Client Story: Success with Meal Prep

Transcript:

Brandy: Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition, brought to you by Nutritional Weight & Wellness. If you're tuning in for the very first time, we are a Minnesota based company that specializes in real food nutrition education and counseling for real everyday people.

My name is Brandy Buro. I'm a Registered and Licensed Dietitian here at Nutritional Weight & Wellness, and today we are diving into, I think, one of the most game changing habits for sustainable health, and that is meal planning and cooking. I think cooking is kind of a non-negotiable when you are trying to follow a real food lifestyle. You have to make food. And adopting a meal planning routine is something that's going to set you up for success in your health journey no matter where you are.

So whether you're trying to manage your blood sugar or lower cholesterol, improve your digestion, or just feel better, today's episode is your episode if you are looking for practical tips and simple strategies to make that meal planning and prep process easier without spending hours and hours in the kitchen.

And I'm very excited for our episode today because to help me explore this topic, I invited a very special guest who is one of those real people out there in the real world making real food, and she has some serious meal planning skills. And my guest is actually one of my clients. Her name's Kristen. So welcome Kristen.

Kristen: Hi Brandy. Thank you for having me. I'm really happy to be here.

Brandy: I'm really excited to have you here. And you know, I've gotten to know you through counseling sessions. And pretty much from day one, I've just been blown away to hear how good you are at this meal planning and prep stuff.

Kristen: Well, I have a good mentor in you and so, yeah, it's been really fun.

Brandy: That's awesome. And I'm just, I'm really looking forward to hearing, you know, how you've integrated meal planning into your life and what that's done for your health journey. And I think our listeners are going to really appreciate that too.

Well, I am thrilled to have you here today. Again, I just think you are a great example of how this can work in the real world, you know, between juggling life, a family, a full career. And you were telling me as we were settling down today that you travel a lot. You know, you, there's a lot of time on the road. So I think these are all factors that a lot of our listeners can relate to that make meal planning challenging.

So, I'm excited to hear what your strategies are. So to get us started, I thought you could tell our listeners a little bit more about you, you know, who you are, what you do, and where you are in your health journey.

Background on Kristen & her story/health journey

Kristen: Yeah. So, I am a mom of two young adults and a wife, and I'm also a teacher and I work for a nonprofit, so I have a pretty busy schedule, but everyone has a busy schedule. As my children got older and into high school and later into college, I kind of went back into the workforce more full time. And that was a big adjustment for me, just, a new day to day. And as I started working more and more and took on a new role at work, I realized that I wasn't feeling great.

I was so busy working and putting all my energy into this new job that I love, that I would get home and I'd have to make a decision. Do I want to exercise or make dinner? Because I'm too tired to do both. And that's not a great place to be. And so I needed to figure out what can I do about this?

I went to my doctor for just like a regular physical and had some blood work done and didn't love the results. I knew that I wanted to lose some weight, but the blood work also was what motivated me to reach out to you.

Brandy: Numbers don't lie.

Kristen: Right.

Brandy: Yeah.

Kristen: Right. And that was coming from probably not exercising as much as I wanted to. Because I felt so tired when I got home. And also from probably doing so many convenience type things for food.

Brandy: Sure. Yeah.

Kristen: Yeah.

Brandy: So a big shift in your career and your schedule resulted in your lifestyle outside of that?

Kristen: Yeah. As like a stay at home mom for years and years and years, I was able to, for the most part, like have dinner, you know, made and have a plan for dinner. And it was just kind of built into my day before. Whereas that really changed. The nature of my job is a lot of times I teach students after school hours. Which is like from after school till dinner time.

Brandy: Yeah. So there's not a lot of.

Kristen: That prep time is gone.

Brandy: Yeah, it’s all gone. So meal planning to the rescue. So I guess as we, as we get into this, like how long have you been practicing this new way of cooking for yourself?

Kristen: So I think, you'll have to, I don't know if I should have looked. I don't remember when we started meeting exactly. Was it January or?

