Nutrition

from North Idaho Wellness Magazine May + June 2020

Health

MEAL PREPPING the many benefits of

Learn Why it’s Worth the Time and Actually Necessary to Help You Reach Your Health Goals

Written by Matt and Sharon Anderson Owners of Rx Meals

You’ve probably heard all about it and have wanted to do it, but just haven’t had the time, or motivation, to get started. Or maybe you aren’t quite sure where to start. Well, we’re going to tell you why you not only should, but need to meal prep if you truly want to be successful in reaching your nutrition goals. Then we’ll cover how you can get started and the best options to fit your lifestyle.

Some of you might be asking, meal prep? Who has time for that? We get it, everyone is busy these days, and there just isn’t enough time to pre-prepare your food and eat healthy on a daily basis. Wait, seriously?! Don’t have time to eat healthy? Nobody should have that mindset. We really can’t afford to think that way. We all have to eat, and focusing on fueling your body with foods that provide nutrients that are healing and help you to live a healthier, longer life should be everyone’s desire. Besides, who wouldn’t want to avoid buying, washing, chopping and cooking food, and cleaning a messy kitchen every day? We should all be signing up for that!

Food really is medicine and can be healing to the body; giving us more energy, regulating hormone and cell function, proper digestion, slowing the aging

process, managing weight, amongst many other benefits. Obviously, there is going to be the occasional treat and eating out, but it should be the exception not the rule.

The three most important things we like to tell people about meal prepping: • Saves time • Saves money • Saves calories (which ultimately saves you from unwanted weight gain).

As was already mentioned, it contributes to an overall more nutritionally balanced diet, and can reduce stress as you are able to avoid last minute decisions on what to eat. You get to prepare food that you know you like and pre-determined portions keep you from overindulging, you also avoid unnecessary food waste. Additionally, you have a much better chance of reaching your nutrition, athletic, weight loss/gain/maintenance goals if you plan ahead with your meals. It’s actually essential to reaching your goals if you are really serious about them.

Meal prepping is a learning process and gets easier as you go. Start simple and expand on it as you fine-tune your skills. You don’t need to have professional culinary

skills or fancy plating. Have fun with it and get everyone involved. It can look different for each person, here are a few examples: • Prepare meals for a week or just one day. • Completely prepare and package each meal to have it ready-to-go. • Prepare separate ingredients (i.e. cut vegetables and cook meats) to speed up the cooking process later.

Some people find it easiest to just have lunch pre-prepared for their workdays. While others appreciate having the entire day prepped and ready-to-go, or at least having most of their dinner meal prepared and ready to portion and heat.

Here are some strategies for some successful meal prepping:

• Make a plan, that’s the whole key to being successful with prepping, it obviously means you have to plan ahead. Find some recipes you know you will enjoy, keep your budget in mind. Find recipes that include foods from different food groups (protein, starches, vegetables) to ensure balance in your meals. It’s a good idea to have only one or two proteins that you use in any given week and maybe use them in different ways, this will help keep costs down. Then make a grocery list, plan your portions, and get cooking!

Things to try first:

• Cook in large batches, especially grains/starches, as they can take longer to cook, as well as veggies as they often take longer to prep and cook. Examples: use a crockpot to large batch cook potatoes for the week or prepare a large sheet pan of broccoli florets by seasoning and baking. Store prepped foods in large containers in the fridge to add to meals for the week. • Freeze any extra that you can’t eat within the week. • Make sure you have plenty of single meal-sized containers for storage and large containers for large batch cooking.

Invest in your health now, before you’re forced to spend unnecessary time and money on potential complications that may have been preventable. You won’t realize how beneficial it is until you start. So, give it a try now. Remember to start in a way that is manageable for you and your lifestyle. Because, ultimately, what it comes down to is what works best for you. Don’t forget to have a little fun with it!

Anyone else absolutely GIDDY about these warmer sunny days we’re having!?! I hope these few ideas I share serve you well as we head into this beautiful new season! My hope is that you can fuel your body with real, whole foods that will give you all the energy you need to enjoy this time to its fullest! Please be sure to follow along on my Instagram page @kara_thewholemomma for more fun and healthy ideas all Spring & Summer long! And if you do try any of these ideas, PLEASE tag me and @northidahowellnessmagazine and I will reshare in my Instagram stories! enjoy, friends!

Hydrate with Fun Flavored Water

It’s most likely been drilled into you that staying hydrated should be a daily priority. But for those of us that loathe chugging it plain, I love jazzing things up a bit with flavors found in nature like fresh squeezed lemon juice, fresh or frozen fruit or even some citrus zest too! I also like to add a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar to my very first morning mason jar of filtered water to jumpstart my metabolism by boosting stomach acid and digestion. The great thing is that the flavor possibilities are endless in the spring and summer time with fruits and herbs coming into season! Mango and basil are an unexpected, yet very refreshing combo!

Healthy Grab & Go Snacks

The beautiful spring and summer weather we have is like the reward for our long, cold and snowy winters, am I right? Our family likes to take advantage of ALL the beautiful warm days we can, which sometimes means spur of the moment playdates or trips to our beautiful local beaches. In order to keep myself and my 3 kids eating as healthy as possible, I like to have already prepared grab and go snacks to take with us on our adventures, spontaneous OR planned! I like to prepare are these mini mason jar veggie & dip snacks. Just chop up some of your favorite veggies into sticks, then line the bottom of the mason jar with your favorite dip!

Healthy Bunless Burger Bars

I absolutely LOVE grilling season! Almost all summer, dinner in our family looks like some kind of grilled meat with a side of fresh veggies and fruit from the Farmers Market, or whatever is in season at the time. Burger night is always a huge hit at our house. When I prepare a burger bar with all the fun goodies, those of us that want to go bunless don’t miss a thing! Bacon, pickles, tomatoes, greens, jalapenos and avocados!?! Flavor explosion! I challenge you to plan your dinners around what is fresh and in season! Your local farmer AND your taste buds will thank you!