2581: Meal Prep to Eat Healthier With Less Effort by Lea Genders on Nutrition Advice & Living Healthier

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Health Daily, episode 2581.

[00:01:04] Meal Prep to Eat Healthier with Less Effort by Leah Genders of leagendersfitness.com.

[00:01:10] And I'm Dr. Neal Malik.

[00:01:12] Happy Saturday!

[00:01:13] Thank you so much for being here and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily where I act as

[00:01:17] your narrator of the best health and fitness blogs, all for free.

[00:01:22] And now, let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:31] Meal Prep to Eat Healthier with Less Effort by Leah Genders of leagendersfitness.com.

[00:01:38] I thought that people who meal prepped were the type of people who had their S together,

[00:01:42] the kind of people who dust their mini-blinds every week and throw Pinterest-worthy parties

[00:01:48] with handmade decorations and snacks.

[00:01:51] That ain't me.

[00:01:52] I'm usually a frazzled mess who opens a bag of pretzels for parties.

[00:01:58] Who am I kidding?

[00:01:59] I don't have time to throw parties.

[00:02:01] I used to think that I barely had enough time to eat, let alone meal prep.

[00:02:05] But I was wrong.

[00:02:06] Meal prep takes a little more time on the front end but makes my weekly meals so much

[00:02:11] easier and saves time and money.

[00:02:14] Prepping your meals in advance can help you make healthier choices all week long.

[00:02:20] Five reasons to meal prep.

[00:02:22] 1.

[00:02:23] Meals prepared at home are almost always healthier, have fewer calories and sodium than restaurant

[00:02:29] meals.

[00:02:30] Meal prep puts you in control of what you eat rather than relying on the whims of a

[00:02:34] hungry person.

[00:02:35] And that hardly ever goes well.

[00:02:38] 2.

[00:02:39] It's less expensive to eat meals prepared at home.

[00:02:42] If you consider the average cost of a meal for lunch during the work week is $10, then

[00:02:47] that equates to about $50 per week or around $200 per month just for lunch.

[00:02:54] You can save a lot of money by preparing meals in advance rather than going out to eat.

[00:02:59] 3.

[00:03:00] It's easier to make healthy choices when food is prepped in advance.

[00:03:04] You won't be tempted to hit the drive-thru, the vending machine or order takeout when

[00:03:09] healthy food is already prepped and ready to go.

[00:03:12] 4.

[00:03:13] It's less stressful to have meals planned.

[00:03:16] You don't have to worry every day about what you will eat and if you will make healthy

[00:03:20] choices.

[00:03:22] And 5.

[00:03:23] Meal prep saves you time during the week.

[00:03:26] Yes, batch cooking is a little more work up front but you get that time back plus

[00:03:31] more during the week.

[00:03:33] How to meal prep Ever heard of KISS?

[00:03:37] Keep it simple stupid.

[00:03:39] Now I prefer keep it simple sweetheart.

[00:03:42] We are going to prep meal components that can be used in multiple meals all week long.

[00:03:48] I don't make elaborate meals.

[00:03:49] Instead I prepare simple whole food ingredients to use throughout the week.

[00:03:55] Cook protein.

[00:03:56] Choose 2 or 3 protein sources to cook in advance.

[00:03:59] I usually cook 2-3 pounds of chicken and ground turkey.

[00:04:03] Chicken can be grilled, baked, boiled or cooked in a crock pot.

[00:04:08] Boiled chicken shreds easily for salads and wraps.

[00:04:11] Refrigerate what you will eat within the week and freeze any leftovers.

[00:04:15] I often cook meat for 2 weeks and freeze it.

[00:04:18] Then I only have to prep the protein once every 2 weeks.

[00:04:22] Never boil eggs for snacks or for salads.

[00:04:25] Cook healthy carbs and starchy vegetables.

[00:04:29] Healthy whole food carbohydrates in proper portions help fuel our workouts and lifestyle.

[00:04:34] Carbs are good for our body.

[00:04:36] Prepping healthy carbs can help us avoid those processed, not so healthy carbs.

[00:04:41] You can boil or roast sweet potatoes or roast broccoli and cauliflower.

[00:04:47] You can also prepare brown or white rice or quinoa or tabbouleh.

[00:04:51] Roast spaghetti squash.

[00:04:53] Soak oats or beans overnight or make homemade granola.

[00:04:58] Prep and chop vegetables.

[00:05:01] Chop veggies in advance.

