Category Archives for "Healthy Habits"

The Cr8 Fitness Ultimate Guide to Meal Planning

Chapter 5: Quick and Easy Dinners 

Some (most?) weeks we just need easy. You look at your calendar for next week and you just know making it all work is going to be nearly impossible. While you'd love to make a 5 course meal, 5 minutes is probably more like it. 

That's where our quick and easy dinner meal planner comes in. In the case of "crazy week", you need simple, and sometimes popping open up a can or jar is just the right thing to do. Here are some tips for making it easy when "life happens":

1. Always cook more protein than you need. Bake a couple extra chicken breasts or brown an extra pound of ground beef when you are making your meals. That way you can just add some chicken to a salad or add the beef to a jar of a sauce the next day.

2. Sides like Three Bean Salad and Cole Slaw keep really well over 2-4 days, and compliment a wide variety of cuisine.

3. Frozen is your friend. There are so many different frozen veggie combos that can be stir fried or roasted, so don't get stuck on fresh. Freezer to fry pan is a winner. 

4. If chopping, slicing and dicing isn't your thing, most grocery stores sell packages of "done for you" produce in just about any way you can imagine. Stock up on a few.

Check out these simple and delicious meal combos, and don't be afraid to mix and match!

Recipes and Ideas

Many of these ideas are self-explanatory; heat a can of beans or shred some lettuce. But we didn't want to leave you hanging, so click here to download some great recipes that go with the meal plan in the infographic above.

Add These Dinners To Your Portfolio

If you don't have an extra meal planning template handy, print one out here, and make a few quick notes on which of these meals you are going to use as your "go-to's". Add this template to your portfolio; you may even want to keep it in the front!

Now that we have started to get a good handle on planning our dinners, next time we'll learn to quickly and easily integrate a healthy breakfast into our plan.

The Cr8 Fitness Ultimate Guide to Meal Planning

Chapter 4: Shopping For Success

Once you have created your meal plans for the week, you'll need to create your shopping list, and then go grocery shopping. There really is no one way to create your list. Some of us like old fashioned paper, and there are plenty of apps online if you prefer the electronic thing.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a sanity check for what's actually ON your list. We should see plenty of lean proteins, veggies, fruit, and healthy fats. If you have more boxes of breakfast bars in your cart than you do packages of broccoli, beans and beef, you need to reconsider.

As one of my nutrition coaching mentors used to say; "Don’t spend your time scavenging the bread aisle for a lower net carb English muffin while your cart is overflowing with Pop Tarts. That’s like mowing your lawn while your house is on fire.”

The infographic below shows what should go in your cart, and into your body, 90% or more of the time. Take a few minutes to check it out. I bet you come up some great ideas to add to your meal plans just from this list.

My Number One Grocery Shopping Tip

This is NOT a secret and most assuredly you have heard it before. But it's worth remembering, rehearsing, and getting tattooed on the inside of your eyelids. (Ok, maybe that's going too far. Maybe.)

Don't go grocery shopping hungry. Ever.

I swear when I am hungry cookies jump off the shelf into my cart and a pint of gelato rolls across the floor in front of me. Every time.

And always always always shop with, and stick to, your list. Honor the time and hard work you put into creating it, you'll be happy you did.

Next time I'll reveal my secrets for making dinnertime meals quick and easy!

The Cr8 Fitness Ultimate Guide to Meal Planning

Chapter 3: Building Your Portfolio 

Have you ever looked through a photographers or artists portfolio? Dozens, if not hundreds of beautiful prints, displaying amazing creativity and artistry. 

We all know instinctively this portfolio took time and effort to cultivate. Pictures get added and removed as experience and skill increases. The artist learns what appeals to her audience, and it gets easier to get in the creative flow.

You are the artist of your kitchen, and your "audience" is the people you are feeding. The first pages in your meal planning portfolio is the work you have already completed; building individual meals and then your first full weeks meal plan. You are building your meal planning skills, but you are also building momentum.

You see, once you get that first weeks plan under your belt, you can really get rolling. The second week builds off the first week, the third week build off the second, and so on. 

Creating A Month of Meals

As noted, the second week of meal planning is easier than the first, because you are not starting from scratch.

Plan Week 2

The simplest strategy is to repeat last week's plan this week. But you will probably find there were a few meals that just didn’t work for your family. That's ok. Print out a new meal planning template and fill in the ones that did work. Then find another family favorite, add that one in its place and move on.

But, you may be thinking, what about variety? Won't I get bored? Maybe, but probably not. Studies show that most of us eat the same 20-30 foods nearly all of the time. But if you are worried about variety, switch the days you serve a certain meal or switch up the side dish. Don’t forget to make your grocery list now. Week two is done. Simple is Easiest, Simple is Best.
 

Week 3

We are on a roll and just getting the hang of meal plans. The amount of time it takes this week will be shorter than the first two weeks. The process gets quicker and easier every week.

With weeks one and two meal plans in front of you, print out a new meal planning template and use them as the basis for week three. Keep the ones you like, replace the ones you don't. Just like our photographer, you are cultivating your portfolio. In general you should be repeating most of your meals on a week-to-week basis. Adjust one or two meals. Don’t go crazy and change up everything that is working. Keep the changes small and consistent. Mix up the side dishes you served with a different meal and move forward. Don’t forget to make your grocery list. Week three is done. Simple is Easiest, Simple is Best.

And if you are struggling to make it happen? Don’t give up. Anything new takes a bit longer until we have made the system our own. All this planning will save you time and loads of stress each day, and you are oh so close to making that happen.