Brandy: Yeah, it was this spring.

Kristen: Yeah. And so Brandy brought up the idea of meal prepping and I love all of the recipes on the Nutritional Weight & Wellness website, because when I started, I'm sure you'll remember I was just at a point of overwhelm. And I didn't know where to go or what to do, and I didn't really know where to start. And so you gave me that idea to meal prep and then directed me towards the website. Like, here's just, just choose from these, you know? And so there's some freedom in knowing like anything I choose is a good choice.

Brandy: Right. Yeah. So we talked about just go to the website, weightandwellness.com. Like every recipe there is going to be real food and balanced. And at least you don't have to think too hard about like what's a good recipe.

Kristen: Or is everything in this recipe okay? Or, or, you know, the best choice. All of that guesswork is gone.

Brandy: Yeah. Well that’s great. Well, you then really just kind of applied the idea of meal planning. And some of that more advanced cooking or cooking in advance, I should say. You just kind of picked that up and integrated it like as we've been working together, which, I didn't actually realize, I kind of thought maybe you had some prior experience doing some meal planning and prep, but you, you knew how to cook pretty well.

Kristen: Yes, I do love to cook. I had always been a meal planner as where like when I grocery shop, I have what meals I want to make for the week, and that's how I shop. But I was never much of a meal prepper. And so that was kind of the difference. And I think we also fall into ruts with meals we plan, and sometimes when stress comes in, it's more of a comfort meal situation. It was a pretty new concept to me for the prep part.

Kristen’s strategies for planning & prepwork

Brandy: Yeah well that’s great. You're kind of a natural, I would say. Well, maybe we can talk a little bit more about what your process is like when it comes to planning and the prep work. So how do you integrate all of those steps, the planning, the shopping, and the preparation into your schedule?

Kristen: Yeah, so what I do is towards the end of a week, I'll start maybe making a list of meals for the next week. I usually prep, like three main dishes and a breakfast dish every week. And so I'll start thinking about what I need and I'll actually make a grocery list. And grocery pickup is kind of my new best friend.

Brandy: Oh yeah. I love that.

Kristen: So sometimes I'll schedule it for Friday night on the way home from work. Or, you know, I, that is my best case scenario. But, otherwise I'll schedule it for a morning on the weekend. And then, I usually take one weekend morning, whatever one is less busy that weekend. And I cook everything.

Brandy: Wow.

Kristen: I prep my egg bake and get that in the oven and start prepping the meals. And I just have found that, you know, listening to a great podcast and cooking for three hours while doing other things around the house as things are cooking and stuff, just really sets me up for success every week.

Brandy: Absolutely.

Kristen: And so that's how I started. I did that for months. And it worked really great. And then my summer schedule hit, which is a bit different. And so, in the summer we do teacher training. And so I was working down in Rochester, which is about an hour and 20 minutes from my house. I'd leave my house by 6:30 every morning and I'd get home between 6:30 and seven.

Brandy: Oh my, what a long day.

Kristen: It was a long day. And, you know, I needed to have some healthy food to bring with me for lunch. Maybe something I could eat in the car on the way for breakfast. And I needed something to eat with my family when I got home at 6:30 PM after working at 12-hour day.

And so my weekends when I'm gone all week like that, our weekends filled up really fast. And all of a sudden my prep morning was gone. And I was, I realized I needed to come up with another plan. So what I found worked for me was on Monday night, I would have a meal that I would make.

And I would also make perhaps like my egg bake for the week. And so I'd do that on Monday, and then Tuesday night I'd make dinner again, and then another main course dinner too. And then so that would have leftovers from Monday, leftovers from Tuesday, and then a third meal. And that would pretty much get us through the week then with leftovers and then the egg bake. I always make protein muffins too.

Brandy: Oh, I love those.

Kristen: Those are like my, like secret weapon as far as like just having them on the way to eat on the way to work in the car.

Brandy: Yeah.

Kristen: Or for a three o'clock snack.

Brandy: Yep.

Kristen: It's just always having them around is the key to my success for sure.

Brandy: Yeah. So it's like a portable snack or a portable breakfast. As long as they're made, it's just kind of grab and go.

Kristen: Yeah. Yep.

Brandy: It sounds like you have kind of two formats of meal planning and prep. So if, if the weekend is free or at least you have one morning, you can kind of rely on kind of best case scenario where you're going to spend a few hours cooking, but then you have pretty much all of your meals prepared for the week. Otherwise if the weekend is booked you're adapting and you're just kind of, doing that cooking in increments early in the week.

Kristen: Yeah.

Brandy: That's good.

Kristen: Yep.

Brandy: It sounds like you're still kind of doing the planning and the grocery shopping as you normally would.

Kristen: Yeah, yeah. I try to, you know, early in the weekend get groceries and it also helps, I don't know about your family but mine, the weekends are like, the temptation to eat out is even greater. Just because, you're busy, you're out working in the yard or doing house stuff or having fun, you're just out and about. And so if we have food at home and if I've done the grocery shopping earlier in the weekend, it's a lot easier to eat at home.

Brandy: Oh, what a good tip. Yeah. If, if you have the food available, you're more likely to eat it. If the, if there's nothing in the fridge, it's like, I'm hungry now. We got to go out to eat.

Kristen: Right, exactly. And my kids do joke. They hate the words we have food at home.

Brandy: Aw man. Yeah.

Kristen: But you know, it's like we can still eat out maybe, but like once a week instead of all weekend.

Navigating dietary needs for members of the family

Brandy: Right. Yeah. It's a perspective shift. You know, what does once in a while mean for your family? It might be mean once a week instead of several nights a week where it's more habitual. Well, speaking of your family, I know you've got, like in the summer you had everybody's home. Are there any unique dietary needs that you're accommodating for? Like between what you need and what your family needs when you're planning these meals?

Kristen: Yeah, actually, so my husband and I both eat gluten-free. And we have for about maybe eight to nine years. I had that recommended to me by a doctor to just try it. And it was so life changing for me that I haven't gone back. My kids used to eat gluten free. They don't anymore. They're young adults. They've been to college and, you know, it's, it's, it is what it is. They're kind of doing their own thing. But, all my food that I prep and make in our house is gluten-free. And, honestly, most of the recipes on your website are naturally gluten-free.

Brandy: That's right. Everything is gluten-free.

Kristen: Okay. So I've, I mean, I just have realized how easy it was to incorporate into our diet. But yeah, so everything that I make is gluten-free.

Brandy: That's fantastic. If I ever recommend that for a client, some people get a little nervous about what that means for like, what change they would have to make and their routine. But I mean, you're a great example. You've been doing it nine years and you're doing it. Do you feel like you are giving anything up?

Kristen: You know what? On the, for the most part, no. I, the benefit that it gives me is so much greater than whatever I'm missing out on. You know, I used to get migraines maybe twice a week, and that's really debilitating. I mean, you cannot live your life with, you know, constant migraines.

And, I was actually at a work conference last fall and I, you know, at work conferences, they, they provided food at this one and I accidentally ate gluten and I went to sit in the next like workshop. And a migraine hit me within like five minutes of sitting down from there. And I was like, oh. And I, I had gone back and checked and that had said like, contains gluten instead of, doesn't, you know what I mean? I had misread it.

Brandy: Gotcha. Yeah.

Kristen: And so I just. It's just not worth it for me. Honestly, eating, eating gluten-free has gotten so much easier just in the past, like eight years that I've done it. It's, it's not hard at all. I mean, once you get started, there's so many options and you know, I'm not necessarily a person that will replace everything, because part of being gluten-free is like, I, I don't necessarily need to eat all the things that I was eating before when I ate gluten. But, you know, let's just say pasta, that's probably something that what someone would think right away. Like, well, I, you know, I really love pasta or something.

Brandy: Yep.

Kristen: There's so many options for gluten-free pasta.

Brandy: Yeah. And it's not as though you’re replacing all of the gluten foods like bread, crackers, cookies, whatever, with like a gluten-free version. It's more just kind of shifting more towards like a real food diet, which is, as it turns out, gluten-free for the most part.

Kristen: Yeah. And I, I would just say like, just to try it and see how much better you feel. If you really don't feel any change, I don't know, but like for me, the difference is so huge that it's not a sacrifice anymore. It's just part of my life.

Incorporating the family into the planning & prep work

Brandy: Absolutely. Yeah. And, doesn't hurt to try, that's for sure. Alright, well, one other question I have about, you know, how your family might be involved and how they're integrated into the planning process, is anybody else in the house helping you with the planning or prep work?

Kristen: Yeah, so it's been kind of fun. So this past fall, my husband and I were empty nesters for the first time. And, while it was really sad, it was also really fun because, my husband and I had time to like figure out what we like to do together without the kids around. And we would meal prep and stuff together, which was really fun.

Brandy: Oh, that's sweet.

Kristen: Everybody in my house likes to cook. And so, you know, both my kids like to cook and we'll cook dinner if there's, you know, like if I say, can you make this tonight? They'll do it. And so, yeah, it was really fun for my husband and I, we would do the prep together and get everything ready for the week. And, that kind of took away that question of when I get home late, can I exercise or eat dinner, I can do both if I do this.

Brandy: You can do both, because your time, the time prepping is cut in half if you have an extra set of hands. Right?

Kristen: Exactly. Yeah, so like if I'm teaching till 6:15, I can log off, jump out the door with my husband, take our, you know, hour or 45 minute long walk. And get back and still eat and just heat up dinner.

Brandy: Amazing.

Kristen: Yeah, so it gives me freedom to do all the things I want to do.

Brandy: Yeah, yeah. And some time to bond with your family, right?

Kristen: Right.

Brandy: Well, what an unexpected, but welcome result or a side effect of meal planning and prep. And that's great that your family is contributing to the process and just, you know, reducing the time or the work that you have to contribute to all of that.

Kristen: Yeah. Yeah. It is really helpful. I love doing it, but it's really great to have the help when I need it.

Brandy: Mm-hmm. Fantastic. Well, I would love to hear what other tricks you have up your sleeve, but we have to take a quick break. You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. I'm here with Kristen, one of our Nutritional Weight & Wellness clients, and she's sharing all of her tips about meal planning. We'll be right back.

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Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. My name is Brandy Buro. I'm a Licensed and Registered Dietitian here at Nutritional Weight & Wellness, and today I'm meeting with one of my clients, Kristen, who is sharing all of her tips and tricks about meal planning and prepping.

Kristen: Yeah.

Brandy: Fun topic.

Kristen: Yeah, this is fun.

Kristen’s cooking methods/strategies to improve efficiency

Brandy: So we have been talking about what your meal planning process is like. You know, kind of how do, how do we fit this into a typical week? Now I'd like to hear a little bit more about like the nuts and bolts of actually cooking. So I'd like to hear if there are any specific cooking methods or strategies that you like to use to make the cooking process more efficient.

Kristen: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I really like to use all the cooking methods at once. For example, like usually I prep my egg bake for the week first and get that in the oven. Just because it takes kind of the longest to bake.

Brandy: Yeah.

Kristen: So I'll get that going and then I might get a pot roast going in my crockpot. And then I'll turn the grill on and I will grill just, you know, like six or eight chicken breasts. And get that going. And then once the chicken is grilled, I'll chop up half and make the amazing white chicken chili.

Brandy: You love that one.

Kristen: It’s like a staple. It's just so good reheated. And such a great lunch or dinner option. I love having it around. And then with the rest of the chicken, I'll maybe slice it and then just have it in the fridge for a quick snack between students, on a salad for a lunch, or add it to a dinner.

