Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to organization. More specifically, the organization of my schedule or how I spend my time. The presenting problem here is that I am CONSTANTLY in a hurry and feeling overwhelmed by all that I have on my daily list. I have experimented with creating a daily schedule with time alloted for each of my daily/weekly tasks. I have considered getting up before the sun to add more hours to my day. I have even tried planning my meals for an entire month at a time (ala Simple Mom). These all felt like they might be useful tools or ways to get on top of things, but all of them add more weight to my "to do" list.

Earlier this month I started working on my New Year's goals and plans. I also began taking a five-week online class on "dreaming big" (Mondo Beyondo). I have been spending some time journaling and making lists. Pondering what I would really like to invite into my life and how to make room for those things. Sometime around the end of last week, the hum of "hurry, hurry, hurry" stopped. I began to notice that many of the things that I am hurrying to do are things that would go unnoticed (by me or anyone else) if I completely flaked on them. This realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Because I'm afraid of getting behind the tidal wave of life, I have been burning a ton of energy trying to get ahead of things that either don't need to be done or can wait for awhile. The moment that I realized what was happening, I closed my laptop and went off to do something useless and and indulgent...like reading a magazine or watching TV.

So here's the deal, I am still working on drawing all of this out of my psyche and sorting out what I really want to spend my time on. In the meantime, some things still need to get done, right? Like, I don't know, cooking and eating? That's a good one to keep on the list. Related to cooking and eating, I have gotten a few requests for meal plans. Because I'm not in full-on control freak mode right now, I'm planning my meals but only a few days in advance. Because I know lots of people out there struggle with this same thing, I'll share three things: my current "process", my meal plan for a few days (I only plan for dinners), and a resource for those who find meal planning to be (and I quote a friend here), "the bane of their existence".

My current meal planning "process"

I sometimes make double batches of freezable meals (e.g. lasagna, enchiladas, etc.) so that I have an easy meal waiting for a busy night. I also freeze extra sauce or other ingredients that can be repurposed for another meal.

My meal plan for a few days (dinners only):

Monday: Butternut squash soup (add white beans before pureeing and serve over quinoa for extra protein and iron)
Tuesday: Vegetarian tacos (pinto beans, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, avocado/guacamole)
Wednesday: Soy cheese pizza with steamed broccoli
Thursday: Sunshine veggie burgers with baked sweet potato "fries"

A resource for meal planning
A good friend of mine owns a meal planning company. She offers a few different plans that are as affordable as $14.95 for an entire year. No matter where you live or what your budget, she can help!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The way that I plan my meals, or rather decide what ingredients to include in my food, is a little nerdy. Ok, maybe you guessed that about me already!

The first step for me is to choose, what I call, a "vehicle". I'll be sharing more on this later but the basic concept is to choose a base (whole grain pasta, bread, rice or other grains, etc.) and then add in the other components of the meal (protein, fruits and veggies, spices, etc.). As an example, I'll make you hungry show you how this works with homemade granola.

These are the basic categories that I consider with each meal (in this case, granola):

Vehicle: Oats
Fruit and/or veggie(s): Dried cranberries and raisins
Protein: Various nuts and seeds
Omega 3s: Hemp seeds
Iron: Pumpkin seeds, oats, hemp seeds, raisins

This really isn't as complicated as it may seem and it is a good way to make sure that you're getting the nutrients that you need. It becomes automatic pretty quickly as you get used to knowing the nutrition profile of the foods that you eat on a regular basis. Because about 95% of my meals are vegan, I pay close attention to protein, iron, and omega 3s. Your mix may be as simple as: vehicle, protein, fruits and/or veggies.

Here's my granola recipe. The weather here in California is wet, cold, and windy- perfect granola weather!

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup shredded or fine macaroon coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp blackstrap molasses
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/3 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2-3/4 cup raisins

We went to a restaurant for dinner on Friday night and, while we were reading our menus, I was thinking about how difficult it may seem to find a healthy choice while dining out. The food descriptions can be tricky because high-fat and calorie-dense dishes may be disguised as healthy choices because they are referred to as "fresh" or "all natural" or "vegetarian". While there is nothing wrong with foods bearing those descriptions, they are not necessarily the best options because of them.

To illustrate my point, let's consider this meal: vegetarian lasagna, a side salad with Caesar dressing, and a small order of broccoli with brown butter and mizithra cheese. It sounds like a meal full of veggies and that is healthy, right?

Let's take a closer look:

Ack. This meal contains almost enough calories for an entire day and a terrifying amount of fat, sodium, and cholesterol. My stomach hurts just thinking about eating all of that!

So what is a better alternative? First, consider what is in or on top of the entree that you order. Here are some things to look for:

Salad tip: When ordering a salad, ask for the dressing to be served on the side. Instead of pouring it on the salad, dip your fork in the dressing before each bite. You will eat significantly less fat and fewer calories and you'll still get some of the flavor that you love.

Here is what I ordered on Friday night (this is for the portion of pasta that I ate- it was very large and I only ate half):

Healthy eating doesn't mean that you can never have your favorite foods if you make a few small changes:

Happy dining!