After seven months of not writing a single blog post and frankly, doing a poor job of balancing work and life, here I am!

During the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to come up with ways to simplify and enjoy life, while making the most of my time, money, and resources.

One place I’ve been doing this, is in the kitchen.

Instead of buying fast food, eating out, ordering in, or skipping meals because of a hectic work schedule, I’ve been doing a bit of cooking. And not cooking just anything; cooking meals that are healthy(ish) and easy to grab and go.

So far, I’ve tried my hand at mini veggie pasta pies for lunch, egg muffins for breakfast, smoothies as morning pick-me-ups and delicious fruity snacks.

Breakfast: Mushroom-bell pepper-spinach egg muffins before I put them in the oven

Breakfast: Egg muffins served with a (leaning) tower of coconut pancakes

Prepping the ingredients for mini pasta pies

Lunch: Mini pasta pies loaded with my favorite veggies before I put them in the oven

Lunch: Mini pasta pies fresh out of the oven before I put the lids on and froze them for the week ahead

Snack: Fresh fruit and Liberté Yogurt

Morning Pick-me-Up: Strawberry banana smoothie

Time consuming? Expensive? Hard to do?

Not with this arsenal of gadgets, cookware, ingredients and tools:

• Eggs
• Fresh fruit
• Fresh veggies
• Nutribullet by Magic Bullet
• Pyrex four-piece storage/baking set
• Recipe websites and communities such as Epicurious, Food Network and The Chew
• Ziploc snack and freezer bags for storage

Truthfully, every Sunday and evening I’ve spent chopping, bagging, freezing, baking, and blending has been worth it. And on those days when I didn’t spend the time preparing? I’ve regretted every forkful of the mass-prepared breakfast or lunch served out a styrofoam container I resorted to eating, or the hunger pangs from delaying lunch!

So if you’re trying to do better at healthy eating, eating on schedule, or just trying to organize your life, I hope this blog post will be the inspiration you need to make it happen.

And if you’re a fabulous, fit reader who’s already gotten the hang of an organized approach to eating, please, please feel free to share your tips and ideas in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you!