozen berries (defrosted) and a sprinkle of museli. Often in the morning I pack a tub of yogurt and add a spoon of frozen raspberries. You can pre-fill containers at the start of the week and then just grab them. 

4. Wholegrains 
Wholegrain crackers with a little peanut butter or low fat cheese, popcorn, or sometimes I bake banana bread (recipe 1, recipe 2) or muesli cookies and keep them in the freezer. 

5. Water
Technically not a food I know, but make sure you keep a water bottle on your desk so you can stay hydrated throughout the day. It is easy to confuse hunger with thirst (or boredom) so try reaching for that water bottle and then having a snack.  How many times have you filled up your water bottle today?