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real food

Meal Planning in 6 Bite-Sized Steps

By Jen

I feel your pain! Meal planning and prep can sound like a daunting process, and I used to believe that it was an overwhelming, all-or-nothing monster of a task. Not true, I assure you! And you don’t have to have it all figured out to start a weekly routine that works for you. Do you typically make a weekly meal plan?
Here I’m breaking down the process into six, manageable, bite-sized steps. This can help you map out your week more easily, in a way that works for you.

But first, some meal plan & prep mythbusting!

  • Nope, you don’t have to plan and prep every meal for the week. Focus on your weekly rough spots first – is it breakfast, lunch, or dinners? Or maybe tackle three days at a time. You do you.
  • Nope, just because you meal plan doesn’t mean you need to cook and prepare everything from scratch. Grab shortcut foods at the store as needed (rotisserie chicken, pre-chopped veggies, etc.). It’s okay to include dining out in your plan if that works for you. Planning when and where you dine out can often help you get more strategic about choosing places that help you better meet your health goals and your budget.

What do you think? Is it helpful to tackle this process one bite at a time? What works for you? Which steps in the planning and prep process are working for you, and which ones need tweaking?
Let’s do this!

Filed Under: Featured, Meal Prep/Meal Planning Tips, Real Food, Real Health Tagged With: healthy habits, meal plan, meal prep, real food

10 Real Food Snack Ideas

By Jen

hard-boiled egg and carrot sticks, roasted pumpkin seeds, and apple with coconut ginger cashew buter

Real food snacks are fueling, tasty, and satisfying! It’s hard to say that about most of the junk that’s sold as quick-grab snacks. Picture those impulse-buy snack options stacked by the register in just about every store. Yeah, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

You know that hangry moment when you’re stuck roaming the aisles of the gas station shop, and your main choices seem to be Doritos, Cheetos, and Jolly Ranchers? (I have to admit, though, the options do seem to be improving a little bit these last few years. So encouraging, right?!)

10 Satisfying, Real Food Snack Ideas

If you are trying to swap out highly processed snacks with real food snacks, here are a few ideas to get you started. Aim to include a combination of at least two macronutrients if possibile (i.e. protein & fat, or carb & fat, or protein & carb). Doing so typically leaves you more satisfied and energized.

  • nut butter and apple slices
  • roasted pumpkin seeds and dried fruit
  • single-serving pack guacamole and red pepper strips
  • hard-boiled egg and carrot sticks (That small container in the pic is salt and pepper. I keep that little container always filled in the cabinet, so I can just grab it quickly when packing this snack.)
  • pear slices and a sharp, flavorful cheese
  • single-serving pack of olives (I get mine at Trader Joe’s) and a clementine
  • hummus and veggies
  • peanut butter and celery sticks
  • roasted mixed nuts
  • cottage cheese and fruit

Snacking and “appetite awareness”

To be honest, I’m much less of a snacker since I focused my diet on real, whole foods, and, frankly – started eating MORE at mealtime, and making sure my meals almost always include protein, fat, and slow-digesting carbs. I feel more satiated by my meals, and don’t always need a snack to get me through to the next meal. It’s pretty convenient, actually! I used to be the queen of snacks, packing SO many snacks everywhere I went. Once I focused on feeling nourished instead of famished, I discovered that I had much less need for snacking. Nourished, not famished!

If you are feeling the need to snack constantly throughout the day, check in with yourself at mealtime for some “appetite awareness”.

Are you eating to satiety at mealtime?

Is it possible that you’re simply not eating enough to meet your needs at mealtime?

Or are you missing out on certain macronutrients (protein, fat, or carb?) in your meals, leaving you with that “always hungry” feeling?

That being said, there are days when we’re going to feel a bit hungrier than other days, and you might need a snack or two. And we all have those days when nothing goes according to plan – a delayed meeting, crazy traffic delays, a last-minute trip to the pediatrician’s office, and then lunch or dinner didn’t happen when you needed it to. It makes a world of difference to keep something stashed in your bag, to get you through until mealtime. By packing your own snack, you’ll guarantee that it will be real food that will fill you and fuel you.

