It's Time To Take Back Your Life

Month: July 2023

Meal planning for quick and easy meals

Meal planning for quick and easy meals is without a doubt one of the most time consuming parts of eating healthier. The only thing worse that this is, the actual meal prep itself. Let’s face it, planning, shopping and then prepping can take an entire day. Who has a whole day to dedicate to this? There is an easier way.

When you plan, you will want quick ideas. For this, you will need to re-think your way of cooking. For me, cooking was more of an art than a necessity. I would spend hours in the kitchen for one dinner, but that was when I cooked the good old southern way. Those days are now gone. I am focused on nutrition now.

What is your why?

You have to ask yourself “what is my why”? This gets you clear as to why, now what is your goal? You have to set an achievable goal. Ask yourself these questions:

  • What is my goal?
  • How can I get the most bang for my buck in the way of nutrients?
  • How can I cook or prepare quick easy and budget friendly meals?

My Goal

First of all, my goal was simple. I needed a diet plan that would support my nutritional goals of eating healthier and losing weight. Some things I needed to forgo were wine, cheese, ice cream and really most dairy altogether.

I was always heavy on the meat and startches, so I needed to add more fruits and vegetables in my mix, and cut the additional salt. Okay, I had my first base covered. I had a specific goal and kept it simple. I have my why and goal covered.

My nutritional needs

I knew that if I incorporated nutritionally dense foods, it would help my body repair itself and provide the nutrients it needed to stay healthy. So, I focused on getting the most bang for my buck. This would provide the much needed nutrition for energy and weight loss. If you need a list of those top nutritional foods, you can find them at the link below:

I also needed to save money on my grocery budget, so I followed the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen rule of buying produce. This will save you money, while forgoing those cancer-causing pesticides. Click the link below for that list:

Quick and easy meals

I knew my cooking style had to change overnight. I needed to let go of my three and four course meals and focus on meal planning for quick and easy meals. This meant incorporating things like smoothies and oatmeal with fresh fruit, during breakfast and lunch, and cooking “one pot meals” or all-in-one meals for dinner. See my post below for one-pot meals:

Success comes down to having a plan and working the plan

I knew planning, shopping and prepping could not be done for me all in one day. I just simply ran out of stem and didn’t prep. I thought, “I will do it tomorrow” and tomorrow never came. Groceries go to waste like this, so a new plan of action had to be born!

I decided I would meal plan my quick meals during the week and would make a full shopping list for each of the two stores. I would also take inventory of my panty, refrigerator and freezer for the foods I needed.

I had my lists for both stores. You might ask, why two stores, why not just one? Well the reason is two-fold. First, our supply chain hasn’t recovered and my stores do not always have the things I need, so I am forced to make a second stop. Second, you always want to look at the ads for cost-savings and add those to your cards so you can take advantage of those extra digital coupon savings.

My Plan

This meant on Thursday, when the ads came out I would research and load everything I need to my digital coupons for money saving ideas. Friday night, I would clean my refrigerator out, and take inventory of anything I might need. I would make my lists for each store. If I had time, I would look to on-line healthy recipes or a book for inspiration. I may not follow the actual recipe but it will give me a guide. I tend to make my meals a bit healthier.

Then, when Saturday/Sunday rolls around, I grab my lists and keys and head out the door. Inventory was already taken from my refrigerator, pantry and freezer and lists are in hand. This keeps me from purchasing unneeded items and spending more money than planned. Let’s face it, groceries have gotten so expensive, we need all the help we can get in this area.

When I get home, I unload, wash and stock things away. Remember, the refrigerator is already clean and ready to go from the night before. I go directly into the prep of washing, cutting and containing, what I need for the days ahead. This would typically give me about 5 days of easy food ready to go for a quick toss. Realistically, I can prep and cook any dinner in 30-45 minutes and this included clean-up.

Now this will take some getting used to. It will take time to perfect your craft, but you can teach an old dog new tricks, so stick with it. You will find quick and easy ways to get healthy and nutritious foods in your body, without spending an entire day cooking.

Being successful at eating healthier is 80% of our getting healthy journey. If you can master this, then you can add walking (or the exercise of your choice), for the last 20%. All of this together is going to equal a healthier and hopefully lighter you.

Alicia

One-Pot Meals

One-pot meals are quick and easy, but it bucks everything we learned when growing up and cooking a meal. So, how do you get on the train for quick and easy?

First, get a new attitude. You have to be willing to say, “out with the old, and in with the new” and learn how to cook all over again. I promise, once you master this, you will say, “What took me so long?”

Second, you do not need any special equipment to start. I would have on-hand a few things that will make your job a whole lot easier.

Kitchen equipment that will make your job easier

You don’t need a lot to cook these simple one-pot meals. I will say that you will mainly use a few things over and over again. Who knows, you might be able to get rid of the rest of your pots, pans and kitchen gadgets and declutter for more space, once you get your sea legs under you.

The things I would suggest that you have a minimum are:

  • One large knife
  • One paring knife
  • A few assortment of spoons, ladles and a peeler.
  • A grater
  • A cutting board or sheet
  • One large stock pot with lid
  • One smaller stock pot (with straining lid)
  • One or two baking sheets of various sizes
  • One large skillet with lid, one smaller skillet with lid
  • A Ninja high speed blender (or model of your choice)
  • Various sizes in meal prep containers
  • Microwave

I use Blue Diamond non-stick pots and pans and have been very happy with these. There are a wide variety of non-stick pots and pans, just keep in mind that you never want to use anything but bamboo or plastic utensils in these. Also, when cleaning, never used a scrub pad.

If you get adventurous and have extra money, you might try adding:

  • Air fryer
  • Food Processor
  • InstaPot/Crock Pot
  • Outdoor grill

Building a meal is as easy as 1-2-3

Throwing together a one-pot meal is quick and simple. Don’t overthink it.

First, depending on what diet you have decided to help you on your journey, depends on what will go in it for the protein. For example, if you are following a Whole Food Plant Based Diet (Vegan/Vegetarian), then you will want to pick things like beans, lentils, tofu and tempe for your protein blocks.

If you are choosing a Mediterranean Diet or Keto, then you can have lean cuts of chicken, meat and fish. I would limit your red meats to two or three times a week. Red meat has been proven to be inflammatory. If you are cooking organ meats like liver, I would recommend one to two times per week max.

Number 1 –

  • Pick a Protein (meat, beans, lentils, tofu or tempe)
  • Use a bit of broth to add moisture to the skillet. No oil please.
  • Stir Fry your meat until it is done (if you are eating meat).
  • Place your harder veggies in after your meat is done for more cook-time like carrots, onion, garlic and celery.

Number 2 –

  • Add an assortment of fresh/frozen (thawed) vegetables and simmer until done.
  • Season to taste (get creative here). Add a bit more broth if needed.

Number 3 –

Add a starch/complex carb like pasta, rice or potatoes. (These will require pre-cooking in another pot).

If you are wanting some dessert, add some fresh fruit or a snippet of dark chocolate.

There you go, you have your meal in essentially one pot, and clean-up is super quick and easy. Enjoy!

Cooking tip- I always use canned beans to save time. I make sure to try and get them in a Non-BPA can, and always rinse before adding them to my soups/skillets. This removes a great deal of the sodium content and the gas that one might experience.

Put any remaining leftovers in the refrigerator. Just reheat on stove or pop in the microwave, and you have a meal. Not only are you saving money, you are controlling the quality of food, the nutrients going in your body, and the amount of sodium that is contained in your food. All three are major wins for you and your journey!

Alicia