While fun, meal planning and prepping can take its toll. Confession: I found myself at Chipotle more times than I’d like to admit this last Fall. That was 2018. Now that we’re in 2019, I made one New Year’s resolution and it is to eat AIP-friendly foods for the entire month of January. Since most resolutions never make it to February, I figured it makes sense to set a resolution for just the month of January.

My major motivator is I want to give my body an abundance of nutrient-rich goodness and natural detoxification to start this year on the right foot. The holidays were amazing and I enjoyed spending it with friends and family. I’m grateful that my body is doing its job by showing the side effects of my indulgences. My skin is lacking luster, breaking out and my pants are feeling a bit more snug than they were a couple months ago :) I do have more energy right now, which is a pleasant surprise and I attribute that to all the time I shared with loved ones. My soul is well nourished!

When I started a clean eating lifestyle, I was all in. I set aside time during the week creating meal plans. I spent my Sundays cooking. I had every single meal ready to go. This worked for a while. Until… I got tired of it.

In a way, I’m glad I got burnt out because it forced me to prioritize my time. As it turns out, I don’t care about how elaborate my meals are during the week, I’d rather spend my time enjoying my Sunday leisurely.

In light of this, I have made some changes and I want to share them with you!

My 5 tips to make clean eating easier

1. Keep frozen fruits and veggies handy

Fresh vegetables are great, but cleaning and storing them so they stay fresh all week is a chore. When I started buying more frozen veggies, it helped me when I wanted to throw meals together fast and skip the cleaning. Win / win!

My go-to frozen picks: collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, and blueberries

2. Chocolate bars for a nighttime treat

Clean eating is not about deprivation, but rather enjoying the gift of food from a standpoint of abundance and gratitude. I keep a couple bars in the cupboard for when the desire for something sweet strikes. This moment seems to strike less and less, which makes me feel good about getting high-quality chocolate. Even though it costs a bit more, I enjoy it for the treat that it is.

3. Store fresh fruit on the counter

Fruit is a lifesaver. If I’m to the point where I’m already hungry and I haven’t started fixing my meal, grabbing a banana, apple or orange keeps the hanger away!

My go-to snack fruits: navel oranges, green apples, green pears, bananas

Bonus points when paired with a single serve nut butter like cashew or walnut. While my preference is to buy a jar and keep it in the fridge, there’s something about the easy to grab individual packets that are perfect for on-the-go.

4. Vitamins I can get excited about

I used to be so bad about taking my vitamins. I didn’t like taking pills. Gummies tasted so good, but I don’t like all the ingredients added to make it a gummy.

Last month I bought a Tespo and it changed my attitude completely. It’s super easy, tasty, and now I look forward to taking my morning and nighttime vitamin!

Tespo is so confident in their product that they have a referral program that gives $20 to the referrer and $20 to each of their friends.

Here is my link for a Tespo discount that will give you $20 off your purchase :) Their dispenser is on sale now, so if you’re interested in trying this, be sure to take advantage of the sale.

5. Splurge on (plastic free!) bottled water

Drinking filtered water would be perfectly fine (and this is what I drink most of the time), but I like the way I feel when I pamper myself by purchasing water that I love. Right now I am enjoying Flow alkaline water.

I don’t know much about the benefits of alkaline water, but while I was home, my dad was explaining to me that we consume a lot of acidic foods, so drinking the alkaline water helps balance our system as it has a higher pH. Sounds good to me! I like the taste and that it comes in a Tetra Pak that is eco-friendly and BPA free ;)

Have you found tricks that help you eat well throughout the week that save time? Share them in the comments below!