[00:05:03] Wash spinach and vegetables.

[00:05:05] Chop cucumbers, green, red and yellow peppers.

[00:05:08] Remember, we want to eat the rainbow.

[00:05:11] Chop celery, carrots and mushrooms.

[00:05:14] Wash and chop all your favorite vegetables.

[00:05:16] Store them in containers to use later or in baggies to eat raw for healthy snacks.

[00:05:22] Healthy fats.

[00:05:23] Put raw, unflavored, unsalted almonds or pistachios in portion-controlled snack bags for the week

[00:05:30] to grab and go.

[00:05:32] Fruits.

[00:05:33] Chop in-season fruits like watermelon in the summer.

[00:05:36] Separate grapes or cherries in portion-controlled snack bags.

[00:05:40] Keep easy-to-access fruits like bananas, oranges and apples on hand for a quick snack or side.

[00:05:47] Putting it together.

[00:05:48] Healthy meal ideas.

[00:05:50] For breakfast, use your chopped veggies and cooked lean meats and omelets for a quick

[00:05:54] breakfast.

[00:05:56] Eat hard-boiled eggs.

[00:05:58] Prepare overnight oats for a healthy and delicious meal on the go.

[00:06:01] Use spinach and prepared veggies in a smoothie.

[00:06:05] And make nutritious breakfast muffins.

[00:06:08] For lunch, use chopped veggies and meats in salads, wraps and bowls.

[00:06:12] Think Chipotle-style bowls.

[00:06:14] Rice and beans with meat and veggies.

[00:06:17] And prepare mason jar salads for lunch to go.

[00:06:20] These make it easy to prepare grab-and-go salads that don't go soggy.

[00:06:24] And for dinner, use chopped veggies and meats in stir-fry, salads and bowls.

[00:06:29] Get creative.

[00:06:31] For Italian-style dishes, use pasta sauce on chicken and spaghetti squash.

[00:06:36] Fry chicken and veggies in low-sodium soy sauce for Chinese-style.

[00:06:40] Or pair with guacamole and beans in a taco salad for Mexican-style.

[00:06:45] And make double dinners and use the leftovers for lunch the next day.

[00:06:50] What not to do when meal prepping.

[00:06:54] Don't prep food you don't like just because it's healthy.

[00:06:56] If you don't like salmon or broccoli, don't prep it.

[00:06:59] You're not going to want to eat foods you don't like and it will likely go to waste.

[00:07:05] Don't prep junk foods, sodas, processed carbs, salty snacks, processed deli meats

[00:07:11] or sugar-laden treats.

[00:07:13] Meal prep should help you limit these foods.

[00:07:16] And 3.

[00:07:17] Don't think meal prep is an all-or-nothing activity.

[00:07:20] Anything you can prepare in advance to make it easier at mealtime is meal prep.

[00:07:25] Start small with breakfast or lunch and then as you get comfortable, add more meals.

[00:07:30] Anything you can do in advance will make mealtime easier.

[00:07:34] Start with chopping vegetables or batch cooking meat.

[00:07:37] What do you think?

[00:07:38] Ready to give it a go?

[00:07:40] Prepare with a shopping list of healthy ingredients, plan your meal ideas for the week and get prepping.

[00:07:45] You'll thank yourself during the week when all your healthy meals come together quickly

[00:07:50] and easily.

[00:07:55] You just listened to the post titled, Meal Prep to Eat Healthier with Less Effort by

[00:08:00] Leah Genders of leagendersfitness.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

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[00:09:45] Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:09:49] Researchers agree that meal planning is a helpful habit because it saves us both time and energy.

[00:09:54] Personally, I hate coming home after a long day only to have to think about what I'm

[00:09:59] going to eat for dinner and how I'm going to make it nutritious and then prep and cook

[00:10:04] it.

[00:10:05] I don't want to have to use any more brain power.

[00:10:07] I just want to enjoy a meal and relax.

[00:10:10] Planning and preparing meals in advance is truly the trick.

[00:10:14] And as today's author Leah said in today's article, you don't have to plan meals for

[00:10:18] every single day of the week.

[00:10:21] One or two meals can be enough to help relieve that dreadful feeling of, uh oh, what am I

[00:10:26] going to eat?

[00:10:27] Well, I guess it's fast food again.

[00:10:30] All right, that'll do it for today.

[00:10:31] I hope you're having a great weekend if you're listening in real time and I'll see you back

[00:10:35] here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.