Tag: meal planning

Roasted Vegetables Recipe

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When it is cold outside, I find a dish of warm roasted vegetables is so comforting. Vegetables are incredibly versatile and this recipe is so easy to prepare. So what’s not to love about them! Roasted vegetables are are a great addition to the table in the fall and winter months. They are a great option for vegan and vegetarian  meal planning.

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You can use any vegetables you like but the combination I have been working with lately includes broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green peppers and onions. I find this combination offers a variety of flavours and textures that go well together. Using a red pepper instead of a green one would create an even more festive appearance to this dish if you are looking for a great addition to you holiday meal menus – just saying!

You can adjust the spices you use as you feel you need. If you want to keep it simple just season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Otherwise, you can use the other spices I recommend (garlic powder and chili powder) for a little extra kick and to round out the flavour.

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Vegetables are nutritionally very important. Besides the different vitamins and minerals they contain which are important for the health and vitality of our bodies, vegetables are a source of fibre which is extremely important for proper functioning of the digestive track and soluble fibre may help with lowering LDL or “bad” cholesterol which may reduce the risk for heart disease.

Cooking vegetables, especially fall and winter root vegetables, is important because it makes it easier for us to eat and digest them. Roasting is a healthy cooking method which uses dry heat to cook food. The food is covered and cooked in the oven. This method helps preserve nutrients of the vegetables more than other methods like boiling. The process of roasting does much to enhance the flavours of the food in the cooking process.

Broccoli is a high-fibre, nutrient dense food making it a nutritional powerhouse! Just some of the important nutrients found in broccoli include B vitamins, folate, riboflavin, potassium, iron and vitamin C. Broccoli also provides carotenoids beta carotene and lutein. Beta carotene is converted to Vitamin A in the body. Lutein has been shown to protect vision from macular degeneration by possibly functioning as an antioxidant to protect the eyes from free-radical damaged caused by UV rays from sunlight. Cooking actually makes these caroteinoids more bioavailable so your body can process and start using them more easily!

Cauliflower provides vitamin C, folate, vitamin B6 as well as potassium. It is also low in calories and an excellent source of fibre.

Carrots offer a great source fibre, potassium, vitamin B6. Carrots appropriately contain compounds called carotenoids, which may have antioxidant properties. Beta carotene is one of these which can be found in carrots but carrots also provide alpha carotene and lutein.

Olive Oil is a source of healthy fats like mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) which have improved blood cholesterol levels. Olive oil is also a source of Vitamin E, a fat-soluble vitamin with powerful antioxidant properties.

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This is an easy side dish to prepare and serve with any sort of entree or cooked meat. The simplicity of the recipe means that it won’t clash with anything else you are cooking. The vegetables will have a subtle but substantial presence in your meal. You can also add chopped up roasted vegetables to pasta, rice or quinoa to make a more substantial meal or add them to a salad to boost your vegetables intake. Either make them for one of these meal planning options specifically or reinvent your leftovers. You can easily double or triple this recipe which makes it great for batch cooking!

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The Basics of Batch Cooking

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Even with a great routine in place, who wouldn’t like to save time, money and energy and still eat healthy?

Batch cooking refers to the process of preparing recipes in a large enough quantity to have several portions left-over. These extra portions are saved for future meals. Cooking this way speeds up meal planning and preparation, making it easier to follow healthy eating habits. Some examples of recipes that are good for batch cooking include chili, soups, pasta sauces and casseroles.

Batch cooking is a great way to simplify your meal planning, save time and money by shopping and cooking less and help the environment! Weekends are a great time to cook up a big batch of one of your favourite recipes so you will save so much time during the week.

With the holidays coming, which are all about cooking great meals–often in large quantities – it’s a great time to use these strategies to learn and apply to save your leftovers to reduce food waste.

To make this work, it is important to know how to store your leftover food properly. Before storing leftovers make sure you allow food to cool slightly (do not leave out of the refrigerator for more than two hours) but once cooled you can package and store it. Store leftovers in clean, airtight containers for a 2-3 days after cooking or freeze for up to 2-3 months (i.e. make your own “frozen dinners”–minus the added calories, fat and salt). Defrost leftovers in the refrigerator the night before you want to eat them to make reheating them easier.

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Worried about getting bored? It’s understandable. Everyone is different in their food comfort and preferences. Some of us are fine with eating the same thing over and over again, day after day and that is fine.  It does take a lot of the thinking out of what we will eat. Others may need more variety and shaking things up their meals. With batch cooking you can meet both needs! The secret is to pick a basic recipe that can be easily reinvented into something else. For example, make a basic chili recipe which you can have chili one day, a taco salad the next day, use as a pasta sauce the day after… Eat roasted vegetables on their own. Add the leftovers to cooked quinoa to make a vegetable pilaf or layer them in a salad with a handful of fresh greens. Keep it simple and you will not only save yourself time and energy but can have some great, empowering meal combinations!

Looking for more ideas to save time, energy and make the most of your meals at home? Eating at home has swiftly become the new normal, whether we like it or not, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. There are benefits to this if you take the opportunity to cook from scratch and take more ownership of your meal preparation, but there can also be a feeling of being limited, running out of ideas on what to cook and even becoming bored with your options. Even more of a challenge is not having enough information and skills to be able to make the shift from dependency on eating out to eating at home every day for every meal and not knowing where to start. Whether you are in need of some help with your transition to at home meal preparation or just looking to add variety with fresh ideas and perspectives while not having to worry so much about what you are cooking, a meal delivery service could be a highly viable and supportive option to help you with eating healthy at home. There are many meal delivery service options, which may easily make deciding on the right one and feeling confident in your choice overwhelming. ConsumersAdvocate.org created this comprehensive and in-depth guide on meal delivery services that will facilitate meals for those who simply don’t have the time to cook for their family or for those who are searching for options that will minimize their exposure to Covid-19. 

 

Big Batch Vegetarian Chili

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When it starts to get cold, and there’s a chill in the air, there’s nothing like having a warm hearty bowl of something tasty. This is a very basic chili recipe which is easy to make, filling and perfect for meal prep or batch cooking. It’s also vegetarian and vegan friendly. Check out the recipe as well as tricks and tricks below!

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Not only does this recipe have spices to give it flavour but several key ingredients boost the nutritional power. All these ingredients are plant-based.

Tomatoes are a good source of dietary fibre, potassium, iron. Like other fruits and vegetables, tomatoes are source of antioxidants. Tomatoes are one of the major sources of the carotenoid lycopene. Lycopene is of particular interest because it may possibly reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers. Cooking tomatoes actually enhances their lycopene content.

Sweet Peppers are a good source of Vitamin C and dietary fibre. They give some colour and added flavour to this recipe.

Capsaicin is a phytochemical found in chili powder and paprika. This is the compound that gives peppers their spiciness. Capsaicin has been widely studied for many different properties which include boosting metabolism and decreasing the risk of some cancers.

Beans and lentils are an incredibly good source of fibre. They also are a vegetarian and low-fat source of protein. This combination of nutrients it was makes them very sustaining. Not only is fibre filling the soluble fibre in beans and lentils may also help lower LDL “bad” cholesterol. Folate and B Vitamins are also found in beans. Some other minerals can be found in beans and lentils including potassium, magnesium, selenium and iron. Iron is of particular importance for anyone following a vegetarian or vegan diet to try and incorporate into their meals.

Recipe Suggestions: Serve topped with some crushed whole grain tortilla chips, diced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, or even low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt!

 

Tips and Tricks

When batch cooking sometimes it is easy to get bored of eating the same thing over again. Here are five variations or hybrid recipes for the basic chili recipe. You will never get bored of batch cooking this recipe when you have these easy variations to mix up your meal plan!

Tex-Mex Casserole – Mix basic chili with cooked rice or quinoa. Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Broil in oven until topping is golden brown and cheese melted.

Taco Salad – Start with a base of your favourite salad greens. Layer with chili, chopped avocado, shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

Chili Pie – Put chili into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Top with either a batch of cornbread or mashed potatoes, or sweet potatoes. Bake in 350 F oven until cornbread is baked or potatoes are golden brown.

Chili Stuffed Peppers – Clean bell peppers and chop off their tops. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove and stuff with chili then top with shredded cheese. Bake, covered, in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes until cheese is melted.

Chili Pasta – Use the chili as a pasta sauce for whole grain pasta and top with grated cheese.

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Meal Planning 101

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September is one of the busiest times of the year. An energizing feeling build all month because it’s time to get back on track, back to school, back to routine, back to healthy exercise and nutrition practices, etc.

Meal-Planning

The proper nutrition can make such a difference to all elements of health and performance for oneself, in what one has to offer the world and is able to accomplish in a day. This is what meal planning is all about and why it is so important. It’s like you are literally creating a blueprint or road map. Having a good sense of direction towards where you want to end up is so important. This creates self-efficacy and fosters the belief that you can and will succeed. Truly, it is through setting intentions, taking responsibility and control that we realize we have and can make an impact and create change.

With the right planning and preparation nutritious eating can be easy and fun. Mastering the art of meal planning is a great tool to have. I love flipping through cookbooks or scrolling through blogs. The sources for inspiration are endless!

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Here are some tips to help you with your meal planning, whether this is all very new to you or you’ve been doing it for years, there’s always something we can learn to make our methods better!

Download this simple meal planning template or create your own to get started!

This checklist offers some simple tips to save time and make meal planning a breeze:

  • Keep meals simple to prepare with as few ingredients as possible, especially for busy weekdays
  • See what you have on hand already and what will expire soon and use these items as the foundation to build your meal plan.
  • Get organized. Make copies of your meal plan to post where you can easily see it (i.e. fridge door). Have a place where you can save meal plans that worked well or recipes you really like a binder.
  • Plan ahead and prepare what you can the night before or on weekends to save time during the week.
  • Convenience products like pre-cut stir-fry vegetables and ready-bagged salad can save cooking and prep time.
  • Try batch cooking: cook enough food for 2-3 meals and save leftovers for meals later in the week. Or freeze for longer
  • Shop smarter by keeping an ongoing grocery list of items you regularly need and add items as soon as they run out. Organize your list with headings for faster shopping trips.
  • This meal planner checklist can help you stay on track to meal planning a success!
  • Share the journey and learning process by getting everyone in your household involved in some way from shopping, prepping, cooking to yes even cleaning up!
  • Check out all the cool meal planning apps like Meal Planner Pro or FoodPlanner which you can use to have more fun and creating and keeping track of your meal plan! Check out 5 other meal planning apps here.

Meal-Planning 6As with developing any system, there will be bugs that you will have to figure out. Finding the system that fits your schedule can take some trial and error. Don’t give up! Regardless of what you start with, your plan or system is NOT locked in stone, so don’t be afraid when you get off track or something is not working and needs to change. Just keep experimenting and having fun with what you are doing and by the end of this month see if you can have a system in place that will carry you to the end of this year and into the next one!