How Meal Plans Can Help You Reach Your Weight Loss Goals

Trying to lose weight can be exhausting and discouraging. Diets can make every meal feel empty and unsatisfying. Too often, weight loss tips and tricks involve relying on processed foods like protein bars or shakes. You may associate weight lost with bland, disappointing snacks and constant hunger. Such unpleasant experiences can make it difficult to stay on track. Luckily, meal plans to lose weight can help you achieve your goals while allowing you to enjoy nurturing, delicious meals.

   
A meal plan is not the same thing as a diet. Diets can feel like torture and are too often temporary. With a meal plan, you do not have to worry about excessive restriction. Instead, you can put a plan in place that helps you stay on track and avoid the temptation of unhealthy foods. More importantly, you can stick with meal plans for life, leading to long-term, sustainable weight loss. This does not mean you have to adhere to one plan forever. Rather, you can get in the habit of adopting different, exciting meal plans to lose weight so that you have a healthy guide with you at all times. You can include a wide variety of colorful, flavorful, and nutritious foods. Over time and with some new preparation techniques, you might be surprised by how much you enjoy whole fruits and vegetables.

Meal plans are also effective weight loss aids because they can save you time and stress. With a plan in place, you do not have to worry about what you will have for dinner or how you will manage to fit a healthy lunch into your hectic schedule. Plans allow you to prepare ahead of time and follow your guide without fretting. When breakfast, lunch, and dinner are no-brainers, you can dedicate more of your time to work, exercise, and having fun. 

Meal plans to lose weight are simple and effective. If you have struggled with diets in the past, do not give up on your goals. A wholesome meal plan can help you achieve the healthy body you have longed for. 

If you are reading this on anything other than Organic Foods and Lifestyle, it is stolen content.

Pizza is King

Fast food has become as much a part of American culture as fireworks on the Fourth of July, and we have almost innumerable choices to make when looking for a quick bite to eat. Burgers have become synonymous with the fast food industry, and Mexican food is becoming a popular choice too. But the pizza is definitely at the top of the list.

Maybe it’s a stretch to call pizza fast food, since it takes a bit longer to make a pizza than most other fast foods. But as far as foods that can quickly be ordered and taken out, it doesn’t get any better than the classic Italian dish. Here are the top three reasons pizzas are the ultimate fast food.  Just remember, fast food is not a measure of quality, but a measure of how quickly you get your food after ordering.

1)      Share-ability – Pizza is made to share. Unless you get a personal-size pizza, you aren’t going to be eating an entire pizza by yourself. A large pizza can easily feed three to four people, and when you see a stack of pizza boxes, your first thought was probably “party”.  And because the vast majority of pizzas are round, a group of people can gather around a pizza at the same time, promoting even more social behavior. The only food that comes close in this regard is a sub sandwich.

2)      Easy-to-eat – This is where pizza really has a leg up on its competition. Not surprisingly, fast food is eaten a lot by people on the move, especially in the car. And when you’re eating while driving, you only have one hand available to help you chow down. Sure, you can eat hamburgers and hot dogs easily enough with only one hand. But as burgers get bigger and bigger, it’s become increasingly difficult to hold onto them with only one hand. Burritos are another iffy bet with one hand, as there is always a risk that the bottom is going to fall out on you. With pizza, you don’t have to worry about this problem. You only need one hand to devour a piece of pizza. Even the biggest pieces can be folded over themselves to prevent any spilling. For people in a hurry, pizza is incredibly convenient.

3)      Variety – Americans love having choices when it comes to food, even if there are too many of them to make a good decision. Pizza is one of the most versatile foods we have. It can fit a wide variety of tastes and occasions, meeting the needs of even the pickiest eater. From basics such as cheese, sausage and pepperoni to more complex varieties like Hawaiian and barbeque chicken pizza, there is a pizza for almost everybody. And if you get sick of one kind, there’s always another type to keep you interested. There are only so many ways you can make a sandwich or burger, but there are almost no limits to the amount of toppings, sauces and cheeses that you can experiment with on a pizza.

If you are ever in Westlake Village (Ventura County), there is an outstanding, organic pizza and salad restaurant you must try! Follow this link for their menu and location.

How to eat organic food on a budget

How to eat organic food on a budget

More and more people these days continue to buy what are known as “organic foods.”  Organic foods are basically foods that have not been made with any sort of synthetic pesticides, artificial flavors, or anything along those lines.  Organic foods are never genetically modified.  It is basically the way food is supposed to be, relying on nature to do most of the work instead of large factories and chemical plants.  However, with the way the economy is these days it can seem difficult to find organic foods within one’s budget as they are usually more expensive than foods grown on an industrial scale.  What follows are some tips to help find great organic foods for a lot less than the sticker price indicates.

Buy Organic Foods in Season

Buying organic foods in season will save a lot of money as opposed to buying them out of season.  For instance, for the month of May consider buying strawberries, blackberries, cauliflower, and cabbages, as all of these fruits and vegetables are in season.  Usually when fruits and vegetables are bought out of season they are imported from overseas or from areas far away, which obviously make them more expensive, so an easy way to save money would be to buy them in season instead.

Buy Locally

Buying locally can come in the form of dealing directly with a farmer on their farm, going to a farmer’s market, joining a community supported agriculture program, along with many other different ways.  You will not only save money by cutting out the middleman, but you will also be supporting the local community and the environment as well.  What could be better than that?

Create an Organic Garden

Instead of buying organic food, why not grow it yourself?  This may not be a great option for those who live in urban areas, but growing an organic garden is a great way to save money on organic foods.  Even those who live in urban areas can still benefit from using containers as opposed to a full-fledged garden.  Not only that, but you can be sure that the organic food you have is truly organic and not mislabeled from a store.  There are many different places to find the seeds necessary to grow organic food, from garden centers to supermarkets.   Compost can be used as part of the soil for the garden, further reducing waste while benefitting yourself that much more. 

Buy In Bulk

Another option to consider when it comes to organic foods is to buy in bulk.  Simply buy a lot of the fruits or vegetables you want in season and store the extras away.  You could do anything from putting them into zip bags to canning or drying the foods to make them last for a while longer. 

Use Coupons

Last but not least, you can generally find a lot of organic coupons both in newspapers and online.  Not only that, but you could also comparison shop for organic foods in the local area along with finding out when particular grocery stores have sales on organic foods.

Last words

There is a compelling argument that buying locally grown, organic foods (particularly plant based, whole foods) will actually save you money over the course of you lifetime!  Even though the foods themselves may be a bit more expensive, the money you will save in medical bills, insurance costs, prescription medications, etc... will more than make up for the few pennies you will spend on organic vs non-organic.

If you are ever in Thousand Oaks (Ventura County), there is an outstanding, organic pizza and salad restaurant you must try!  Click HERE for their menu and location.