I know what you’re thinking, cooking at home is so tedious, so time-consuming, and maybe you even find yourself wondering where to start. We have all been there, sitting around asking the question, “what should we eat?” or had the moment when we open the refrigerator and stare inside with an empty gaze because we have no idea what to make. My weekly thought is I wish there was an easy way to decide what to cook?
Here you go – 3 easy steps to help choose meals for you and your family.
Meal planning plays an integral part in keeping your health and budget in check. Meal planning is necessary to avoid running out to eat every night of the week or ordering Door Dash or making a “quick stop” at the grocery store. Meal planning helps take the stress out of dinner and helps make it more of an enjoyable time with your family at the end of the day.
Last week we talked about how to meal plan, but I think an equally important question is how do you choose the meals? Yes, you want the food to be something you and your family will enjoy but you want to be sure it is also nutritional, containing all the vitamins and minerals and healthy nutrients so that your family can be the best versions of themselves.
We all feel like we are running on fumes the majority of the time and are trying to do everything correct both at work and in our personal lives. Trying to keep it all together takes a lot, a lot of energy, and a lot of focus. I would like to think this is one little thing that can give you the starting point for an easier day-to-day.
Nutrition is one of the most important parts of losing weight, maintaining a healthy weight, keeping your brain focused on tasks, keeping your body fueled for that workout or that long day at work. Having a well-balanced meal will help you and your family have a more efficient and impactful life.
Below are the ways I choose a meal to be sure me and my boyfriend are getting the most nutrient-dense meals we can have while fitting into our lifestyle.
- What should be on the plate?
This question has become one of the hardest questions when choosing a meal, and this is partly due to the controversial debate about carbs and fats. We have all heard carbs are bad, carbs are the enemy and fats are not good for you. Well, what is good for you? As a matter of fact, carbs and fats are both necessities for a healthy diet.
Let’s start with the least controversial part of the meal, the protein. It does not matter if you are a meat-eater or not. Your plate should be about a quarter of protein, this portion should be about the size of the palm of your hand.
Let’s now move on to carbs, while carbs have a bad reputation, they are necessary for your body to function healthily. Carbs will come from all sorts of places, they come from vegetables, fruits as well as grains. When you are looking at grains for your carbs you want to be sure these are whole grains. An easy rule of thumb is to think the less processed something is the better it is for you. Carbs should be about another quarter of your plate being about a fist size.
Now for the good stuff, FRUITS and VEGGIES. Fruits and vegetables should make up about half of your plate, so do not be afraid, the more the merrier. This portion of your plate is very nutrient-dense and necessary for a healthy body and body function. While fresh produce is generally preferred, it can be hard to always have fresh with living in suburban settings, so frozen is awesome and stores for extended periods of time and canned vegetables such as green beans are also great once rinsed.
Fats are the discussion that becomes the most complicated. There are “good” fats and “bad” fats. We tend to think fats give food flavor, which perhaps they do, but fresh produce and a good cut of meat need little fat to be amazing. Let’s first stop and think about where healthy fats come from. Healthy fats come from things such as avocados, nuts, and seeds. If you want to get the best health benefits from fats, eat whole nuts and avocados. If you need some oil to sauté those veggies in to add a bit of flavor to your chicken, try to use things like Avocado oil, olive oil, or sesame seed oil these are easily found at most grocery stores or bulk stores and have the same effects as other oils.
2. How much time do you have to cook?
I like to plan out my week, so I know with each meal how much time I must cook the meal, or if it needs to be premade. For instance, during the week we know that lunches and breakfasts generally need to be made in 5 minutes or less otherwise they need to be premade and easily rewarmed and assembled. Dinner tends to vary night to night depending on the meal that we choose, some nights it can take an hour to cook and other nights it could only take 20 minutes.
3. What sounds good?
I think when cooking for not just yourself but other people, it is hard to make the decision what sounds good. I have a pretty good idea of things my boyfriend enjoys eating and I know what I like, so I can usually make an educated decision, but when I am really stumped, I begin to think about what category we haven’t had in a while or what category is always good, such as Italian food or American food or breakfast food. Once this decision is made, it is time to start finding the recipes. If you remember from last week, I prefer to find these on Pinterest or Google, and to be sure I have them saved somewhere for easy access.
Alright, you have chosen your meals! Now get ready to go grocery shopping!!!
Reach out to me if you are looking for more diet information or want to stay accountable!