How to meal plan regularly even when you hate it

One of the biggest problems my eCourse students and readers have is meal planning.  It seems so daunting and too time consuming that it can paralyze people from even trying.  Many students feel like meal planning is the key to their success eating plant-based.

Although it's absolutely possible to eat a plant-based diet successfully without meal planning, knowing how to meal plan regularly, even if you don't like it, can be a very helpful skill to have. Here's  5  tips to meal plan quickly and regularly, even if you hate it.

1.  Have someone else meal plan for you.

The easiest way to meal plan when you hate doing it is to have someone else do it for you! There are a few services you can order from that will send you healthy, plant-based meal plans with recipes so all you have to do is show up at the grocery store (full disclosure - I've never tried these two vegan meal planning services before nor do I get any kickbacks for sharing this with you). 

• Forks Over Knives Planner 
• Meal Mentor by Happy Herbivore 

This is also one of the reasons my husband and I founded Trisha's Healthy Table in Columbia, SC -- to make eating plant-based dinners easier when you're not up for planning or grocery shopping.  Just order online and pick-up on the date you've scheduled and you're done!

Okay well what do you do when you actually have to meal plan but really don't like doing it?  

2.  Schedule 10 minutes a week to meal plan.

Schedule just 10 minutes a week in your planner (seriously! - schedule a time to plan!) to do this every week.  Once you start doing it continuously every week, it'll become a habit.  

You don't have to make a brand new meal plan every single week.  Keep it the same as the week before, or just switch out one or two meals for something new.   

3.  Choose simple and quick meals

I use to make meal plans for clients (years ago) that included a different breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and snack for every single day of the week.  Problem with that was, it was too overwhelming for people to try and make 32 different food items a week (they did get a lot of recipes though!).  

I don't recommend trying to cook gourmet meals, or spend 1.5 hours cooking every night, especially if you're busy.  Make eating a healthy, vegan diet as easy as possible on yourself.  Your meal plan should reflect this.

You can use the microwave, a rice cooker, boxed soups, an electric pressure cooker etc. to help make eating plant-based easier.   

Remember all of this when you meal plan.  Don't try and make more than 3 brand new dinners in a week.  Stick with planning and cooking what you already know and slowly add new recipes over time (if you want.  You don't have to!).   

The simpler you keep your meals, the simpler eating a healthy, plant-based diet (and meal planning) is going to be.  What's easier... preparing 100% whole wheat spaghetti with jarred marinara sauce with a side of pre-cut and pre-washed salad mix OR making veggie lasagna from scratch for dinner?  Bake a butternut squash and saute kale and garlic while the squash is in the oven and dinner is done.   You're more likely to eat healthier keeping your meals simply this way too.

4.  Just focus on planning dinner.

Breakfast is generally pretty easy to eat plant-based and lunches can be dinner left-overs.  You're biggest concern, and where you should focus the most energy meal planning, is dinner.  

To avoid being overwhelmed, just pick 3 to 5 dinners that you'd enjoy eating for dinner that week.  Then, rotate through them throughout the week.  This means you might eat pasta on Monday and Thursday.  Here's a few examples of quick dinners to choose from...

• Pasta (100% whole-grain), jarred marinara and a side salad
• Burrito bowl: a mix and match of rice, corn and or beans; salsa, tomatoes, romaine lettuce or spinach and avocado
• Cashew-alfredo linguini and broccoli
• Veggie burgers, oil-free potato fries and a salad
• Veggie pizza (we buy Trader Joe's whole-wheat crust)
• Bean and veggie soup

You can also make these same dinners a little different each week to make the planning easy but the taste a bit varied.  Use different types of pasta for pasta night; different veggies and grains for burrito bowls; seasonal veggies in the veggie burgers and different toppings for pizza.

5.  Store your meal plan on your phone or make copies

Take a photo of your list of dinners and the ingredients they include on your phone.  You can also store this info on an app, in your notes or in email.  Just make it accessible on your phone.  That way, when you're in the store but didn't actually make a meal plan for the week (or forgot it), you'll still know what to buy and make for dinner.

If you're a pen and paper type person, make copies of your dinner meal plan.  I recommend storing a few copies in your glove box, your purse, as well as your kitchen.  Just be sure they make it to the store with you!

Now it's time to hear from you!  Your voice matters and it's helpful for others (especially women!).  Answer today's Take Control Now Question by clicking 'comment' below...

Take Control Now Question

Do you meal plan? If so, what's your system?  Have a time-saving meal planning strategy that could help others?  

5 ways to make whole-grains tastier

Abysmal US nutrition statistic:  

Ninety-three percent of Americans fail to eat the recommended amount of whole-grains, a measly 3 ounces everyday (1).  This is according to a 2007 Economic Research Report published by the USDA.

Not surprising as Americans are also deficient in fiber (2), fruit and veggies (3) and whole plant foods.  No matter what type of diet you're on, Americans need to eat more fruits, veggies, whole-grains and beans.  Period.

But back to whole-grains.  What are they and how can you make them taste good?

Whole-grains are grains that still have 100% of their original nutrients and edible parts.  You could literally cut whole-grains down in the field, bring them into your kitchen, clean off the inedible parts, cook them in a pot and eat them.  Or, you could grind 100% whole-grains into flour and then use it to make bread or pasta.

The whole-grains that aren't turned into flour are called intact whole grains.  All of their original nutrients and edible parts are still packaged the same way in your kitchen as they were in the field.  

Examples of intact whole-grains include oats, whole wheat, quinoa, brown or wild rice, popcorn, buckwheat, rye and barley.  

Intact whole-grains are less calorie dense than whole-grain flours because intact whole-grains absorb water or liquid into themselves as they cook.  This makes intact whole-grains more filling than flours without adding extra calories (when using water).  Plus, your body has to work a little harder to digest intact whole grains, which provides you an a longer, more sustained amount of energy.  Flour products (even 100% whole-grain ones) absorb more quickly because they've been slightly pre-digested for you... a machine has ground up the grain instead of your gastrointestinal tract.  

Now the question becomes, how can you eat intact whole-grains and have them taste good? Well, why not just buy them pre-seasoned in a box and not have to worry about it?

Your grains will be healthier if you "doctor them up" yourself instead of buying them pre-seasoned in the grocery store.  Why?  Because food producers generally add fat, sugar and salt to make things taste better.  Buy the grains plain and then you dress them up.

5 Ways to Make Intact Whole-Grains Tastier

1.  Cook in them veg stock.

Cook quinoa or brown rice in veg stock.  Not only does it make the grain more flavorful, but it adds a beautiful golden color to the grain as well.

Brown rice cooked in vegetable stock with spices.

Be sure to keep the liquid to grain ratio the same when cooking.  You can make half of your liquid veg stock or all of it veg stock as long as the overall liquid to grain ratio is correct.

Buy veg stock or broth in the store, or make it yourself.  Here's my husband's, Chef Erik Hoffman (Trisha's Healthy Table Executive Chef) vegetable stock recipe.

2.  Cook whole-grains in coconut milk.

Whether it's quinoa, rice for a curry or with oats in the morning, adding coconut milk will add a lot of flavor to grains.  Coconut milk is almost all fat though, so I try to use a small amount of coconut milk and mix it with water when adding it to my grains.

Need a recipe?  Try our coconut infused quinoa.

3.  Cook in plant milk.

This is especially great for breakfast grains.  You can add almond milk or any plant milk to raw oats or cooked rice or quinoa in the morning and pop it in the microwave for a yummy morning start.  Then, add fruit, raisins or dates and cinnamon and you're good to go. 

4.  Add spices.

When you're not relying on fat and sugar to add flavor to your whole-grains, spices are where it's at for intense flavor.  If you don't know what spices taste good with what grains, google it! Google knows everything.  

Or, you can buy pre-blended spice mixes so you don't have to guess what spices compliment other spices.  For example, buy taco spice mix, cajun or Italian spice mixes.  Add a heavy sprinkle to your pot when you add the grains to your liquid.

5.  Add herbs.

Herbs also flavor food while adding a mega-boost of nutrition, just like spices.  Certain herbs can be added during the cooking process, while other should be added just before eating.  

Soft herbs (think of delicate leaves) such as basil, parsley and cilantro, should be added once the cooking is finished and then mixed in, or added to whole-grains as an edible garnish or topping.  

Hard herbs are thicker and usually have a tough stem.  Rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, lemongrass and lavender are great examples.  Add these herbs while cooking for a robust flavor profile.

Take Control Now

Which of these tips will you try in your kitchen to make whole-grains tastier?  Have a different go-to method to share?  I'd love to hear it.

Answer by clicking 'comment' below the references.

References

1.  Lin, B-H and Yen, ST, The U.S. Grain Consumption Landscape: Who Eats Grain, in What Form, Where, and How Much?, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, November 2007.  Accessed online August 2016 at http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/216644/err50_reportsummary_1_.pdf

2.  South Carolina Nutrition, Obesity and Physical Activity and Obesity Fact Sheets for Youth and Adults, 2011.  Department of Health and Environmental Control.  Accessed online, May 2016 at: http://www.scdhec.gov/library/cr-009958.pdf

3.  Mobley, AR et al. Identifying Practical Solutions to Meet America’s Fiber Needs: Proceedings from the Food & Fiber Summit. Nutrients. 2014 Jul; 6(7): 2540–2551.

