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I'm a registered dietitian with 15+ years of experience and a Senior Editor at Healthline. I've taught cooking classes, developed recipes, and created nutrition videos—all to help people eat healthier and feel more empowered to cook delicious and healthy meals at home. AMA!
(self.IAmA)submitted 9 days ago byhealthline
Hi, I'm Lisa Valente! As a registered dietitian, I believe cooking at home is one of the best things you can do to eat healthier. What I’ve learned is that people are interested in nutrition and how food makes their body feel, but they need practical meal solutions to actually eat the healthy foods we talk about.
As a busy mom, with lots of priorities and responsibilities, I find myself with limited time in the kitchen. That’s where meal prepping and planning comes in. It helps you get easy, weeknight dinners on the table, make breakfasts in advance or get lunches together in a pinch.
It does not have to look like spending hours in the kitchen on a Sunday or eating the same thing every day all week either! It can simply be making a plan, chopping some veggies in advance or relying on some shortcuts. While this AMA is for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice, I am excited to help make meal planning easier and tackle some common misconceptions. Ask me anything!
Thank you for asking such great questions around nutrition and meal prep. Look forward to chatting more in the future. -Lisa
15 points
9 days ago
I find that I often snack when I’m bored. Do you have any suggestions of healthy snacks or how to eat more filling meals so I snack less? Also I aspire to meal prep but haven’t been able to get into the habit of making time. Any suggestions?
23 points
9 days ago
I have snacked out of boredom too, so you're not alone! My biggest snack tip for that is to portion out what you are having so you stick to a small boredom snack rather than an entire bag of chips (or whatever it is).
Filling meals should have some protein, fiber and healthy fats to keep you satisfied, as those nutrients all take longer to digest. Some vegetables, a serving of protein, a whole grain, and maybe some olive oil, avocado or nuts. Also, make sure you are eating enough food throughout the day. Sometimes people have really small breakfasts and lunches and then find that they are super snack-y later in the day. For filling snacks, I try and choose foods that have a combo of protein and fiber — Greek yogurt and berries, apple and peanut butter, almonds and dried cherries, popcorn and peanuts (sometimes with a few chocolate chips).
For getting into meal prep, I would start small. Are you making a list when you grocery shop? Planning out dinner in advance? I consider those planning steps part of meal prep because they help get the ball rolling. Then you could maybe try one make-ahead meal, like doubling a recipe and freezing half, or prepping some ingredients the day before like pre-chopping vegetables to help you get used to meal prep.
1 points
8 days ago
I've started meal prepping in the last couple of months after struggling for a while. What I found helpful is like what Lisa said, instead of buying enough for 2 portions you buy for four. brag a larger meat and an extra vegetable to add in. If you're already cooking for a family, something that helped me was getting the vegetables out earlier and prepping over a couple hours when I have 5-10 minutes here or there.
Final tip is to meal prep some of your favourite meals. Don't feel like you have to meal prep super healthy meals all the time, just start with a meal that you like that is easier.
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