Preparation is Everything.

  When I was in culinary school, my alma mater's slogan was " Preparation is Everything".  I have always held the phrase dear to my heart, because being prepared saved me so much trouble on countless Saturday nights of service.  Whenever I wasn't prepared - whether I wasn't ready on time, didn't make enough of a certain garnish or dessert, or forgot my hair clip at home - things were just so much harder.  And instead of my night flowing with peace and with ease, I would end up running around like a mad woman, stressed out of my mind, hoping with all my heart that it would just end already.

                                  

              

  A few days ago, there was a winter weather advisory on the weather app on my phone.  Something about extreme low temperatures, and things freezing and what not.  Early in the morning, as I had my coffee, I looked at the temperature as I do every day, so that I know what to wear before heading out there.  This is what I saw:

   Incapable of understanding what that meant, my brain started throwing random thoughts at me (mostly of gorgeous sunny beaches and tropical forests with magical flowers).  So I took a sip of my coffee, took a deep breath, looked outside, touched the window, and then went back to the app.  In the settings, there is the option of switching the unit from imperial to metric.  I noticed something I found rather interesting.  It read: imperial - US, metric - World. 
  Seeing that I grew up in the world and not in the US, might explain why my brain couldn't wrap itself around what 2 degrees Fahrenheit means.  So I immediately switched to metric.  And now this is what the screen showed me:

  Upon encountering said image and information, not awake Me had this conversation with herself:
" Ok, so I know that 0 is freezing.  This is -14 feels like -21.  So what you are telling me, dear robot inside my phone, is that right now, out there, where I have to go in order to transport myself to work, it is 14 times colder than freezing, but it feels like it's 21 times colder? Ok, Got it!"

 

  With that in mind, I proceeded to get ready for work.  Needless to say, I took extra care in bundling up that morning, and to my surprise, once I was out there, walking to the bus stop, I wasn't cold at all.  Even though it was colder than I had ever been out in, I was warm and cozy inside of my multiple layers of awesome winter gear, my great winter boots, my lovely wool gloves and a few other accessories (courtesy of myself and some serious research, my dad, my mom, my cousin N, my friends M and S and a few others).  I really was warm, I am not just saying....

                                          

This was quite a revelation.  Preparation really is everything!  Sometimes it is the difference between a smooth Saturday night, and the worst night of your life, and others it is the difference between freezing your butt off or not.

  Sitting on the bus, nice and warm inside my coat, I thought about everything this can apply to and I immediately thought of how overwhelmed people tend to get during this season. And then it dawned on me, that during the Holidays , in order to stay grounded and healthy through the insanity of parties, presents, and last minute shopping sprees, one must be prepared!  And obviously, what better way to prepare than with a consistent yoga practice and some healthy food?

  As I thought of this, I realized that as it applies to food and yoga, preparation can be the difference between a delicious and nutritious balanced breakfast, or a snickers and a coke ( I've seen it!), and between a lovely energizing practice to start your day with, or no practice at all.

   If you think about it, one good choice trickles into another, and one bad choice usually generates another as well.  Which means that preparation can be the difference between healthy, energetic, balanced and pretty awesome day, and a day of feeling hungry, rushed and unsettled.

With that in mind, I put together a list of some of the steps that have helped me be prepared to practice or to cook. I hope these suggestions will also help you be prepared on the mat and in the kitchen. 

On the mat:

1)  Designate a place to practice and if possible, keep your mat unrolled.  If not, at least keep it there, with whatever props you use.  If you use videos to practice, bring your  computer or ipad or whatever your device of choice is to your mat the night before.

                                          

2) Set out your yoga clothes out the night before as well, so when you wake up, all you have to do is put them on. This also helps if you go to the gym or out for a run, while also preventing you from looking like a crazy person because you weren't awake enough to choose the right outfit.

                                                  

3) Determine how much time you have to practice or work out (realistically) and find a sequence that works for it.  Sometimes all you have is 10 minutes.  Maybe consider doing one restorative pose for those 10 minutes.  Remember that any yoga is better than no yoga at all.



In the kitchen:

1) Plan ahead! I know everybody hates this one, but trust me it is the most helpful.  Think of what the week ahead will look like for you and your family and plan accordingly. Don't wait until you come home tired from a long day at work to figure out what you are going to have for dinner. Go to the store on the weekend. If you know you will have to work an extra shift this week, or you have a meeting after work one day, prepare yourself with enough food and snacks to cover for it. 
Make a plan for the week, cook ahead if you can, and make enough for leftovers so you can stretch your meals for several days.

                                     

2) Save yourself some time when you are making lunch of dinner, by doing some of the prep work ahead of time.  If you  take lunch to work, pack it the night before.  When you come home from the store or market, wash and your vegetables right away: peel and cut the squash and put it in a Tupperware, clean and chop the kale and put it in the crisper, wash the fruit, etc....

On this same note, you can cook your vegetables and grains ahead of time and save them in the fridge.  When dinner time comes, you can toss some of the cooked beets, with some quinoa, the kale that's already washed in the crisper, a few slices of avocado and some walnuts, and you have a great side for whatever your protein of choice is, or a lovely filling salad if you are hoping for a lighter meal.
              

                                                                  
  Last but not least in this step is marinating your meats a few days ahead.  It saves you the trouble of trying to time the marinating with dinner time, and it will impart more flavor as it sits longer.

3) Think of preparing your food an assembly line :  If your snack of choice is fruit and yogurt, get a few reusable containers, pack them all with yogurt, throw some frozen cherries or peaches in each, and put them back in the fridge. You'll have all your snacks for the week done in the same time it would have taken you to pack one.

4)   Anticipate cravings before they happen.  If you tend to have a sweet tooth and are looking for sugar like a Tasmanian devil as soon as you are done with dinner (i.e.: me), keep something sweet that is also healthy around (like a bar of dark chocolate).  This way you will be much less likely to go into a binge and eat something you will later regret.  The same goes with snacks throughout your day.  Be prepared for when hunger strikes instead of all of a sudden needing some food and grabbing whatever is accessible (i.e.: that stale bag of chips your co worker left on the desk three days ago).

                                              

5 )  The freezer and the pantry are your friends!  Keep bags of frozen fruits and vegetables in the freezer. In the pantry, cans of beans and jars of tomato and/or pasta sauce are life savers.   If you are short on time and want to cook something tasty and filling in just a few minutes, chop some onions and garlic, throw a few cans of beans in a pot with some tomato sauce, whatever fresh herb you have, and whatever vegetable is in the freezer, season with spices, maybe thin with stock, and voila, a delicious and nutritious bean soup is ready!

The frozen fruit can serve you as either a breakfast emergency ( blender, fruit, yogurt or milk, nuts, and smoothie is served!) or an impromptu dessert (have you ever eaten frozen pineapple or banana? It's pretty much ice cream or sorbet!). And for a last minute healthy side you can boil some frozen corn, and then quickly sauté it in some olive oil and onions.

  These steps might seem like a lot right now, but as with everything in life, once you start practicing them on a regular basis, they will become second hand to you, and the trouble they will save you, will be worth the effort. 
  Much like these signs all over the side walks.  They might be a pain to take out and bring back in every day, but they are helping pedestrians all over Chicago be prepared for whatever might be falling from the sky today ...