The Habit of Healthy Eating

The Challenge

It can be a pretty daunting task to prepare nutritious and healthy meals at the end of a busy day! If we're tired, busy running errands or driving the kids to after-school activities, plus lacking inspiration to come up with meals that everyone will enjoy, it can feel almost impossible. The rising cost of food doesn't help matters and that in itself can make it increasingly difficult to put a satisfying and healthy dinner on the table. 

Here we’ll talk a little bit about foods to lean into, meal planning tips and other healthy habits to consider! 

Healthy Meal Planning

Pre-planning healthy meals doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. By incorporating a variety of easy-to-prepare and nutritious foods, you can create delicious meals that will nourish your family without breaking the bank or depleting your time. 

Start by choosing recipes or meals that will include a colorful array of vegetables. When selecting them, try to choose veggies that are high in water and fibre. They’ll fill you up, are low in calories and are nutrient-rich providing essential vitamins and minerals. Here are a few examples that work well in many recipes including soups and side dishes. 

Canned and frozen veggies are a great option to fresh produce. These can be purchased when on sale making them extremely budget friendly. Since they are easy to store until you are ready to use them, you can always ensure you have healthy ingredients handy. 

TIP: Be sure to read the nutrition labels on packaged and canned foods. Pay attention to sugar and sodium levels in particular. Learn more about reading & understanding labels HERE. 

Next up is your choice of protein! It's an important component for muscle repair and overall health and there are many healthy options available that can be prepared whole (roasted or baked) or cut up and added to other recipes. Incorporating lean sources of protein such as chicken, fish and seafood, lean beef or pork and tofu are the ones you will want to choose most often. 

TIP: Plan meals that have overlapping ingredients. For example you might bake or roast a whole chicken, ham or roast, the leftovers can be used in soups, stews or stirfrys giving you at least 2 days worth of meals! 

Additional sources of protein include beans and legumes (and you know we're BIG fans of these little nutritional powerhouses!).  Beans & legumes can take the place of meat altogether or they can be used alongside for an extra boost of protein! 

(Mitchell's Soup Co. Mexican Tortilla Soup is an overachiever when it comes to the variety of beans and legumes it contains!) 

At the end of the day, meal planning can help you stay on track with your goals to provide healthy balanced meals for your family by ensuring that you have wholesome options readily available. 

Why Add Mitchell’s Into Your Meal Rotation?

We might be a little biased 😉 but adding Mitchell’s Soup Co. soup, stew, chili, and chowder mixes to your meal rotation can be helpful in many ways! 

• Our meal mixes are quick and easy to prepare thanks to our tried and true recipes.

• Our mixes are designed to be flexible and adaptable to your preferences, budget, and ingredients on hand. While we provide suggestions for fresh, canned, or frozen ingredients to add, feel free to modify or exclude them as desired. This allows you to use up any ingredients you already have in your pantry or fridge. 

• Each regular sized mix makes a BIG batch of 8-10 servings so you can enjoy seconds (or freeze leftovers for a quick meal option to have another time!)

• Speaking of leftovers… our meal mixes are a terrific way to use those up! Ham, turkey, chicken, beef or already cooked veggies can all be added at the end of the cook time, giving these ingredients new life and providing meal variety for your family. 

• Many of our meal mixes come loaded with healthy & filling proteins such as beans, legumes and lentils so you know your meal is off to a great start! 

• Most of our mixes provide a terrific source of protein, perfect when you want to go meat-free!

Mitchell’s meal mixes are very shelf-stable, which means you can easily stock up on your favorite mixes without worrying about them spoiling. You can add ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry, such as frozen or canned meats or veggies, saving you from the temptation of last-minute unhealthy, expensive fast food ordering. 

Easy online ordering HERE. 

And Don't Forget To Stay Hydrated

Many of us don't drink as much water as we should and staying hydrated is as important as what we eat. Finding additional ways to add water into our diet is another great way to start creating healthy new habits! 

Ways you can stay hydrated: 

💦  Setting a daily goal is a great start. And don't worry if you miss the mark a few times. Keep at it, new habits take time to form! 

🥣 Soups and broths are another great way to help you stay hydrated. Whether you enjoy a big family meal or like to sip on warming bone broth, these are both delicious & comforting changes that aren't too difficult to add into your meal rotation. 

🍇 Adding water-filled fruits (and veggies) will help keep you fuller longer but also help to hydrate you. We looked at some of the veggie options above but what about fruits? Here are some great choices: 

3 Healthy Snacking Ideas

We can't forget about the snacks! The trick here is to make it just as easy to reach for the more nutritious snacks as those that are best kept as a special treat. When the munchies strike most of us won't wait to prep healthier nibbles.

1: Purchase and chop your healthy snacks (or buy already chopped) so they are just as easy to grab as that bag of potato chips :)

2: Make your own muffins or granola bars and stick them in the freezer so it's easy to pull a few out for the family to munch on when they get snackish each day (Great to have handy for lunches too!)

3: Hard boil some eggs for a quick and easy snacking option

 

With a little bit of pre-planning creating healthy, budget friendly meals can be stressfree giving you more time to relax and enjoy your time with family. 

Happy Healthy Eating!