My husband often makes fun of my eating habits. He says I have the eating preferences of a 5-year-old. I’ve been a vegetarian for about a year and a half now, but I was a picky eater long before that. I’m also a workaholic. I can tell you all day long how the perfect morning routine means waking up and not jumping on your laptop or phone, but that’s what I do. I’m a wake-up-and-go type of person, which means I get into the zone early, and I often don’t stop until the afternoon. I joke with my husband that I actually partake in intermittent fasting like all the cool kids because I often don’t eat anything until 2 p.m. But this past month, I decided to try something new.

I’ll be the first to admit that my eating habits are not the healthiest. Not necessarily because of what I eat, but because of how and when I eat. Like I mentioned, I never ate breakfast and often wouldn’t even drink much water before 2 p.m. Then I would break only because I couldn’t take the hunger pains anymore and shove a handful of almonds down my throat and generally wash it down with a very large iced coffee. The epitome of health, you guys. Then I’d eat a banana or some kind of fruit before going to pick up my son from school. My main meal was dinner, so I’d always eat a big dinner to “catch up” from the rest of the day. The problem with that is, we often didn’t eat dinner until 8 p.m. or later due to my husband’s work schedule. And from what I’ve read in my research, this is the opposite of what we should be doing.

I can’t remember where I first heard the saying, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper,” but it has always intrigued me. Once quarantine hit and we were officially staying home, I decided to give it a shot. I didn’t have any excuse to not wake up and make breakfast instead of getting to work. And now that my husband was home from work, we can eat dinner earlier. So for the past 30 days I did it, and I loved it. Here’s what I’ve learned in the process:

Sunday Meal Prep

On Sunday morning, I sit down and write out a meal-planning list for the week. I jot down what we’re going to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which helps me account for leftovers and our daily schedules. For example, every Friday, we go to my parents’ house, so I usually pack leftovers. After I’ve made my list, we do a big grocery order from the week from Sprouts via InstaCart, which has been great during the stay-at-home orders. It’s also great for making sure we get everything on our list and are not distracted by snack aisles. Every other week, we also receive an Urban Sharecrop box full of delicious homegrown produce, so Sunday is when we also make things like pesto, pickled veggies and salad dressings out of our vegetables. Meal prep has been the most important component of changing my eating habits, because it’s all too easy to skip cooking a meal and claim “busyness” as the culprit. But meal prep makes it easy and organized on hectic week days.

More Cooking = Better Ingredients

I was a big fan of protein bars as a main food group up until recently because they are easy to grab and take on the go and also tide me over until dinnertime. But even the best protein bars can’t compete with whole foods. I started making breakfast scrambles each morning with organic eggs and a rainbow of vegetables. It was fun getting creative with different combinations and I never found myself getting bored. For lunch, I often had a garden veggie chickpea salad sandwich on organic whole wheat pita bread, and it is still my go-to. By focusing on these two meals, I definitely saw myself getting a boost of nutrients and whole foods that I wasn’t getting on a regular basis before.

I Slept Better

I know, crazy, right? But when I was eating dinner as my main meal and then heading to bed a few hours later, I noticed it took me longer to fall asleep than it did when I changed my eating habits. Once I switched over to eating dinner “like a pauper,” I fell asleep faster and stayed asleep longer. Big dinners make you temporarily drowsy but prolong digestion, which interferes with a good night’s sleep. Eating a small meal earlier in the evening helped my digestion and my sleep pattern thrive. 

I Felt Better All Day

Maybe I was grumpy and stressed in the mornings because I was hangry?! I noticed that once I made the switch and reversed my eating habits, I felt better all around. I felt more awake and less in need of that desperate 3 p.m. cold brew. I also drank more water than I did before. Eating breakfast definitely seems to help me feel more energized. I always knew that eating breakfast was supposed to help jumpstart your metabolism, but I also learned that eating breakfast boosts your energy levels along with restoring your glycogen levels to keep your metabolism up for the day.

This was definitely a challenge to rid myself of bad habits and focus on treating my body better, and I’m so glad I did. I really enjoy this new routine and I can see it being permanent, even after stay-at-home orders are lifted. I figured there was no harm in trying this method out, and I ended up loving it. I’ve also really been enjoying cooking more this past month. Here are a few of my favorite recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner:

Breakfast:

• Beet Greens Omelette
• Spinach Avocado Breakfast Quesadilla
• Vegan Breakfast Hash
• Savory Vegan Breakfast Bowl
• PB Pitaya Bowl w/ Hemp Granola

Lunch:

• Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich
• Chipotle Lime Black Bean Bowl
• 5-Minute Mediterranean Bowls
• Thai Quinoa Salad

Dinner (my husband still needed a big dinner, I just had a much smaller portion!)

• Spicy Peanut Tofu Bowls with Quick Pickled Veggies
• Loaded Crispy Tofu Tacos
• Toasted Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Basil + Parmesan
• Summer Vegetable Skillet Lasagna
• Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai