Healthy, Homecooked meals for your busy life and family!

The key is a 3 step approach

Simplify, Prep & Build your meals

My friends and clients are asking… “how do I cook for our crazy family schedule?”

I know that you want to cook healthy meals for your family but the best laid plans for dinner turn into “what should we order?” because you simply run out of time and energy!

Trust me when I tell you I have been and I am still there! It is difficult but not impossible to lead a busy work, sports, activities-based life with a family and still manage to make home cooked healthy meals.

One of my SUPERPOWERS is figuring out how to make any and all processes more efficient not only in the office but in the kitchen too!

For years before I began working for myself, I worked for my husband full time. I also coached both of my kids in sports nearly year round for the last nine years. They play basketball, baseball and softball including travel ball that required me to coach no less than 3x a week and the entire weekend when summer travel ball hit!

If I wasn’t coaching them, I was still getting them to their practice or games anyway (part of the reason I decided to coach! If I had to be there anyway, I might as well be the Coach!)

I give kudos to my awesome husband because he has always been an excellent partner & Dad. He built his own business and still helped out with all the responsibilities around the house while still getting to all the kid’s activities however I still was the one largely responsible for the grocery shopping, prep and cooking and you probably are too.

Let me guide you with this 3-step approach

Step #1 Simplify

The key is first to simplify the menu!

One of the biggest issues I see is Americans assume that we have to have a huge variety of meals all in the same week. I'm sure it comes from our melting pot of ethnic backgrounds. We try to cook all the following in one week of meals:

· Beef casserole

· Pasta & meatballs or lasagna

· Stir fry

· Pork chops & potatoes

· Chicken Parmesan or whatever dishes are in your family meal rotation.

These dishes take a lot of prep time and they all require their own unique ingredients which means tons of different pots & pans and clean up every night AND there are not many veggies in these type meals.

If you have time for making a new meal every night and love spending time cooking and cleaning, GREAT! GO FOR IT!

Most of us need to adopt a simpler style in our kitchens. If we're going to eat consistently healthy, reduce prep time, have less cleanup, less wasted ingredients and leftovers then we need to simplify our menu. Times have changed and we must adapt but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have healthy homecooked meals.

If you look at other cultures you will see that they often use the same main ingredients and prepare them slightly different but using the same proteins, veggies, spices and fats. Ever look at a Mexican restaurant menu and realize you will get all the same things just in a different way?? Same thing with an Italian menu.

I am not suggesting you eat the same exact foods every week but eat similar foods one week and then change it up the next so that you vary your nutrients and vary your menu.

Look at the most popular restaurants… Chipotle, Moe’s, Bibibop. They offer the same proteins, veggies and toppings but you could eat there every week for about 4-6 weeks but just chose a different protein, different carb, and different veggies each time and you would vary your meal and your macro & micronutrients.

Step #2 Prep

Prep all your proteins, carbs and veggies over a 1-2 day period

No recipes required!

Here are some ideas but this all depends on the size of your family

· Grill up 5-10 chicken breasts or put a pan of chicken thighs in the oven

· Sauté up 2 -4 lbs of ground beef (preferably grass fed/grass finished)

o Separate the beef and leave some plain, some with taco seasoning, some with pasta sauce

· Throw a roast/tenderloin in the insta pot and you will have shredded beef

· Use the large spaghetti pot with colander insert to steam up a big batch of broccoli or cauliflower or green beans

· Cut and roast a large pan of veggies

· Use the rice cooker to make rice or quinoa

· Cut and roast potatoes on a large sheet pan

Note: be sure to store everything in glass containers to avoid toxins in plastic containers

Step #3 Build

Build meals daily based upon likes & dislike, food sensitivities, portion size and macronutrient needs.

Now your family will be able to make their own “plate”, “bowl”, “tortilla” or “quesadilla” type meal for lunches or dinner with all the food you prepped. Nightly cleanup will only require they put their dish in the dishwasher and no pots and pans for you!

This ensures no unused ingredients, no leftover meals that get thrown away, and did I mention less cleanup. It also allows a busy family to eat at whatever time works best for them and even at different times from the whole family.

Downside: Reheating does require a microwave oven or using some pots/pans and the family may not eat together but this still beats fast food and processed foods!!

Remember: Vary your proteins, veggies and carbs each week to ensure variety of nutrients.

The naysayers: I know some of you are going to read this and think but my family doesn’t like leftovers. My comeback is that these food items are prepared and stored separately, so it isn’t a leftover!

It is a fresh meal that just needs reheated. I also say “too bad & get use to it because this is how Mom cooks now or if you don’t like it, cook for yourself and clean up after yourself too!”

Seriously Moms you can take charge! They will come around!

Best part of this approach … No recipe to print - just adopt this new simpler approach to meals. Plus if no complicated recipe to follow then everyone can help with prep.

Wishing you healthy, homecooked meals

Coach Lo

xoxo

#EfficientCooking #mealprep