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Ya know... when it gets warmer out I absolutely love love LOVE making smoothie bowls for meals. They're refreshing, flavorful, and so beautiful, but it's definitely easy to over (or under) do it if you don't have the right formula for your smoothie. I find that the key to making a meal-worthy smoothie bowl is BALANCE. Just like we try to include all the food groups on our plates at mealtime, the same is true for smoothie time, especially if we intend to enjoy the smoothie as a meal. Check out what I mean with this super simple, balanced, smoothie bowl recipe below. (Pst... it's dairy-free!)  SIMPLE DAIRY-FREE SMOOTHIE BOWL INGREDIENTS
Fruit? ✓ Veggies? ✓ Protein? ✓ Grains? ✓ Gang's all here! Creating a balanced smoothie bowl can be simple and stress-free. What are your favorite smoothie bowl toppings? Tell us in the comments below! lindsey
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Hey friends! I am sooo excited to be sharing about a new resource with you today as it's from a very dear friend and colleague I've known since my Dietetic Internship days at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. (Let's just say, it was over a decade ago and leave it at that haha.) This May 14th, 2019, EAT TO SLEEP comes out - a book all about what to eat and when to eat it for a good night's sleep! This incredible guide is by Karman Meyer, a fellow Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and the creator behind TheNutritionAdventure.com. I was lucky enough to review Karman's first book and am sharing how I incorporated her expert advice into our weekly meal plans. Keep reading to see how I pulled it all together.  In EAT TO SLEEP, Karman literally has everything you could want to know or need to achieve better sleep in her comprehensive book...
 For my household, we 1,000% know the importance of good sleep (after all, walking around like a zombie is no way to live!), but life happens and sometimes getting a good night's rest doesn't. This got me thinking more about how we craft dinners to be nourishing, balanced, and enjoyable - yes - but also, better for sound sleep! Here's how we approached this week's meal plan using advice from EAT TO SLEEP...
Check out how our meal plans turned out for the week!  Any grocery item with a ** was just to indicate a sleep-promoting food and you can see that I was able to include at least one of these incredible ingredients in every meal for this week! (Score!) Fortunately, in all of these master meals we're planning for this week, it was very easy to incorporate sleep-promoting foods.
If you want to learn more about each of these fabulous sleep-promoting foods or the food-sleep connection, I really hope you'll check out EAT TO SLEEP. Be sure to follow us over on IG (@themealplanningmethod) as we'll be having a GIVEAWAY of Karman's book soon, or you can pre-order your own copy at Amazon or Barnes & Noble here. Here's to getting them zzz's friends! lindsey Pst! Like this Weekly Meal Planner? Grab your FREE printable here so you can start planning meals today! Hi friends! Let's have some real talk for a sec... meal planning isn't exactly "fun". There I said it! (FUN is going to Target and buying things that you didn't even know you needed, right?!) But meal planning is without a doubt a solid strategy to streamline the food decisions in your life, giving you more time and energy to do the things you actually want to do. (Ahem, go to Target.) Here at The Meal Planning Method, we're always trying to find ways to skim a few minutes here and there, because it really can add up during your week! This week, we're highlighting convenience foods that are not only easy to prepare, but can save you precious moments. Check 'em out!  CONVENIENT GRAINS(1) OVEN-READY LASAGNA NOODLES (aka no-boil noodles) After I tried oven-ready lasagna noodles, I knew right then and there I would never buy regular lasagna noodles again! How many minutes will you save? 8 minutes! (That's enough time to make a to-do list.) (2) QUICK COOK OATS Did you know that ALL oats (quick, old-fashioned, and steel cut) are healthy choices? Quick cook oats are great though when you need whole grains fast. How many minutes will you save? If you're comparing quick cook oats to steel cut oats, you're saving 29 minutes! (That's one episode of your favorite sitcom.) (3) 10-MINUTE RICE We always stock rice in the pantry, but ain' no body got time to boil brown rice for 45 minutes! Instant rices are parboiled - meaning they have been partially boiled already (the most tedious part). We've used 10-minute rices in burrito bowls, sushi bowls, fried rice, you name it and enjoy the end product and the time savings. CONVENIENT PRODUCE(4) FROZEN PEPPERS & ONIONS Bell peppers and onions are two of the most versatile veggies you can incorporate into meals no matter the cuisine you're cooking - Asian, Mexican, Mediterranean, Indian - they're great! I find that bell peppers tend to go bad quick and sometimes I use up all of my fresh onion with none left. The remedy? A frozen pepper & onion mix that's always available! We've seen these for as little as $0.99 (for 12oz) at our local grocery stores. (5) READY-TO-EAT SALADS (including salad kits) You're likely already enjoying pre-washed and chopped salads so don't stop now! We personally try to stick with blends and varieties that go well with multiple things -- such as baby spinach for fresh salads and also smoothies. And one quick pro tip: store your greens with a paper towel to soak up the excess moisture and keep them lasting fresh for longer. CONVENIENT PROTEINS(6) LOW- SODIUM CANNED BEANS Dry beans can take nearly an entire day depending on how you prepare them -- 4-12 hours soaking and then an additional 1-3 hours to cook on the stove top. It's very clear that canned beans save you a lot of time come mealtime. (Pst! If you can't find a lower sodium variety of canned beans at your grocery store, simply drain and rinse them to reduce the sodium content.) OTHER CONVENIENT FOODS(7) SPICE MIXES
OK, OK, this one may be a teenie bit of a stretch, but we LOVE how pre-made spice blends and mixes make our lives easier! (I mean, just imagine measuring each and every spice ingredient that goes into an Everything But the Bagel seasoning, for example.) We're huge fans of the Mrs. DASH line of spice blends as their are salt-free and totally tasty. (8) PRE-MADE SAUCES We're pretty convinced that sauces and are the thing that elevates a food from bland to BAM! Find low-sodium and low-sugar sauces to make cooking quicker, yet just as flavorful. What other convenience foods do you swear by that help you save time in the kitchen? Share with us in the comments below! lindsey |