I’m always looking for more real-food snack ideas . . . what do you like to pack?

Print Recipe
10 Real Food Snack Ideas
Course Snacks
Servings
Course Snacks
Servings

Filed Under: Featured, Recipes Tagged With: real food, snacks

Staying on track, even on the weekend

By Jen

Staying on track, without feeling deprived, and actually enjoying your food is entirely possible on the weekend, even if you’re hitting up a few parties. When it’s time to dine, scope out the party spread, and do your best to build a balanced, delicious plate:
✅protein
✅ fat
✅slow carbs

Eating some of each macronutrient at mealtime, and steering clear of fast-burning highly processed carbs will leave you feeling satiated. Satiety is the best buffer against gorging on desserts and other junk. If your main meal leaves you satisfied and fueled, you’re a lot more likely to be content with just *one* super-fudge-m&m-brownie instead of five. Or, you might end up not craving dessert at all!

As for how much to eat – well, everybody’s caloric needs are slightly different, so you do you! As long as you are routinely eating primarily minimally refined foods, in a balance of protein, fat, and slow carbs, your hunger and satiety cues are pretty darn reliable. Eating too many processed foods creates a lot of white noise, and can really mess with those cues.

And as for balancing your plate – what works for you might be slightly different than someone else’s needs. Play around with the protein/fat/carb ratio by building your plate different ways.  You’ll know you’ve hit your sweet spot when your meal leaves you feeling fueled and filled until the next mealtime, and your cravings are in check.

What helps you stay on track during the weekend?

 

 

Filed Under: Getting Started, Real Food, Real Health, Why Real Food works Tagged With: real food, weekend

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About Me:

Hi, I’m Jen, and welcome to Nourished Not Famished. Here you’ll find recipes, meal ideas, and wellness tips to thrive without deprivation, restriction, or calorie counting. Nourish yourself and your loved ones with the pleasures of eating real, whole foods, using familiar, easy-to-find ingredients and without spending endless hours in the kitchen.  Find out about more about me here.

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😆 Truth, right? Let's be real, grocery shopping 😆 Truth, right? Let's be real, grocery shopping isn't all that fun, but if you already have a clear plan in place *before* you shop, it feels a lot less overwhelming. And by "have a plan", I mean:
👉 Figure out *what* you (and your household?) are going to eat for meals in the coming days. Nope, it doesn't need to be perfect. 
(🎉I've broken that down for you into 6 bite-sized steps to help you get it done.🙂 Hit link in bio @nourished.not.famished to see it now on my blog!)
👉Then, make your shopping list based on your plan. 

I promise you . . . if you start with a plan before shopping, you will probably end up spending less, eating better, and reducing #foodwaste .
#winning 🙌🙌

❓So, what kind of grocery shopper are you? A planner? Just-wing-it? A little bit of both??

❓What's on your meal plan this week? 
❓How are you showing your Future Self (who *really* wants to make good choices) some love & support by planning ahead?

📷 photo by Suzanna Kreiter of The Boston Globe

#mealplan #mealprep #groceries #groceryshopping #adulting #simplenutrition #feedingmyfamily #ditchthediet #healthyhabits #healthymom #healthymoms 
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😍 Feelin' the #leftoverslove today! By Friday, 😍 Feelin' the #leftoverslove today! By Friday, who wants to think about actually cooking something, amirite?? 😩 
Making intentional leftovers whenever possible and/or batch cooking a few things is one of the BEST gifts you can give *your future self*. 

You know, that Future Self who had all sorts of intentions this week to eat delicious, nourishing, balanced meals that leave you feeling satisfied and energized? Yeah, that self. 😀 

I get it. You're probably a lot like I used to be.
👉 You have a good-enough sense of what you want to do/need to do.
👉 You often start out with a bang, but you quickly fizzle out. Life gets in the way. The changes you're making don't fit your life and your needs.
👉 You wonder if your problem is lack of willpower, that maybe you're just sucky at this "being healthy" stuff.