I'll, you know, shred up the meat from the crockpot and put it in a container for later in the week to serve with a salad or some roasted potatoes. Another thing I really like to do also is I'll just prep like one whole sheet pan of sweet potatoes, one whole sheet pan of let's say like broccoli and cauliflower, and just roast those at the same time as the egg bake.

Brandy: Oh, good.

Kristen: And just to have like all those pieces. I mean, that's enough food for the week.

Brandy: Yeah. Yeah.

Kristen: You have, you know, roast beef and veggies, you've got chicken and veggies or salad. You've got egg bake. And you've got sliced chicken. And then it's just enough to keep you going all week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I do, like I said before, I always get those protein muffins done too.

Brandy: The protein muffins. Yep.

Kristen: It's so fun to just, I think this is probably a summer thing in Minnesota, but whatever fruit we have on, you know, strawberry or blueberry, whatever you have on hand, now in the winter, it'll probably be more blueberry, because we have great frozen, frozen blueberries. But, you know, making those, they take 20 minutes maybe. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I really like to keep them in the fridge.

Brandy: Yeah. I was going to ask you if you store them in the fridge or the freezer?

Kristen: I do.

Brandy: It usually gives them a little longer shelf life.

Kristen: Yeah. I usually keep them out like the first day so they can really cool down. And then I really like to keep them in the fridge.

Brandy: No, I think that's smart. Yeah.

Kristen: Yeah.

Brandy: Well, wow, that was so much valuable information there. And I just kind of want to recap some of the strategies that I'm hearing. For one, you are using all of the tools to your advantage. You know, why not have something in the oven while you have something in the crockpot? And then you're grilling some things, so you're using kind of all your, all your implements at one time. If you were only to use one of those things at a time, the time that you are cooking kind of triples.

Kristen: Right. Exactly.

Brandy: So that's one way you're saving time, just kind of using all of your tools at once. And then you're also kind of phasing it out. So something that's going to take longer to cook, you're going to start that first. And the things that are maybe faster to prepare, like grilling some chicken, you're probably going to start that last.

Kristen: Right.

Brandy: So that you're just kind of optimizing the, the whole, all the time that you spend in the kitchen.

Kristen: Yeah. Yeah. It does take some time to figure out what works best for you. But for me, it just makes sense to just hit it full force and figure out a good plan and make use of my time.

Brandy: Absolutely.

Kristen: And then I just can feel so good about the week ahead knowing that that what's for dinner stress is not there.

Brandy: Right. And you've said before that, even though yes, it's like three, three and a half hours in the kitchen on a weekend, you're saving so much time throughout the week that you actually find that you have more freedom to do fun things.

Kristen: Right. I mean, I don't need to worry about do we have food for dinner? You know, if I get home late, I don't have to worry about cook time and we can just heat things up. It really takes the stress of that away, which is so invaluable.

Brandy: Absolutely. Yeah. Well one other question I was going to ask you about, this process and just kind of like maybe comparing the way you're doing things now versus the way you've done them in the past, do you think you're saving time, like with active cooking time, doing it this way versus if you were to cook a meal every night?

Kristen: Absolutely.

Brandy: Yeah.

Kristen: Even if you can get dinner done in 30 minutes…

Brandy: Yeah.

Kristen: You know, that's two and a half hours Monday through Friday.

Brandy: True.

Kristen: And so, that 30 minutes I could be on a walk. You know, and I moved my body that day instead, you know? So, I know I'm saving time. But even if it was like down to the minute, let's say it only takes me 30 minutes, which that's not true. I mean, that's kind of a fast meal.

Yeah. That would maybe be like sandwiches and cut up apples for dinner, which is fine. But, you know, that's like a 30 minute meal. Maybe you can make a pasta really quick, but, I know I'm saving time, but even if I wasn't saving time, like the mental energy of not thinking about what's for dinner every night. Or, you know, having to choose between like being able to have a little stress relief by taking a walk or making dinner, it's worth it for me.

