Meal and snack planning – winging it!

Oct 31, 2018

 

We are down to one car now, hooray!  This has been our goal for quite a while and now that kindergarten has started super-locally, we have very little need for 2 cars.  Why all this talk about cars on a nutrition blog? Because now I can’t get to my favorite grocery store as easily anymore.  Seems as though Manfred needs the car on the days I had planned to go shopping. Oh well, small price to pay.

 

Good thing the freezer is stocked and we have other foods available for nutritious meals and snacks.  Yesterday and today, I’m winging it. 

*Breakfast: Both days breakfast was eggs and whole wheat mini bagels that I keep around for breakfast emergencies  (read: no whole wheat bread or regular bagels in the house-which qualifies as an emergency here). 

*Lunch:  yesterday was leftover pork loin and sautéed beet greens leftover from Sunday’s dinner and a baked sweet potato, which took all of 5 minutes to prepare in the microwave. Today I made a smoothie scaled to a meal portion using a half cup of fresh pineapple and half a banana, 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt and some unsweetened coconut flakes and chia seeds.  

*Dinner last night was also leftovers as I didn’t want to cook anything (mostly because I didn’t want to clean up anything while helping Matteo with homework).  He had some leftover pasta with red sauce and broccoli while I had some lentil soup I’d frozen previously and some leftover beets, also from Sunday’s dinner.  Dinner tonight will likely be shrimp and bean fajitas and some sort of veggies and salad.  I will have to see what’s in the crisper.

*Snacks have been healthful as well, with no real prep.  Apple and peanut butter…hitting all macronutrient groups and minimally processed.  Sometimes I have smoothies with ingredients in my freezer and scale that to be a snack or meal. Sometimes I will eat yogurt and fruit.  Or a small handful of dried fruit and some nuts or seeds (~1 oz serving).  Or a piece of dark chocolate and add some peanut butter to indulge a bit. 

 

My point is that although we eat healthfully and use minimally processed ingredients, I’m not overcomplicating it or spending tons of time in the kitchen or the grocery store.  Of course there are days that I do, I mean, food isn’t going to make itself.  But if eating healthfully sounds hard and time consuming, consider stocking foods that can make a healthful meal or snack regularly and use it on the fly.  There’s little need to buy processed foods for convenience when there are so many other options available that are probably already in your fridge or pantry.

 

 

 

 

Meal planning – the easy way

Oct 11, 2018

When you think of healthy eating and meal prepping, does it give you that overwhelmed feeling? I’m sort of the opposite, instead feeling nervous if I don’t have an arsenal of options to choose from when dinnertime comes knocking, as it does daily.

Some clients express apprehension when we discuss meal prepping for the week or batch cooking to prevent stressful evenings (or days for that matter, lunches are fair game for prepped food as well).  Sometimes I’m not sure if what they really feel is pressure to come up with an elaborate meal that is Instagram-worthy.  If that’s their expectation, then I can see where the apprehension comes from.  Personally, I avoid high expectations at mealtimes when possible.  I’m interested in eating yummy food, but that can be accomplished without the rest of the hassle.  Sometimes I’m just checking boxes, if you get my drift.

For me that means having some veggies (I personally like to have 2 different colored veggies) sautéed, roasted or chopped in the fridge waiting to be used.  Having a bit of meat, poultry, hard-boiled eggs or beans cooked and either frozen or stored in the fridge for use in tacos or to simply reheat and serve when a protein food is otherwise needed.  Rice, quinoa, polenta, risotto, potatoes or whole wheat tortillas on deck to reheat or make quickly for easy meals on the fly is a lifesaver.  Delicious meals can be easily cobbled together if these staples are rotated to prevent complete boredom.  And there can also be elaborate, fancier meals peppered in as well.  My point is that you don’t have to start from scratch for each meal.  Nor should you. Too much time is spent prepping, cooking, and cleaning for that to be a daily occurrence.

And for those counting carb or protein grams, this can apply.  Same goes for times you look at your plate and realize you need a vegetable or serving of fruit to round out a meal. Plate and reheat the amount of the food to reach your goal and –BAM- dinner is served.  If you are right-sizing portions, this practice could be helpful to reduce temptation for seconds if you know you will not require extra.  Making a large piece of chicken, portioning 3-4 oz and packing the rest up for the fridge or freezer will maintain calorie levels a bit more easily than talking yourself out of the rest of the chicken breast after helping #1.

Hope this helps as you try to plan your meal intake for the week!  Making it difficult doesn’t necessarily mean making it healthier!