Week 4

When you sit down to plan this week, you have three weeks of your portfolio already created. This portfolio will be key to stress free kitchen time now and in the future. After this week you will have whole month of meal plans to mix and match.

Just like last week, we are going to review, and where necessary, replace. Circle the meals your family loved, and cross out the ones that got the "thumbs down". Even if you really want your kids to start eating spinach, don’t force one recipe at them. You’ll find a meal with spinach (or your wish list food item) that your family will eat.

Keep cultivating. How did the new recipe night work? Is there a certain mealtime that you want to mix up? Stick with one or two changes each week. Fill out your meal planner, and then make your grocery list. Remember Simple is Easiest, Simple is Best.

Once you have four weeks of meal plans that you like, use them like a revolving door (circular planning).

I have certain days of the week that I always fix the same thing, and my family likes that they have something to look forward to. Other days are crunch days where I need to remember to use a crockpot or have a quick fix meal. The days that I plan to have time to spend in the kitchen I use to prep other meals, make a new recipe, or make two meals at once.

Any time you feel stuck with your meal plans, come back to our basic principles.

• Plan Dinners First
• Plan Breakfast Second
• Leftovers for Lunch
• Shop with a List
• Build your Portfolio

One more note. While this might sound silly, it's crucial to your success. Have the food you need for your plan in the house. You can spend all the time in the world planning, but if the food on your plan isn't around when it's time to prep and eat, it's hard to succeed. 

And remember, progress not perfection. Some planning is better than no planning. One meal at a time is all it takes to get started.

Let's go shopping!

The Cr8 Fitness Ultimate Guide to Meal Planning

Chapter 2: Planning Your First Week

Now that we know how to go about planning one meal, we can start planning out our first week.

While this might sound like a daunting task, it's simple when you break it down step-by-step.

First, go ahead and click this link to download and print out our simple meal planning template.

Once you have downloaded and printed the template, follow the steps on the infographic below and begin filling out your first week's plan.

Here are some tips:

If you find a whole week is just too much to start with: 

Simply scale back and start with just your dinner meals. You will be amazed how having just one meal a day planned out will make you feel. And remember, there is no prize for getting it "perfect". Meal planning really is a skill, and it gets easier the more you do it. And don't forget to start building your "meal planning portfolio" by saving your weekly plans, no matter how complete they are (or aren't).

Build on your skills: 

Once you nail your dinner planning routine down, move on to step 2 and plan out your breakfast, then your lunches. Don't overcomplicate, avoid overwhelm - remember:

Simple is Easiest, Simple is Best.

In Chapter Three will cover how we use our "meal planning portfolio" and continue building our meal planning skills.

The Cr8 Fitness Ultimate Guide to Meal Planning

Chapter 1: How To Plan A Healthy Meal

Plan Your Meals To Nourish Your Body, Not Simply Fill It Up

Before we can plan a whole week's worth of meals, we need to start with just one meal, and we need to figure out what we are doing all this planning for anyway, right? I mean it doesn't take any planning to go to a fast food joint and fill my stomach, so there must be something more we are trying to do

Here's what I mean.

Good meal planning is more than just about getting rid of the rumble in our tummy. It's about providing nourishment - giving our body what it needs to be healthy and work as it should. There is nothing that has more to do with how healthy you are (and good you can feel) than the food and drink you consume.

Remember Hippocrates? It's ok if you don't, but he is widely considered the father of modern medicine. Here's what he had to say about it;

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"

I don't know if ole' Hippocrates was the first naturopathic doctor, but he knew what he was talking about. We know now what he didn't know; that many if not most of the diseases in the western world are lifestyle related, and a huge part of that is what we eat. Is there a place for medicine? Of course. But I think a worthy goal is to stay off the medications, and in that regard good eating just makes good sense.

With that in mind, take a look at the infographic below. While it's primarily focused on planning a healthy dinner meal, the principles apply to all of our meals.

Building Your Meal

You see that we are not shy about emphasizing protein as the foundation for healthy meal planning. Getting enough protein is super important, especially if you are trying to lose weight (body fat). While you will have to eat less calories to lose weight, don't eat less protein. This is a straight path to muscle loss and a weight "rebound" when you are done.

Once you choose your protein source (beef, chicken, pork, etc.), decide on how you are going to spice it up - literally. You can mix and match your own seasonings and spices, and there are also a lot of really tasty spice blends you can buy pre-made in the store. You don't have to settle for plain grilled chicken all the time. You can "taste the world" with a little creativity.

Next on your plate go some healthy fats. Good Fats help keep you full, add flavor, carry fat-soluble vitamins, are anti-inflammatory, and are good for heart health. Get some of the good stuff on your plate with your meals.

Focus on your vegetables next. Veggies provide so many good things - vitamins, minerals, and fiber, just to name a few. There are literally hundreds of vegetables to choose from, and they can be stir-fried, roasted, steamed, sautéed, grilled, sliced, diced, and riced. The possibilities are truly endless.

"Other" carbohydrates are things like rice, grains, beans, and potatoes (starches). There is nothing wrong with these, we just don't want to emphasize them when planning our meals. You can eat a lot of these foods very quickly, they are very calorie-dense, and in excess they can make it hard to lose or maintain weight. 

Here's what your plate should look like, most of the time. If you choose to add starches once in a while, eat less fat and eat a reasonable amount of beans, rice, or potato in its place. 

Keep It Simple

The "Super Simple Shopping" list at the bottom of the infographic is designed to get your meal planning ideas started, without overwhelm. If you did nothing more than fill your grocery cart with these items from week to week and keep your cupboard stocked with spices, you would never run out of healthy meal ideas and options.

Ready to keep going? Click the button below!