5 Tips on Planning a Healthy Week and my Delicious Energy Balls Recipe

Sometimes the thought of preparing a different meal every night can be very daunting, so I have come up with a few helpful strategies that make the whole process as easy and stress free as possible. I think the once your weekly meals are planned then its something you don't have to worry about when you get home from a busy day at work. Planning ahead is the best way to get through the week.

Here are my helpful tips for making your week as stress free as possible when it comes to your meals.

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Tip 1: On a Sunday sit down with your diary and go through your schedule for the week. By doing this it will mean that you know how busy your days are throughout the week and if there are any evenings that you are out. This will help with planning what you'd like to cook each evening.

Tip 2: Go through your recipe books and pick out five meals that you think will be manageable for you to cook throughout the week. Also try to pick out some recipes for some healthy snacks that you can take to work, this will hep you out in the long run and stop you from eating rubbish.

I always think you should consider the nutritional value of each meal. You want to make sure you are filling your body with food that'll fuel you for the week.

Try and fill your meals with as much healthy produce as you can, simple meals with lots of veg and some fish are usually the healthiest and most satisfying I find.

Tip 3: Head to the supermarket and pick up all the ingredients you need for the week.

By doing one shop at the start of the week will save you money in the long term and also it will keep you organised because you won't have to keep on running back to the shops

Tip 4: Once you have all your food bought and meals planned you should use this time to look through the recipe books and see if you can prep any meals ahead of time. This will save you serious amounts of time when it comes to the actual cooking of the meals.

Tip 5: Make some healthy snacks for you to eat throughout the week. I find making homemade granola that can be eat for breakfast saves a lot of time in the morning. Also energy balls are a great for throughout the day and they only take a few ingredients and a couple of minutes to make.

Another thing that ensure you have a healthy week is to prep some fresh fruit and different kind of salads to have in the fridge. These are easily accessible and it'll mean you avoid snacking on things that aren't good for you.

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If you put my 5 simple tips into place then it will ensure you have an easy and stress free week when it comes to food. It will also mean you are eating healthy and nutritious meals every night of the week which will fuel your body throughout the week.

Peanut Butter and Cacao Energy Balls

Ingredients:

- 200g almonds

- 150g dates

- 2tbs coconut oil

- 2tbs cocao powder

- 1tbs chia seeds

- 2tsp honey

- 1tbs peanut butter

Method:

1. In a food processor blend up the almonds until they are finely chopped

2. Add in the dates and coconut oil and blend until well incorporated

3. Add in the cocao powder and chia seeds and continue to blend

4. Finally add the honey and peanut butter and give it one last blend until everything is incorporated 5. Tip the mixture into a mixing bowl and form into balls and place on a lined tray

6. Then put the tray in the freezer for an hour 7. Take the balls out of the freezer and put into a tupperware box to keep in the fridge