Tag: easy meal planning

Meal Planning The Easy Way

Meal Planning The Easy Way

I’m a big fan of keeping things simple,  especially  when it comes to weekly meal planning and cooking.    This is why I love recipes!  Why reinvent the wheel when someone else has already done the leg work?  And, thanks to the internet, you don’t even need to store a bunch of cookbooks anymore.  You can find recipes on the internet for free.

When it comes to using other peoples’ recipes I like to use them as a starting point and then tweak it to meet our dietary needs and what I believe to be the best nutritional choice.  For example, I replace low fat dairy with full fat and canola oil with something like avocado or peanut oil.  I also cook with cast iron so if a recipe is light on the oil I will add more to keep food from sticking to the pan.

If you are just getting started with meal planning I suggest you pick recipes that can be cooked in under thirty minutes.  And,  unless you absolutely LOVE cooking and have the time to invest, I do not recommend cooking labor intense “project meals”  on a busy week night.

Below are seven sample recipes that I would use on any given week.  I include the links to the recipes (click on the name of the dish) and my recommended tweaks to make them even more fabulous and balanced.

Mu Shu Pork Wraps. 

Skip the takeout and make your own Chinese food.  Instead of canola oil, I would use peanut oil.  We like to eat this one over rice instead of making them into wraps.  If you like the wrap idea, then I would serve rice on the side for a carb.

Vera-Cruz Style Red Snapper.   

The only thing I would substitute in this recipe is olive oil instead of cooking spray.  I might use different white fish depending on what is available to us that week.  I usually stick to wild caught.  I grew up on the Pacific Ocean so my taste buds prefer wild to farmed. 🙂  A good side for this dish would be rice or corn tortillas and a side salad.

 Tex Mex Rice Bowl.         

This quick recipe is a favorite at our house.  Serve it with a side salad as well.

Turkey and Mushroom Bolognese.

Swap out cooking spray with avocado, olive, or grape seed oil.  Half -n-half can be used instead of light whipping cream if you don’t have any on hand.  I like whole grain pasta with this dish, however polenta would be really good with it too.

 Spring Vegetable Carbonara

If you are using turkey bacon, I would add some olive oil to create drippings.

 Quick Chicken Curry

I’m not a huge fan of chicken breasts so I would use thighs instead in this dish.  That’s totally up to you

 Lamb Burgers. 

Lamb burgers are nice way to change up from traditional hamburgers.  I like to serve them with a simple side salad and will make some frozen garlic fries to go with them.

The recipes above come from Cooking Light magazine.  It’s one of my favorite resources for meal planning.  There are loads of great recipes available on the internet so I encourage you to explore what is available.

Here’s to good food!

Shared with love,

Jennifer

 

Why Variety In Your Diet Matters When It Comes To Your Health

Healthy Delight

It seems like every month there’s a new “it” food that’s being promoted in the marketplace for health purposes.  While the food being promoted is usually full of potential health benefits,  there is no such thing as one “halo food” that will solve all of our health and/or weight issues.

When it comes to connecting food and your health, diversity is important.  Each nutrient contributes to the overall function of your body and if one nutrient is missing, it doesn’t function  as well as it could.

It’s easy to get into a routine eating the same foods often.  Things like busy schedules and taste preferences can be a factor.  However, minimal food variation can cause you to miss out on some important nutrients that your body needs to help you age gracefully and combat disease.  The key to a balanced diet is eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables combined with good protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

When adding variety to your diet, try choosing recipes that include multiple fruits and vegetables as well as interesting spices all in the same dish.  Make a side salad to go with the meal.  The more color on your plate, the better.  The colors of plants contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds that can help boost the immune system and protect against oxidative stress.  Spices used in small quantities can play an important role in boosting your immune system as well.

Nutritional experts recommend that we eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day.  The majority of adult Americans eat less than two of each daily.  That statistic reveals that most people could be increasing their consumption of fruits and vegetables considerably.

Adding more fruits, veggies, and  interesting spices to your diet is one of the best ways to add more variety to your plate and increase the nutritional value of a meal.

Here are some examples of foods that offer not just variety but great health benefits:

  • Tomatoes, watermelon, carrots, mangoes, lemons, pineapple, broccoli, arugula, blueberries, plums, grapes, blackberries, garlic, and onions are all fruits and vegetables that are known to have protective and healing qualities.
  • Arugula, watercress, and kale all contain a phytonutrient that suppresses cancer-cell growth.
  • Spinach, asparagus, beets, lentils, and fish have B vitamins essential to the repair of DNA.
  • Yellowfin tuna, sardines, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, sauerkraut, pickled beets (raw unpasteurized), turmeric, star anise, and fennel seed are all foods that can help stimulate and protect the immune system.

