Do you struggle to add a 1/3 speed foods to your plate? Think Speed before Free Foods

If you constantly find yourself struggling to get speed foods onto your plate, here is a really great tip that I have been practicing for years now and it really helps to ensure my plate is filled with speed foods the majority of the time.

I am not really one for sticking to a strict meal plan, as I tend to change my mind when it comes to the day, so I usually cook by what I fancy and obviously as I food blog, I am coming up with constant new recipes to share with you.

I do have a general idea of what recipes I might create at the start of a week, but it is never really set in stone, as I easily can change my mind and come up with something different.

That said, if meal plans are your thing, I have some great Slimming World Weekly Meal Plans for you to browse through, there are Extra Easy, SP and Vegetarian ones to choose from (with more being added as the time goes on, so keep that link bookmarked, you never know when you might need it)

Anyway back to speed foods.

The best way to ensure you have a good balance on your plate is to think speed before free foods. This works amazingly well.

Don’t cook free foods first and then think hmmm!! what speed food can I add? as the chances are that you will skimp on those speed foods and not get the recommended 1/3 on your plate. Instead, reverse the process, think speed foods first. Look in your pantry, fridge or freezer to see what speed foods you have, decide your speed foods first and then think of what will go best alongside it. Occasionally there might be times when you have certain things that need using up, so you might not always be able to put this advice into place, but the majority of the time it is doable.

Instead, reverse the process, think speed foods first. Look in your pantry, fridge or freezer to see what speed foods you have, decide your speed foods first and then think of what will go best alongside it. Occasionally there might be times when you have certain things that need using up, so you might not always be able to put this advice into place, but the majority of the time it is doable.

Speed foods are super low in calories and have great filling power when paired up with other free foods. So the more you add the better your weight loss. Also, if you try and stick to speeds foods between meals for snacks where possible, or pair them up with a healthy snack, it is going to keep you fuller for longer and stop those cravings.

Don’t forget there are certain starchy vegetables and fruit that are not speed foods. Keep a list of all the speed foods somewhere convenient in your kitchen, that way you can always double check to make sure it is a speed food. It is also a good idea to carry the list around with you in your bag too, so you can refer to the list when eating out. If you have one of the handy booklets you get when you sign up to Slimming World, they are perfect for fitting in your bag and list all the free foods, speed foods, healthy extras and generic synned items. It also has a little eating out section. I keep mine with me at all times, as it’s handy to refer to.

If you would like to find a recipe using a particular speed foods. Check out my FULL RECIPE INDEX. You can use the drop-down menu to search for particular recipes are search using the search box and a particular keyword. So for example, got some butternut squash to use up? Then have a search for recipes using keyword – butternut squash.

I also have this handy little Speed Foods Checklist, set yourself a challenge to see how many you can cross off to try each week. It is a great way to encourage yourself to try some foods you haven’t tried before too. Don’t forget there can be different varieties of certain speed foods too, so that’s, even more, choice, for example, there is not just one variety of apple, just like there is not just one variety of mushrooms.

Download: Handy Speed Foods Checklist

Don’t forget to check out my post on The Benefits of Speed Foods

and if you are looking for a great support group for recipes and meal ideas, come and check out my Facebook Group. We would love to have you there.

Hope this helps 🙂