Making the Time to Eat Whole Food Plant-Based Food (WFPB)

When asked what is or was the biggest challenge when switching to a Whole Food Plant-Based diet many feel that the issue of making time for food prep is a biggie.  

Some report it’s having to get use to the amount of prep work involved in a meal or for others it’s making the time to cook which is a huge difference from the way that they ate in the past.

 Still others report that it’s not having lots of convenience foods available or restaurants that provide a quick option on busy days.

What’s important is to acknowledge that there’s a learning curve when making the switch from the standard western diet.  For some of us, the learning curve is (or was) quite steep.

Many  depended on the volume of convenience foods and restaurants available to the standard western diet and quite frankly developed habits that are challenging to break.  

Not only are there poor eating habits to overcome, many also fall into patterns that were developed due to the type of foods eaten and the ease of which they could be prepared.  Think drive through or roasted chicken easily found in the grocery store picked up after work and put on the table in short order.

So What’s  WFPB Newbie to Do in Order to Overcome the Time Crunch?  

Here’s 5 Surprising Tips to help:

1. Create some “Go to” meals.  Most of us have about a dozen or so meals that we “go to” in a given month.  It’s no different for the WFPB eater. The difference is that when first starting out with the WFPB lifestyle, the number of “go to” meals are understandably small.  It’s ok! As with any new habit, change takes time, and the same thing holds true when transitioning to a new lifestyle.

Here’s 7 speedy dinner recipes that can help to establish some “go to” meals and help take the edge off of the question “what’s for dinner?”  These recipes are also great for using with “mixed company” meaning for WFPB eaters as well as omnivores. In time, having quick “go to” meals will help to save time in the kitchen and ease the time crunch factor.

2. Menu Planner  Most of us live at a pace that can make heads spin and when not prepared, leads to stepping off the WFPB wagon.  One tip to building good habits is to plan out what you will be eating each week.

Check out this simple free menu planner for details.

Perhaps you’d like to have more specific information and instructions, here is a fee based meal planner from *Forks Over Knives. No matter what route you take (D.I.Y. or fee based) planning your menu will ultimately be helpful and save time in the long run. 

Creative Planning

3. Batch Cooking Between harried schedules, and for many, the steep learning curve of transitioning to the WFPB lifestyle, it makes sense to find ways to gain control of something and feel successful.  Batch cooking can provide you an opportunity to take charge of one portion of your life (meal prep) and help smooth out the rough patches of an upcoming week.

The strategy for batch cooking can vary based on individual preferences.  For example, some people like to take a weekend afternoon and prep salads for the upcoming week.  Others like to designate a day and tackle some facet of prep work i.e. roasting veggies, chopping certain foods, making rice etc.

The idea behind batch cooking is to carve out time prior to cooking in order to prep and even prepare meals ahead of time.  Some will freeze entire meals while others will just do the prep work to make the actual cooking move faster on an appointed day.

If the idea of batch cooking sounds like a potential winner, take a stab at it and see what works for you. Here’s one resource to further explore.

Some More Creative Time Savers

4. Meal Delivery With the increase in demand for plant-based/vegan eating, there’s more plant-based meal delivery services popping up.  One such company is* MamaSezz  which offers plant-based recipes with 100% wholesome ingredients which are delivered to your doorstep and you reheat the meal. Sounds like a great alternative to thinking and planning and shopping on your own.

 For some, using meal delivery services like Grubhub where you order from your favorite restaurant and have the meal delivered to your door is an option.  The challenge for some when using such a service is to actually have a favorite plant-based restaurant to order from. It’s still worth considering for those nights that you are crushed by your schedule and need a quick win!

5. Practice makes it easier When learning and adopting new routines it can add time to the process of putting food on the table. This holds true for transitioning to a WFPB lifestyle as there’s several factors that go into the transition. For many it’s learning how to cook new dishes and also deal with navigating social situations and processing the emotional side to change.

For lots of people starting off, it feels awkward learning new recipes and it takes time to get into a groove to make something into a routine.  This can add to feelings of frustration and can lead to falling back into old habits. This is precisely why sticking with the new recipes and learning how to prepare whole food plant-based dishes is important to meet with success.

Get Real

Having realistic expectations and showing yourself a little grace when it comes to the amount of time it takes to prepare new meals is a favor that you provide yourself when it comes to cutting down the time factor when first starting out.  Like most things, you’ll get better with time, and it’s no different with prepping a WFPB meal. This isn’t to say that some meals simply take more time and effort to prepare, but it’s the same thing with meals that you may have been eating in the past.  

Stick with it, you’ll be amazed at how over time, you’ll be crushing the time crunch all while becoming healthier!

Are you new to the Whole Food Plant-Based lifestyle? Looking for some encouragement and support while on your journey? If so, join my free closed facebook group called Judy’s Newbies where you can learn and grow into the WFPB lifestyle with others just like you!

* The companies marked with an * indicate an affiliate link. This means that if you purchase from these companies I may receive a commission from the company at no cost to you.