If meal planning is new for you and your spice rack is pretty basic then start with one new recipe per week.  Stick to the simpler recipes in the beginning and I recommend you avoid picking anything that takes longer than thirty minutes on your busier days.  Over time you will build up a collection of nutrient-dense recipes and a diverse spice rack.  When I sit down and lay out our family’s weekly meal plan, I’ll mix things up by choosing different cuisines like Italian, French, American, Indian, Moroccan, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Spanish, and Thai.  Any recipe that goes over as a big hit is saved and if it wasn’t popular, it doesn’t get repeated.

Eating healthy doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have perfect health; however, I believe you are better equipped to fight off disease and maintain your weight when you do.  I also believe that balance is very important so make sure you are enjoying the foods you eat and having fun.  Self control is a good thing, an overly restrictive diet that causes stress in your life is not.  Balance is always important when it comes to long-term success.

To your health!
Jennifer Ledford

 

Meal Planning Made Simple

Pretty young woman in kitchen

Did you know that every time you eat out it’s pretty much guaranteed you will be consuming more calories than if you prepared your own meal?  A recent study published  in the IDEA fitness journal stated that when people ate out they averaged 200 more calories per meal.  I believe them!

Please understand, I’m a big fan of going out to eat.  It’s part of our culture, and I think everyone should take advantage of the fabulous restaurants in their area.  However, several years ago I learned that the average American eats out four to five times per week.  This made me realize that the calorie overload could add up quickly for anyone frequenting restaurants this often.

I also understand why people are eating out this much.  After a long day at work, cooking dinner can sound daunting and unappealing.  You want something simple that tastes good,  and it’s all too tempting to swing by your favorite take out joint or restaurant.

However, meal planning and preparing your own food is one of the key ingredients to weight loss/management without dieting. It’s how my household is able to enjoy eating the foods we like without gaining weight.

Does meal planning mean that you need to go to culinary school and become a chef, or that you have to eat the same meal five days in a row?  No!

It does mean that you will spend a little time up front before your week begins. The 30 minutes you spend meal planning will actually ending up saving you time.  No more daily trips to the store or a restaurant.  Not only will planning your menu save you time, it saves you money and helps you avoid throwing away food that went bad sitting in the fridge.

Just between you and me meal planning was not something I used to do. I would get home from a long day of work and throw some chicken or fish in the oven while the rice and veggies cooked together in a steamer. I really enjoyed this meal. It was easy and I knew it was healthy for us, but eventually my husband and I got burned out on eating the same thing five nights a week.

That burnout inspired me to take my knowledge from the fitness industry and teach myself how to meal plan. I started creating weekly menus, and learned to cook healthy interesting meals for our family. It wasn’t super hard, it just took planning and following recipes.  That’s why I know you can do it too.

Here are eight simple steps to help you start meal planning right away.

1) Make a quick plan.  Make a list of what you want to eat for dinner, lunch, breakfast, and snacks for the next seven days. Look at your calendar to see if you have any planned dinners, parties, or lunches when you will be eating out.

2) Get inspired! If you like to cook or want to learn how, try using light recipes from the web, cookbooks, and/or magazines to inspire you. Cooking Light is my favorite. EatingWell is another option.  Go through the magazines or the website.  Let the pictures of the meals inspire you to try new recipes.

If cooking is new for you, pick the 20 minute recipes to start.  Even if you are a seasoned cook, you may want to stick to the short recipes on your busier days and save the project meals for your days off when you have more time.

3) Make quick and delicious no cook meals.  Rather not cook? Assemble prepared food that is fresh. Try things like a roasted chicken, pre-cooked rice and pre-washed lettuce for a salad. Add some frozen organic vegetables on the side.

These are great meals when you’ve had a crazy day and need to feed you and/or your family quickly before the blood sugar starts dropping.

4) Frozen can be your friend.  Try frozen organic pizza with a salad. Be sure to pay attention to serving sizes. A healthy frozen pizza has fewer calories than restaurant pizzas.

5) Write it down.  Once you’ve decided what you will eat for the week, make a shopping list and write everything down before you go to the store.

6) Make extra. Use leftovers for lunches or freeze appropriate portion sizes for meals later in the month. For example eat meals that you froze during week one in week three. This allows you to save time and stay on track without growing tired of the meal because you ate it for four days straight.

7) It’s okay if you need to outsource.  You may discover that cooking every night is a challenge. If so, consider these great ideas:

Order meals from a company like MagicKitchen.com. The food is made fresh and delivered to your doorstep.  If you think that may be too expensive, do a little calculating. You may find it a lot less expensive than eating out.  You can also try doing a search for local businesses in your area providing meal services.  Imagine what it would be like to have all of your meals planned and ready to go in the freezer.

8) Stay consistent!  Over time you will become an ace at meal planning and will learn what works for you.  Stick to it and it will become as natural as brushing your teeth!

If you have ANY questions or comments please feel free to leave them below!

Blessings,

Jennifer Ledford
Jennifer Ledford Picture