Stress-Free Dinner Prep

One of my favorite websites that inspires me as a Health Coach is Precision Nutrition. PN surveyed over 10,000 clients to find out the biggest diet challenges people face when trying to lose weight. It should be no surprise that the #1 issue is stress or emotional eating. Behavior change and coping skills need to be addressed when it comes to stress eating. Working with a Health Coach is a great way to find help with this issue. Fill out the contact form and together we’ll explore your strengths and values to find coping skills you can use to conquer emotional eating. In the meantime, check out my post on Behavior Change.

The #2 issue people deal with when trying to lose weight is lack of meal planning. It happens to the best of us. We get home from work, a little stressed out, and now we are tasked with providing a healthy meal for the family. Weekly meal planning works great but it’s often the last thing on our to-do list. When you find yourself unprepared with dinner plans, take a breath and fall back on one of these 4 ideas. These tips will keep you armed and ready for any night of the week, no matter how busy you are.

1. Fall Back on Your Top 3

I’m sure you have at least 2 or 3 meals you know you can’t mess up, they are semi-healthy, the kids like them, and the spouse doesn’t complain. Even if you go to the grocery store without a list or plan, you can always fall back on one of these meals. You’ll already know the ingredients by heart and if you double the recipe, you’ll have dinner for two nights instead of one.

2. Keep It Simple w/ Protein, Veggies, Flavor, Carbs

As you are designing your meal for the night, keep it simple by first picking a quick protein, adding some vegetables, and then throwing in your flavor. Carbs like rice or potatoes can be your bonus add-in if you have time or need to bulk up the meal.

Protein:
Start your meal prep with your protein of choice. I buy a fair amount of fresh protein for weekly meals but I always keep longer-lasting proteins on hand. These are protein sources that I stock up on and have at the ready for busy nights when I don’t have fresh protein or forgot to thaw something from the freezer. Longer-lasting proteins include things like:

Tofu (Great for stir-fry)
Chicken sausages (Add some rice, canned tomatoes and you’ve got a quick gumbo.)
Quinoa and beans (Yes, these are a great source of protein! Add this to roasted veggies to round out the meal.)
Eggs (See step 4.)
Frozen fish. (Frozen fish is usually quick to thaw so can be easily prepared in a short amount of time.)

Vegetables:
Once you’ve figured out your protein, add some veggies. Stock up on frozen, steamable vegetable medleys. Frozen vegetables are very nutritious since they are typically frozen at peak harvesting time. The steamable varieties cook up in just 7 minutes. If you have extra time, chop up fresh vegetables and either roast or saute them for dinner.

Flavor:
Once you’ve chosen your protein and vegetables, consider what flavor you would like to add to your meal. If I’m using tofu, I opt for Asian flavors by adding soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Quinoa and beans lend themselves to just about any flavor. Get creative with seasoning blends or sauces. This collection of spices from Trader Joe’s will jazz up just about any meal.

Carbs:
If you still feel like you need some carbohydrates in your meal, keep some healthy rice packets on hand. I almost always have these microwavable brown rice and quinoa packs from Aldi in my pantry. And quinoa on its own cooks up very quickly on the stove or in a rice cooker.

3. Get Over Naming Your Meals

My meal prep time drastically dropped when I got over the idea that my meals needed to sound like something off a menu. I can’t tell you how many times my husband has asked what I’m making for dinner (as I’m cooking it) and my response is “I’m not sure.” Half the time I’m making a dinner that is using up vegetables from my crisper drawer before they go bad. This no-naming attitude works well for me because I also don’t enjoy recipes. I get overwhelmed seeing all those ingredients and steps. Be OK with putting a generic one-pot wonder on the table and calling it The Pantry Clean Out Casserole.

4. Breakfast for Dinner?

Brinner! It’s the perfect fallback plan when you have no idea what to make for dinner. Most of us can always find eggs in the refrigerator and eggs are the ultimate quick protein. And who can’t throw together a quick hot breakfast? It could be a simple meal of eggs, toast, and cut-up fruit. If you have a few extra minutes, whip up a veggie frittata. When I’m really lazy, Kodiak Cakes Protein Pancakes are on the menu. Pair that with a nutritious smoothie and the kids will be thrilled.