Brandy: Yeah. Easy choice. Would you also say perhaps the quality of your meals has improved?

Kristen: Absolutely. Absolutely. Just with the methods you have taught me about eating and when to eat, and kind of the things to eat when I am eating. But just, you know, like I said earlier, being able to log onto the website and just make choices based on what sounds good. It's all good. Like it's all good for us. It's just whatever sounds good. It frees up the thought about what to make, what to eat, and you know, I think when in times of stress we revert to comfort or ease or, you know, things that are familiar. And so, I mean for myself, I can speak that would be more carb heavy things. And so just knowing that, like I have some shepherd's pie in the fridge.

Brandy: Comfort food.

Kristen: Which is so comforting.

Brandy: Yep.

Kristen: But it's also healthy.

Brandy: Correct. Yes.

Kristen: You know, and so if it was a hard day, I can still have something comforting, but it's let's just order pizza. I'm so tired and had a bad day. Right?

Brandy: Yeah. Yeah. And if you already made it, it's already waiting for you.

Kristen: It's ready and then we can just heat it up and I'll feel so much better for it.

Brandy: Yeah. There is something to be said about eating well and just feeling confident in the choice that you made. There's no like guilt or shame about I should have done this, I shouldn't done that, because you know that you made a good choice before that moment.

Kristen: Yeah.

Tools & resources that have contributed to Kristen’s success

Brandy: Well, speaking of the website, it sounds like that's been an important resource for you in selecting good recipes. Are there any other like tools or resources like kitchen gadgets, anything specific that has helped you be successful? Anything you'd recommend people try to invest in in their kitchen?

Kristen: Yeah, so there are a few things that have really helped me, number one is a kitchen scale.

Brandy: Oh yeah.

Kristen: Just like a really reasonably priced kitchen scale. You know, I don't need to weigh out every portion, but it just really helps when you're bulk cooking to throw a bowl on the scale and be able to measure stuff out to the recipe. And I've found like a lot of my ingredients I can stretch out to another week because I'm weighing it out. So, it helps save money too.

Brandy: Good point.

Kristen: I also bought some, meal prep containers that are a little bit modular and they stack really nice in the fridge.

Brandy: Perfect.

Kristen: With like all our food for the week. And so, you know, I wanted to be intentional about using something that, you know, didn't have BPA or chemicals in it because I'm reusing them over and over. And heating in sometimes. And so that was another purchase I made that I'm really thankful for. And then another, gadget, I guess you'd say that I purchased was like a small handheld mandolin.

Brandy: Yeah.

Kristen: And it, they're very reasonably priced. I made the chicken potato enchiladas, which are on the website, and they were so yummy and they were so easy to make. I really do use it a lot now.

Brandy: So I just got one for Christmas this year and I'm so surprised how often I use it. It just makes vegetable prep very easy.

Kristen: And it doesn't take up a lot of room. I have a really small kitchen. If I have one, I think anyone could have one.

Strategies/workarounds when routine is thrown off

Brandy: I agree. And they're, not expensive. It's a pretty good investment. I'm glad you brought that up. All right. Well, I wanted to ask you about something that tends to come up in conversations with my clients about when life happens.

You know, you have the best intentions. You maybe even have the groceries. You have a plan of when you're going to make these recipes. But then a funeral. Or an unexpected work trip. So how are you balancing like some flexibility into this like, structured plan that you have? Like if you have something unexpected come up and your routine is thrown off, do you have any workarounds for adapting to that?

Kristen: I do. Yeah. So I travel for work a couple times a year for conferences. And, I was kind of worried about that because you don't always have control over your eating when you're traveling. But this year I talked to Brandy ahead of time. And I had some like portable food, like, I had some meat sticks, some protein muffins, you know, and a few other things that I brought with me that I could keep in my work bag. And if the food that was there wasn't something that I knew would make me feel good, I could supplement or just eat my snacks.

