There’s something to be said for prepping in advance and enjoying the fruits of my labor.

That’s exactly what happened today, thanks to some time spent in the kitchen yesterday afternoon to get things ready. So instead of spending copious amounts of time trying to figure out what to make for dinner, and then scrambling around to find the ingredients, cook and clean up, I had to time to workout out at the gym with my husband, totally enjoying my weight training routine (and working on the definition in those biceps and shoulders too).

And then we came home and got dinner ready in less than 15 minutes. How can you not love that?

What did we have that was so easy?

• Fresh vegetable soup (made yesterday)
• Quinoa (a delicious whole grain from South America that I just can’t get enough of – also made yesterday) with a little pesto from Trader Joe’s
• Roasted eggplant with lemon and olive oil (yum! locally grown eggplant to boot, so you know it’s fresh and bursting with nutrients)

The beauty is that we enjoyed a delicious healthy dinner that took minimal time. And because it was so easy, we have the entire evening to enjoy ourselves without being saddled in the kitchen over a sink of dirty dishes.

I don’t know about you, but planning ahead and eating healthy sure means more fun to me! And tonight I have a little time to kick back and catch up on my favorite show, Monk, and write a few wedding thank you notes. No bad for a Monday night.

What about you?  How adept are you at planning ahead?  How have you used prep time to maximize your play time during the week?  Do tell!

And plan to join us this Thursday night to learn the lowdown on the four key things you should always do to make meal planning a snap. Sign up for the call here: http://tinyurl.com/3nshnr

Filed under: Food preparation, Healthy lifestyle, Locally Grown Food, Meal Planning, Time Saving Tips, Vegetables