How USC professor lost 17 lbs in 8 weeks without eating less. An inspirational interview.

Have you ever struggled with your weight?  If so, I want you to keep reading.  And if you haven't, I still want you to keep reading because this is just that good.  

About 8 weeks ago, I had the honor of helping someone who was just diagnosed with type II diabetes.  At age 44.  She has a loving husband, an 8 year old daughter McCullough and a 9 year old son, Thompson.  She has a very successful and rewarding career in academia.  Case in point -- she has a lot to lose and is way too young for diabetes.

Swann Adams, PhD, the Assistant Director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the University of South Carolina, is this amazing person.  She's an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing and the School of Public Health.  She's been published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, The American Journal of Public Health, Women's Health Issues and many more (like I said, successful.  This woman is like a super hero).   

But if you asked Swann, there was always one area of her life where she felt like a failure. Her health and more specifically, her weight.  Until now.

Swann had been on and off Weight Watchers for 20 years.  She was even prescribed amphetamines from her doctor to help her with her weight.  After no success, Swann accepted her body and her weight.  She thought this was just her body type.  Wrong.  

When Swann came to see me, she wasn't trying to lose weight (she was confident there was no way she could).  Her concern -- improving or reversing her diabetes diagnosis.  

Seven weeks later, where is she?

Swann has lost about 18 pounds in 7 weeks without eating less.  No carb counting, no calorie counting.  And, her blood sugars are now in the pre-diabetic range.

Swann had this to say celebrating her son Thompson's 9th birthday a few weeks ago...

“For the first time in forever, I felt confident walking around in my bathing suit. I still have a long way to go but just the 15 pounds gone, and how easy it was, makes me believe for the first time that it’s possible to change my appearance. I almost got tears in my eyes I felt so good and positive.”

Today, I'm thrilled to share with you my very first Take Control Tuesday interview (above)... a very personal interview with Swann (and oh yes, we had a blast too.  And we have bloopers at the end of the video to prove it). 

Swann shares some pretty amazing insights (and advice for you) that you won't want to miss....

“This is a way to stop the critical voice in your head that tells you it’s your fault that you’re so fat. It gives you the tools to be able to be in control, take the shame away and to be happy.”

Swann is happy for many reasons, but one of them (and I am right there with her!), is because improved health and weight loss are possible without eating less food.  It's simply replacing foods that promote weight gain and disease, with those that promote health and weight loss that are filling.

For example, here's one of Swann's health promoting and weight-loss promoting meals, a "cheesy meatball" sub.   

The meatballs are made using oats, brown rice, lentils instead of beef and added it to are a bunch of different herbs and spices that have a similar taste and texture as regular meatballs.  It's topped with an onion and pepper marinara sauce, and the whole wheat buns (yes, it's okay to eat wheat and gluten) are lined with mustard and relish.  And the cheese!?  This is one of Swann's favorite recipes.  And I've made it.  It's SO good.  It's a cheese sauce made from cauliflower! Swann also loves it on her whole grain grits in the morning.  Check out this recipe...

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Cheesy Cauliflower Sauce

Source: Fat Free Vegan Kitchen (all of her recipes are great!)
Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 2 heaping cups small cauliflower florets
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon mellow white miso or soy-free chickpea miso or a little salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt to taste

Instructions

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the cauliflower, onion powder, garlic, paprika, mustard, and turmeric. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to very low. Simmer until the cauliflower is so tender that it easily comes apart when poked with a fork, about 15-20 minutes.

Carefully transfer the contents of the saucepan to a blender. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover and blend, starting on low and increasing the speed until you’re at the highest setting. (Be careful–hot foods can “erupt.”) Blend until you have a completely smooth sauce.

Pour the sauce back into the saucepan, add salt to taste if you like, and heat until it begins to bubble, stirring occasionally. Allow it to cook and thicken for at least another 2 minutes. Serve hot.

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Swann and I have a Take Control Now challenge for you, to help you implement what you learned on the blog.  Here's what we want you to do...

1.  Try the above cheesy cauliflower recipe.  What day will you make it?  Once you've made it, report back.  What did you think!?

2.  Share some encouragement with Swann.  Tell us what you learned from her story or any other insights from listening to our interview.

Click "comments" below to share your voice.

Love and Leafy Greens,

Trish

P.S. The audio and video quality of today's video is not the best.  But, we did the best with what we have.  And, the content is just that good that it's not worth passing up.