Brandy: Right.

Kristen: I think just knowing a little bit about eating for health and eating the Nutritional Weight & Wellness way, just helps me make choices like off a buffet that I know are going to help me feel good the rest of the day.

Brandy: You kind of have like that format in your mind of like, I would like to have protein and vegetables and try to get some healthy fat in there.

Kristen: Right.

Brandy: So you're trying to kind of mimic that balance wherever you are.

Kristen: And it's so easy to carry around a little bag of almonds, you know what I mean? And like add a little protein to whatever they're offering.

Brandy: Yeah. So you're almost kind of planning for the unexpected.

Kristen: Yeah.

Brandy: So just being prepared for their not to be an option for, for you.

Kristen: Right, right. And I think gluten-free has helped me prepare a little bit because when you're gluten-free, a lot of times, like if you're at a buffet or an event, you probably won't be able to eat a lot of the food there. And so typically what I just do is I eat the things I know I can eat or I know that will make me feel good. And then I'll just eat more later.

Brandy: Yeah, yeah, because you, because you pack snacks, right?

Kristen: Because I have snacks always with me.

Brandy: Oh, that's fantastic.

Kristen: Yeah.

Fast real food meal/emergency meal ideas from Kristen

Brandy: Well, one other thing kind of related to this idea, you know, if you are at home and something comes up and something just kind of throws off the agenda, do you have any like, really fast real food meals? I call them emergency meals where it's like, oh, I don't have anything planned, or my plan is not going to work. What's plan B?

Kristen: Yeah, so that goes back to that sliced grilled chicken. That's like a savior. So a bag of salad and sliced grilled chicken. I recently found some gluten-free wraps with a lot of protein in them. And, so those with like, again, like a salad mix and grilled chicken and rolled up are a really tasty option. Super fast.

Brandy: Great.

Kristen: And then another thing that I didn't mention earlier that's kind of like, a go-to for our house is the wild rice meatballs.

Brandy: Oh yes. Those are amazing.

Kristen: Those freeze super well. They also can last like all week in your fridge, you know, cooked. And I mean, just, I can't tell you how many times I've just thrown five of those little meatballs in a container. And that was my lunch because I was in a hurry.

Brandy: Yep.

Kristen: But, they're so tasty. They're so good. And they're a quick, easy dinner. And if I have roasted sweet potatoes done too. And like some broccoli, that's my dinner and it's a great dinner and I didn't have to do anything.

Brandy: Sounds wonderful. Yeah. So those meatballs might be something that you make a big batch of when you have time, and then they're, they just live in the freezer for the day, the inevitable day that you know you just need, you need a backup plan.

Kristen: Yeah. Yeah. And I mean like, let's be honest, like you can have them on a little plate shoving them down, you know, on the way somewhere if you need to.

Brandy: Yeah. They're portable.

Kristen: Like we've all eaten in our car on, you know, to, because we don't have time. And so, I mean, they'd even be a great breakfast option if you were just like running out the door for the day.

Brandy: Great idea.

Kristen: Yeah.

Brandy: Yeah. And. You know, earlier today you were telling me about this other little idea, where there's like a salad kit at Costco that you like with broccoli.

Kristen: Oh yeah.

Brandy: And some seeds and then mm-hmm. Tell me more about that, because that sounds good.  

Kristen: Yeah. So, something that I try to do, when I'm shopping now is to kind of have an idea of an emergency meal. Because I feel like once a week something does come up. And so recently at Costco and Costco's so seasonal; you never know if something is going to be there. But in the prepared food section, they have a broccoli salad that is like just chopped broccoli. And I think it had a little like white cheddar in it and some seeds and some cranberries. And I just bought it for the prep.

Brandy: Yeah. 

Kristen: And I, and I actually dressed it; it's like similar to the broccoli salad on the website.

Brandy: Yep.

Kristen: But it was just done for me. And then you can put whatever dressing or homemade dressing or no dressing on it. And then just add it to a protein and you've got a great dinner.

Brandy: That sounds fantastic.

Kristen: Yeah, it was great.

Brandy: So you're kind of tapping into something that's, I mean, it's a bit of a shortcut where some of the prep work was done, but there you can still identify all the ingredients. And then you're elevating it a little bit by adding a healthy fat with dressing, you know, is using good fats.

Kristen: Right.

Brandy: And then your protein, right, that you made in advance.

Kristen: And I think that's like always my go-to. Like you don't have to use the little packet of dressing. But you can use the prepped ingredients in any salad kit. And then because, as a gluten-free person, I can't always use all the things that they give you in those like little packets anyway. And so I'm used to just using what I can or want to and making up the rest. But just the prep is done for you and it saves you from a takeout order.

Brandy: Right.

Brandy: Yeah. So leaning into some of those conveniences, like pre-washed and cut broccoli, chopped up lettuce and carrots. Because that, that does take some time, but use the shortcuts where you can.

Kristen: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Health benefits Kristen has reaped

Brandy: I love it. Wow. This has all been such valuable insight. I'm, again, so impressed by the skills that you have and how you're integrating them into your life and how it's paid off. So it sounds like your energy has improved significantly.

Kristen: Yes.

Brandy: And you're just becoming more, more efficient, more effective within your work, which is amazing.

Kristen: Yeah.

Brandy: Less stress in your life.

Kristen: Yes.

Brandy: Incredible. That's amazing. Is there anything else you want to add to that?

Kristen: Well, I've, I've been able to lose a little weight, which is a goal of mine. And so, even with just changing the way I eat and just trying to move my body, but not trying to be so focused on it, I've been able to naturally just lose some weight, which feels really great.

Brandy: That's amazing.

Kristen: Yeah. And it, and it makes me feel like I can do more, you know, for myself as far as like being healthy and I just can't wait to see what change in my blood work, you know, is comes from this.

Brandy: Yes.

Kristen: And that's ultimately the goal.

Brandy: Absolutely. Yeah. And that'll be the fun part. I love looking at the numbers, you know, six months after making all these changes and I'm, I'm very optimistic.

Kristen: Yeah.

Last words of advice from Kristen after having her success story

Brandy: Well, this has been so much fun. I have learned so much from you, and I know that our listeners have learned so many tips they never thought of before listening to your story today. So I just want to thank you again for being here today, sharing your story, sharing your tips, you know, is there one last word of advice that you would give anybody who's out there trying to make some of these changes and they just don't know where to start, you know, what would that one tip be?

Kristen: Yeah, I just, well, thank you so much for teaching me all that I know. And I just want to say like, I am by no means perfect. I am, you know, a wife and a mom and a teacher, and I would just recommend that just try it. Try to meal prep one meal ahead for yourself each week and see how good that feels to just have it waiting for you.

And I think that will be motivation enough to want to try this because, as busy people, whether you have kids or not, we're all very busy and put a lot of energy into our lives and our work and the people around us. And so we all can benefit from having simple, easy meals ready for us, so we can just do more of the things we love.

Brandy: Yeah. Oh my gosh, that's such great advice. Just start somewhere. Make one meal for yourself. You won't regret it.

Kristen: Absolutely.

Brandy: So many listeners today are going to appreciate hearing your perspective on how to integrate meal planning into a busy life. I just know that somebody out there feels more empowered because of you. And if you're out there listening today and you're feeling motivated to take the next step in your health journey, we're here to help. Visit our website, weightandwellness.com for all those recipes Kristen was referencing today.

Check Out Some of Our Recipes!

And also to learn more about nutrition counseling.

Schedule Nutrition Counseling

You could also give us a call at (651) 699-3438 to set up an appointment. So thank you, Kristen, again. It's been a pleasure.

Kristen: Oh, and for me too.

Brandy: And thank you everybody who tuned in today for another episode of Dishing Up Nutrition. Have a great day.