Meal Prepping Made Easy

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I don’t know about you, but sometimes 24 hours a day is just not enough. With school and work, some days I struggle to find the time to eat nourishing meals because I don’t have the time to make a meal and any prepared options are usually not the best choices. I started meal prepping can help free up some time during the week by cooking meals ahead of time!

Set a Day for Meal Prepping

First, set a designated day to cook your meals. I like to cook on Sundays and Wednesdays making meals for three to four days so I don’t get tired of the same meals every day. Also, most of the time food only says good for about three to five days or so. This is also a great way to get the family into the kitchen. Getting kids to help out can spark their interest in healthy food and cooking. Plus, they are more likely to eat the food that they helped cook.

Plan Your Meals

Once you have set a day to make your meals, plan what you are going to make and write a list of food you need to get at the grocery store. Planning your meals in advance can help make grocery shopping much easier as you already know what to get. This way you only need to go to the grocery store once a week. When planning your meals, think about ingredients that could be cooked in multiple ways. For example, you can make spinach into a salad, put it in some soup, or sautee it with other veggies!

Don’t limit your meal prepping to just lunch and dinner. You can save time in the morning by portioning out your smoothie ingredients in mason jars or pre-making pancakes and cut fruit for an easy breakfast for the kids.

Having pre-made snacks make it easy for you to grab and go. Cut up and portion fruits and veggies! Portion out cheese, lunchmeat, and crackers for homemade Lunchables! Pre-package trail mix or cereals! The combinations are endless.

Be Efficient

Utilize your kitchen to the max!

  • Make sheet pan meals by roasting multiple items on the same sheet pan. That’s one less dish to wash at the end of the night!
  • Multi-task. Whether that be boiling some pasta while sauteeing some greens or baking chicken and roasting potatoes, make use of your time cooking.

Portion Out Your Meals

After making all your meals, portion out your meals. This makes it quick and easy to grab your lunch when you are on your way out the door! If you don’t have enough room in your refrigerator, pack your lunch and dinner the night before so you have it ready to go in the morning.

Mason jars are a great way to put salads in. Place your dressing in first and then put hardier vegetables like chickpeas or tomatoes or protein. That way your salad is not soggy when you eat it. It’s also great to use if you want instant noodle soups. Just cook your favorite noodles and shock them in ice water before adding it to the mason jar with other ingredients you want. Add miso, tum yum paste, a bouillon cube, or any other soup flavoring. When you are ready to eat, just add hot water and let it sit for a couple of minutes. And voila you have soup!

Freeze It

If you want to meal prep way far in advance, you can freeze the extra meals you made. You can marinate meat, cook vegetables,  or make soup and freeze it! Making and freezing family meals can be a huge time saver when you are running short on time to make dinner. You can make lasagna, oven bakes, or casseroles in a disposable pan and freeze them until you need them.

Fast food can be healthy. Meal prepping may require taking some time out of your week, but you can have ready to eat meals that you know are nutritious! You can make it as easy as you want it by simply putting everything in the oven or have fun making different meals. Not only does it save time during the weekdays, but it can save you money and unnecessary stress. Try meal prepping this week and comment below how you did it!

AN

Best Holiday Gift Ideas from Banister’s Intern

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This is NOT a sponsored post. 

My best friend’s grandmother, Pauline, was a dietitian. She was one of my biggest supporters and inspiration for me pursuing my career in nutrition and dietetics. Before she passed away in May 2018, she gifted me with a necklace that said, “Follow Your Dreams.” Pauline was the best hostess and planner. I believe most dietitians are. She also had the best variety of essential kitchenware and gadgets. This day and age, many kitchen gadgets seem useful for a time or two before making its way to a dark corner of our cabinets, is anyone still using a George Foreman grill?

I want to share the perfect holiday, timeless gifts for anyone’s kitchen this holiday:

 

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole

If you’re tired of dieting and ready to change your relationship with food, this book is for you. More importantly, this book is for anyone who eats. Around this time of year, we’re inundated with diets and detoxes which leave most of us feeling deprived and desperate and worst off than from where we began. Intuitive Eating will be the beginning to the end of chasing diets that just don’t work. BN dietitians reference IE frequently with our patients.

As you make reading goals for 2020 add Intuitive Eating to the list, and while you’re at it, schedule an appointment at Banister Nutrition and one of our dietitians can discuss with you how to apply these concepts to your life.

Chef’s Knife

A chef’s knife is the most universal knife you will ever own (and they make you look like a pro). I use my chef’s knife every day, from cutting fruits and vegetables to cutting meats and tofu. The worst thing is you can do in the kitchen is an attempt to cut ANYTHING with a dull knife. It’s much more dangerous to cut with a dull knife than a sharp one. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on the most expensive chef’s knife, however, if you do, they will last FOREVER. Remember, always handwash and sharpen occasionally.

If using a chef’s knife intimidates you, check out videos on YouTube on how to use them correctly, or take a local class.

Cast Iron Skillet

Did you know cooking in a cast iron skillet can add iron to your food? Cast iron cookware is durable and practically indestructible and unlike other cookware, cast irons get better with time. Old cast iron skillets are a common find at thrift stores, antique shops, and flea markets for a reasonable price. Or if you’re lucky, maybe a family member has a few they are willing to part with.

Toddy Cold Brew System

Cold brew coffee is all the rage and it is not slowing down. Cold brew coffee is unique because the cold water brewing and filtering system cut the acidity of coffee by almost 70%. As a student, caffeine gets me through the day (and night). I’ve lost track of how many projects I’ve done on caffeine (and wine). I make a batch of this every week for my husband and me, and it definitely saves on our Starbucks bill. I’ve found cold brew made with a single-origin coffee tastes much better.

KD

Healthy Resolutions For 2014!

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Thinking of new resolutions for 2014? Try starting off the New Year with a few healthy choices.

Here are a few examples:

 

  • Choose low sugar treats: We consume 355 calories, or 22 teaspoons, of added sugars a day. The American Heart Association advises that we eat much, much less than that. Try to eat more natural sugars such as ones contained in fruits.
  • Eating more foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids might just help you keep your blood pressure down. Researchers found that among 4,680 healthy adults, those who consumed the highest amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in their diets had the lowest rates of hypertension. Research also has found that omega-3s can help improve your mood. Try to get two servings of fish a week, particularly fatty fish, such as salmon, sardines and some types of tuna, which are rich in omega-3s. If you don’t like fish try walnuts and flax, which are good nonfish sources of omega-3s.

 

  • Pile on the veggies: The majority of Americans don’t eat the daily recommended 3 or more servings of vegetables. Vegetables contain many healthy nutrients and fibers important for your body. If you don’t think any vegetables taste good, try roasting. Roasting vegetable caramelizes their natural sugars so they taste amazing.

 

Make eating healthy one of your New Year resolutions for 2014!
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Source: http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking