Category: Food Prep

6 TIPS TO MAKE PASTA A PART OF YOUR MEAL PLAN

10/12/2017

Who says you have to write off pasta in order to be healthy? In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends we enjoy grains, with the goal of making half of all grains we eat in a day whole grains. And the good news is that whole grain pastas makes this easier than ever to achieve! Here are 6 tips to help you pick the perfect pasta for your meal plan for the week...

6 TIPS TO MAKE PASTA A PART OF YOUR MEAL PLAN:

Get the most bang for your buck. Choosing whole grains gives you more nutrition (more vitamins, more minerals, and more fiber) than its refined counterparts. (Read: Same price, more nutrition!) To be sure you’re getting whole grain pastas, check the ingredients list for the term “whole grain” as the first ingredient. You can also quickly look for the Whole Grain Stamp when grocery shopping!
Stock up on sales. Dried pasta is a budget-friendly pantry staple that can be used in a variety of delicious dishes. Many store brands also carry whole grain pasta making it even more affordable for you and your family.
Add in extra nutrition. Add color, texture, and nutrition to your meal by incorporating some veggies. Try adding onions, peppers, spinach, squash and/or mushrooms to your dish even if the recipe doesn’t call for it. (Pst! And don't be afraid of frozen or seasonal veggies to help you save some dolla dolla bills.)
Portion your pasta. Remember that one serving of pasta is half a cup cooked (like half a baseball). Depending on you and your health goals, you don’t have to limit yourself to only eating one serving, but be sure to be mindful of how much you are getting at each meal to achieve better balance with all the food groups.
Get saucy. Nutritious noodles don’t have to be bland to be better for you. Aim to stick with a non-creamy sauce, such as tomato and other lower-fat alternatives.
Fix it fast. Did you know that you can freeze cooked pasta so it's basically ready-to-eat come meal time? Find out how from Family Fresh Meals!

Ready to start enjoying more pasta in your meal plan? Use our FREE Printable Weekly Meal Planner to help make it happen!

lindsey

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QUINOA: 4 WAYS

4/6/2017

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Hi Friends!

Food prep is one of the essential steps in The Meal Planning Method. Food prep can save you time, stress and makes weeknight cooking easier. One of the ways, we encourage you to food prep is to prepare an ingredient simply and change it throughout the week depending on your menu. Today, I am sharing 4 ways to prepare quinoa.

Quinoa (keen-wah) is a seed and considered a whole grain. It is high in protein, fiber and magnesium.

Quinoa is great addition to your food prep list. Start by preparing the simple quinoa recipe below. Then, throughout the week, add flavors and ingredients to add variety to your menu.

These dishes can be eaten as main entrees (make sure there's protein!) or as side dishes. Also, try these recipes where you may normally eat rice. It's a great way to try something new and in a familiar way.

1 SIMPLE QUINOA

(recipe adapted from The Kitchn)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked quinoa (any variety)
2 cups water or low-sodium broth
Salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse quinoa under cold water for about 2 minutes. Drain. This removes the bitter outer coating.
In a large pot, add uncooked quinoa and water or broth and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce to medium-low heat and cover with lid.
Cook for 15 minutes.
Remove pan for the heat and let sit, covered, for an additional 5 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and eat.

2 MEXICAN QUINOA

Get an extra dose of protein with the addition of black beans here. This recipe is full of flavor and vitamins and minerals with the addition of tomatoes, avocado, peppers and cilantro.

Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS:
Quinoa Salad

1 cup cooked quinoa
16 oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
½ cup frozen corn
½ avocado, sliced
¼ pint cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp green onions

Dressing:

2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 large lime, juiced
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Hot sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together. Set aside.
Mix all quinoa salad ingredients together.
Stir in dressing.
Serve.

3 MEDITERRANEAN QUINOA

Get an extra dose of protein with the addition of chickpeas here. This recipe is full of flavor and vitamins and minerals with the addition of tomatoes, cucumber, and parsley

Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS:
Quinoa Salad

1 cup cooked quinoa
16 oz can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
3 tbsp Olives
4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (can also use fresh)
¼ cup Cucumber
¼ cup Feta

Dressing:

1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 large lemon, juiced
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together. Set aside.
Mix all quinoa salad ingredients together.
Stir in dressing.
Serve.

4 HERBED QUINOA

This a great way to use up fresh herbs. This can be eaten as a side dish or add a protein such as chicken for a complete meal.

Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cooked quinoa
1 tbsp basil, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 large lemon, juiced and zested
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp pine nuts or walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

In a bowl, whisk all ingredients together except quinoa and pine nuts
Add dressing to the quinoa and mix together
Top with pine nuts.
Serve.

What is your favorite way to serve up quinoa? Share with us by commenting below or by using hashtag #MealPlanningMethod.

christy

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#1 TIP FOR EATING HEALTHFULLY

1/22/2017

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Hi Friends!

2017 is in full swing! Today, I wanted to share with you one of our top tips for eating healthfully throughout the entire week (and year). Keep scrolling.

FOOD PREP

Food prep is my #1 tool to eat more healthfully throughout the week. Let's be real. Life gets busy and we don't have the time to make this delicious and healthy meal from start to finish one night after work. Amiright? BUT - with a little food prep you'll be able to, but with much less stress and time.

What does food prep even mean?

Food prep is essentially the preparation of foods to be eaten throughout the week. I like to think of this as meal components, but not complete meals. Let me explain. Often times, we see on social media, the internet, wherever, meal prep being done as complete meals cooked and stored for each day of the week. This definitely works. But, our lives typically don't look the same everyday. So why should our food? Our tastes and preferences can change daily, too.

By incorporating food prep you are able to tailor the foods you have ready to your day, your family and what you are in the mood to eat. Below, I am sharing 3 tips + some food ideas to get started food prepping today.

1 MIX & MATCH

As mentioned above, prepping meal components is a quick and easy way to tailor the meal to the day. Think of it this way: 1 food = multiple recipe ideas. For example, you cook rice on your food prep day. This can turn into a burrito bowl for one day, a side dish the next and even turned into dessert for a rice pudding. 1 dish = 3 ways (or more...)

Eating the same thing over and over and over and over again is going to get real boring real fast. By using 1 ingredient, multiple ways this helps to increase variety in your eating.

2 YOU GOT TIME

Time is one of the biggest barriers we hear. And we get it. Life is busy. That's why this can actually save you time in the long run. Trust us on this and give it a chance. Food prep does not have to be an all day ordeal. It truly can be 15-30 minutes. Whatever time you have, use it!

What can I do in 30 minutes you may ask?

Preheat oven and cook a protein such as chicken in the oven (or crockpot!) (~30 min)
Hard boil eggs. (~20 min)
Chop your veggies such as onion, bell pepper, celery, etc. (~15 min)
Cook quinoa on the stovetop. (~20 min)

That's a lot of food in a short amount of time.

3 BE PREPARED

Being prepared. What I mean by this is having the storage capacity and containers for the food prep that you do. We love Pyrex and mason jars here at MPM. Having the rights storage containers and equipment makes food prep even easier. We suggest to get glass and plastic of all different sizes. Check out this post for some of our Essentials.

SOME IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED:

5 ingredient homemade hummus
Essentials
Food Prep using the muffin pan
Snacks to Pack
No Bake Bites
Breakfast Ideas

Like this post? Here at The Meal Planning Method, we have been working hard behind the scenes to bring you tips, resources and materials to master meal planning this year! Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to learn about what we're cooking up! (pun intended😉)

christy

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6 TIPS TO MAKE PASTA A PART OF YOUR MEAL PLAN

6 TIPS TO MAKE PASTA A PART OF YOUR MEAL PLAN:

QUINOA: 4 WAYS

1

SIMPLE QUINOA

2

MEXICAN QUINOA

3

MEDITERRANEAN QUINOA

4

HERBED QUINOA

#1 TIP FOR EATING HEALTHFULLY

FOOD PREP

1

MIX & MATCH

2

YOU GOT TIME

3

BE PREPARED

SOME IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED:

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