Apr 17, 2019
“One thing that draws me into your work is that you
really have a way to make the topic of nutrition and meal prep and
relatable and easy to execute for
people.”
Lori Taylor (7:08 - 7:28)
With over 18 years experience in the food and nutrition industry, Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN is a leading dietitian and recipe developer who believes that healthy and wholesome can also be delicious. She is also the author of several books, including the Wall Street Journal best-selling "5-Ingredient Healthy Cookbook" and the Amazon bestseller "The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook."
Introductory Statement. Overview of what the article is about.
For many people that are busy with work and family, maintaining a nutritious diet can be challenging. That’s where meal preparation can be helpful, which is the process of cooking your meals in batches ahead of time. In addition to convenience, meal prepping will allow you to eat a well-balanced diet. You can plan ahead and make sure you eat an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables throughout the week, which is crucial because close to 90 percent of Americans aren’t eating enough fresh produce regularly.
“There are so many ways to utilize greek yogurt in preparing healthy meals. You can make the dish creamier, and replace some of the artery-clogging saturated fat found in many recipes.” - Toby Amidor (4:09 - 4:23)
Some people never get started with meal preparation for various reasons. They might feel intimidated and think it's only for expert chefs, or they might be apprehensive about the amount of time they’ll have to dedicate. However, with a few of the tips and hacks that we’ll discuss in this article, meal preparation will become a fun and simple process, providing you a steady supply of delicious and healthy meals.
The 7 pantry ingredients that go a long way.
When you look at the beautiful pictures of prepped meals on Instagram, it can seem like you could never do anything similar. However, if you keep these 7 essential ingredients in your pantry at all times, you’d be surprised how easily you can also create delicious meals like the ones you see online. These powerful ingredients are cooking spray, salt, pepper, honey, garlic, olive oil, and fresh lemon. Chop up some cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and add some salt, freshly squeezed lemon, olive oil, and pepper for a quick and delicious chopped salad.
Use plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
When you prepare meals for the week, or even a few days, you want to make sure that you’re setting yourself up for a healthy and balanced diet with a lot of fresh produce. You can get creative with how you use fruits and veggies for your meals. You can switch out tomatoes with strawberries in your salad for a creative twist, or use pineapples in your stir-fry. Add extra flavor to your salads by adding fresh herbs like mint and parsley. A quick tip - wait till before your meal to add the dressing, so the salads don’t get soggy.
The power of greek yogurt.
Greek yogurt has exploded in popularity in recent years, and with good reason. It is incredibly versatile and can be used in a variety of ways to enhance your meals. It has a higher protein content than regular yogurt, and it is full of healthy fats and other powerful nutrients. A quick web search will bring you countless ideas on how you can use greek yogurt to enhance the taste and nutrition of your prepared meals.
Plan for efficiency.
Making plans ahead of time will increase your meal preparation efficiency. Whether that’s cooking once, twice, or more per week is entirely up to you. Having a few recipes set beforehand will also make the shopping and cooking processes easier. If you have your recipes pre-selected, you can make a shopping list for each section in the store and breeze through the aisles in no time. The cooking process will be more straightforward as well since you’ll already know what you need to do.
“Whether you prefer organic, conventional, local, or some other form of veggies, the important thing is to get more fresh produce in your diet to enjoy the numerous health benefits, and to prevent diseases.” - Toby Amidor (24:44 - 24:58)
With all the different recipes and diet plans we hear about, it can be easy to get confused about what kind of meals to prepare. For a detailed nutrition plan, it’s best to speak with a registered dietician. They will be able to recommend meals tailored specifically for you based on your health and preferences. Otherwise, you can keep it simple and remember that when in doubt, opt for more fresh fruits and vegetables to increase the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in your diet. Take some time this week to select a few meal preparation recipes, and to create your shopping list.
How to get involved
- Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
- Reach out to us - we’d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.
- To learn more about Toby, check out her website.
- You can find all of Toby’s healthy meal prep cookbooks here.
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