The moving week is often full of many activities. From making last-minute preparations to the actual move itself, things can become stressful and overwhelming. At times, the moving week’s stress makes you unable to eat well. However, proper nutrition is a vital tool for managing stress. Hence, you must eat right during these stressful times. This can be achieved through adequately planned moving week meals.
Furthermore, an adequate diet can counterbalance the impact of moving stress. Taking a healthy diet reduces the negative effect of moving week stress on your body. Eating right helps strengthen your immune system, stabilize your mood, and reduce blood pressure. In case you are in search of healthy moving week meals that can help reduce stress, this post is for you. Below are some useful meal planning tips for the moving week.
Make an Inventory of the Items in Your Fridge and Freezer
With your moving week getting closer, make a complete list of all the food items and supplies you have in your fridge. Create categories for each item. This may include different sections for meat and proteins, carbs, fruits and vegetables, sauces, slices of bread, and so forth.
Also, you can create another section for cheese, dairy products, condiments, and more. Keeping tabs on everything you have in the fridge and freezer makes it possible for you to make an adequate plan for your moving week meals. With this, you can prevent wastage and save cost.
Plan Moving Week Meals with the Inventory
Now that you have a complete list of everything in your fridge and freezer start planning your meals. You can make pizza sauce with your frozen tomatoes. You can also make smoothies with fruits and veggies. Here, the goal is to plan your menu properly. This ensures that you use most of the food items or ingredients, if not all, and avoid wastage.
In case you have ingredients or food items that need to be used, however, you lack inspiration, consider checking your favorite recipe blogs. You can search using ingredients or food recipe ideas. If you are lucky enough, you can find the right recipe to cook with such particular ingredients or food items.
Prepare Freezer-To-Oven Ready Meals
Prepare some freezer-to-oven ready meals. Examples include baked chicken fajitas, spinach and cheese stuffed shells, and so forth. Prepare the meals well in advance so that it doesn’t affect your packing. Whether you are moving over a short or long distance, you can never go wrong with these freezer-to-oven ready meals, especially on the moving day. The meals will fill you up. Hence, you can go about your moving and packing activities satisfactorily.
Set Pre-Moving Grocery Budget
Moving, especially when you hire a full-service mover, comes with a lot of costs. As the moving week or day gets closer, chances are, you are tight on finances. Hence, it is essential that you set a pre-moving grocery budget. The pre-moving grocery budget helps you keep track of any grocery you purchase.
What’s more, ensure that you purchase only need groceries you are short of. This includes milk, cheese, or some other refrigerated products. This is not the right time to purchase in bulk. You only need grocery or food items that can get you through the moving week. Once you settle down in your new home, you can stock your freezer again.
Use up Leftover Veggies, Meats, & Grains
What’s more, to avoid wastage, the moving week may be the best time to use up the leftovers. Take out the leftover fruits, veggies, meats, and grains in your fridge and freezer. Make a salad using the veggies or grains. Use frozen fruits to make muffins. Bake the frozen veggies on low heat. Turn them to crisp veggies. You can consume them as snacks.
As mentioned earlier, the moving week is often stressful. You may be too stressed to eat well. Fruit and veggies contain vitamins and minerals that are essential body nutrients. These include zinc, copper, manganese, vitamins A, vitamins C, and vitamins E. Leafy greens and veggies are good for the body. They are sources of vitamins and minerals which help to neutralize harmful molecules that are produced due to stress. Check out “mason jar salads” for more salad ideas using veggies.
Consume More Healthy Snacks
As the moving week or day gets closer, you need all the energy you can get. Get some healthy snacks for you and your loved ones. Examples include peanuts, almonds, low-fat granola, carrots, yogurt with fresh fruit, and many more. Healthy snacks are high in protein and fiber. They will give you a boost of energy to help with packing and other activities. Healthy snacks also help to reduce stress and improve productivity.
Healthy Fast Food Options
After the moving day, you may be overworked with the moving activities. At times, you may still be focusing on unpacking and rearranging your items and belongings. For the first few days when your kitchen is not set up, fast food might be your best option. However, it is essential that you eat healthily. Here are some healthy fast food options for you and your loved ones that are under 500 calories.
- Arby’s : Roast Turkey Farmhouse Salad
- Au Bon Pain: Vegetarian Deluxe Salad
- Boston Market: Rotisserie Chicken Bowl
- Burger King: Grilled Chicken Sandwich
- Chipotle: Burrito Bowl
- Culvers: Beef Pot Roast Sandwich
- Denny’s: Fit Fare Loaded Veggie Omelet
There you have it! Above are some healthy moving week meals ideas for your meal planning during the moving week. The moving week is full of several activities. You may not have much time to prepare your regular meals. Nonetheless, it is essential that you eat right. This will help keep you energized, healthy, and help manage stress. By following the insightful tips above, you will create a healthy moving week menu. Above all, you can exhaust your food items and prevent wastage.
Are you moving over a short or long distance? Contact us today at Colonial Van Lines to know more about our moving and packing services. We provide highly affordable, reliable, and well-detailed moving service. We will offer you personalized moving solutions that meet your budget and moving needs. With us, you are guaranteed to get outstanding moving services.