How to eat for energy?

[Cait73]

I'm on my own with a very lively 12 month old boy, I'm tired ALL the time so I'm looking to alter my diet to try eating better, I'm sure I can do better for myself to get more energy and sleep better, but I don't know where to start

I need things I can cook pretty quickly and possibly batch cook in advance?

Any ideas please?

[Cait73]

I’m very upset no one wants to help me eat 🤣

[Apileofballyhoo]

What do you eat now? Is your weight ok?

Are you eating enough? Is it fairly balanced?

[Pipandmum]

Have you had a blood test for anemia?
Complex carbs and protein plus plenty of veg. Batch cook some chilli using lean mince and adding lots of veg. Eat with brown rice.
Get some frozen baked potatoes you can pop in the microwave and eat with a salad and tuna or the chilli or baked beans or chicken salad....
And make sure you are getting enough sleep!

[Pipandmum]

Nigella Express has lots of good quick recipes.

[DancingDelli]

Try to avoid unhealthy fats like red meats and processed foods and make sure you're eating lots of fruit and veg.

Natural carbs are your best friend! (Although I'm sure lots of people on here will tell you they're the devil)

[NeurotrashWarrior]

Hi

With young lovely lively smalls I found daily things like:

Porridge (can add frozen fruit eg blueberries, cherries)
Scrambled/ poached/ boiled eggs
Oat cakes with anything on (butter and marmite for me!)
Nuts, seeds and raisins or other dried fruit
Plain yogurt plus fruit or honey etc
Bananas and apples
Peanut butter and brown bread sandwiches
Thick soups and bread or rice cakes
(All bar boiled eggs can be cooked in the microwave, so quick! Just watch the heat with young children.)
A couple of squares of dark chocolate. (Really helps!)

These are Really good for energy as you want lots of protein and low GI carbs and they're also filling. Also contain a number of vitamins which help with tiredness.

Evening meals I found batch cooking for a god send and if you're lucky the children like them too. I did a mix of things like bolognaise, chicken and sweet potato stew, some veggie curries and Dhals to have with rice, then things like fish - just salmon steaks roasted to have with rice or pasta and veg or salad, occasionally a steak and oven chips or sweet pot chips.

Whilst kids can be very exhausting I would echo pps and perhaps get a drs check up - anaemia, thyroid, vit d etc.

Make sure you drink enough - I found its very easy to forget with small children. Try to limit caffeine to only a couple and in the morning/ not after mid afternoon.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Eggs. Quick omelette with whatever you have lying about/poached egg on wholemeal toast etc. Bananas, chopped into porridge, on toast with nut butter, in a fruit smoothie. Plenty of veg, especially green leafy or broccoli. Pot of soup, lentil and carrot or ham is good, chunk of wholemeal bread with it. All good snack stuff instead of grabbing crisps or chocolate :)

[Cait73]

Yey all brilliant ideas thank you, yes my weight is fine but I'm surviving on ready meals (I always have veg or salad but it's not good I know) and snacks

Sleep is a problem, gs sleeps 10-12 hours a night but I've been an insomniac for as long as I can remember 🙄

[Egghead68]

Slow release carbs should help. Good luck!

[WaxOnFeckOff]

have you tried the military sleep method OP?

You can google it, but the premise is about relaxing from the head and neck downwards and trying to blank your mind. I find that hard so I imagine a square of plain carpet and whilst i started off thinking about the pile of the carpet and various things, I gradually got used to just picturing the carpet and then finding I've dropped off. :)

[Cait73]

@WaxOnFeckOff I'm going to look that up, never heard of it before

[Foghead]

Definitely ditch the ready meals.
There Was a thread earlier about meal prepping. It looked great.
If you have time on the weekend, to grill or roast some extra chicken or make a load of soup or whatever, it will last for a good few days in the fridge.

Floradix is good.

[Cait73]

@Foghead it was a case of (in the beginning) it's better than nothing but seriously I'm starting to think nothing would actually to be better due to the added salt, sugar and other artificial ingredients

I used to live sugar free, felt the best I'd every felt but it did take up

[Cait73]

.......a lot of (meal prep time) which I don't behave for a white

[Chochito]

Eat regularly.

Drink plenty of water.

Try to have protein with each of your meals, for example an egg (or two) for breakfast.

[MissPepper8]

Protein energy balls? Thinking of making some up as I'm pregnant, insanely tired and running round after a 2 year old. Can store them away too.

[Egghead68]

Fatballs?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/2017083-He-has-eaten-a-fat-ball