Yeah, I used to be that person who thought:
✴️ "I really should be eating more vegetables regularly, I mean I actually even like vegetables 🤷‍♀️."
✴️ "I know that I'm not regularly eating the amount of protein my body needs to thrive. I should do something about that."
✴️ "Ugh, why didn't I have any plan in place, anything at all! Now it's 6pm and WTF are we going to eat for dinner. I hate this feeling!"

I'm not that person anymore.
But that change didn't happen overnight, it didn't happen in a few weeks, it didn't happen in just a few short months.

And, no, everything's not perfect now. I don't always know what we're eating for dinner. I don't always have the most wonderful, prepped foods ready & waiting in the fridge. 

But I am prepared more often than not. And that's enough to make it work for me and my household. #youdoyou 

Instead of wishing for change then failing, I started taking tiny actions that, when done consistently, resulted in better choices most of the time. I worked on skillpower, not willpower.
Like:

👉 writing down a simple plan for at least some*of the meals for the week. 
👉 making intentional extras here and there
👉 batch cooking one or two items weekly, things we almost always eat (steel-cut oats, chicken, veggies- raw, roasted, quick-pickled, or in a soup)

❓How do you support your Future Self?
❓What's one thing you could try
West African inspired comfort food for dinner toni West African inspired comfort food for dinner tonight! 😍 This peanut-y, veggie-packed sweet potato stew was super quick to make, and totally satisfied. And the whole fam agreed that we should add it to the dinner recipe "bank". 🎉 It was fun to try something that was new-to-us, yet easy to make!

You can grab the recipe for this stew (known as "Mafe") over at @oldways_pt , along with plenty of other inspiring recipes & meal ideas centered on delicious, healthy, nourishing "old ways" of eating found in heritage-based diets and shared cultural food traditions from around the world. 

I added some spiced lamb meatballs to the stew, too. They're a good batch-cooking item, because we can use the extras in bowl meals or a soup or stew this weekend! 

✳️Here's my recipe for Spiced Lamb Meatballs✳️
I cooked in #instantpot but oven would work well too (at 375F or so)

Combine in a bowl:
👉 ground lamb
👉 diced onion (I used red, use what you've got.)
👉 minced garlic
👉 ground cumin
👉 ground coriander
👉 fresh parsley, chopped

Roll into small meatball size (I used a small 1.5 tbsp or so cookie/muffin scoop to portion out, and then rolled by hand).

Place trivet in Instant Pot. Pour in 1/2 cup water.

Place meatballs on trivet. Gently stack if necessary.

Close with lid, set to sealing, and cook at high pressure for 7 minutes. Wait for 2 minutes and then release remaining pressure using Quick Release method.

Would love to know if you try it, or if perhaps you're already a fan of this stew.🙂

#ilovefood #honoryourhunger #africanheritagerecipe #inspired #eeeats #whatsfordinner #feedingmyfamily #nutritiousisdelicious #simplenutrition #nourished #nourishednotfamished #omnivore #plantforward #veggies #slowcarbs
My "If-Then" plan saves dinner . . . again! 😀 W My "If-Then" plan saves dinner . . . again! 😀 What do you keep on hand in your fridge, freezer, and pantry that you know you can almost always throw together to get dinner on the table in a pinch? What's your back-pocket dinner that gets you through when you are one step from throwing the towel in and ordering takeout?

Tonight's back-pocket-dinner here is turkey meatballs, lentil pasta, marinara, and arugula salad. I also had some kale on hand that I washed and stored earlier in the week, so I shredded that and added it into the sauce. #moreveggies 😀

Your If-Then plans are your ready-to-go steps to take "if" life throws you a curveball (hello, like happens all the time, right?🤷‍♀️). 

✴️*If* a challenge gets in your way of following through on your healthy intentions, like:
-your meeting runs late
-your kids' practice wrapped up a half hour later than planned
-you don't have the foods on hand to make the dinner you planned on
-or maybe you're just plain ol' out of gas.

✳️*Then*, what is your backup plan that still helps you stay relatively on-target with your goals? 

I just about always have the pictured foods on hand, so I know I can easily throw together a tasty, nourishing meal without overthinking it and without a lot of fuss. 
👉frozen turkey meatballs
👉 marinara
👉 lentil pasta
👉 tub of greens
👉 frozen veggies (easy to add into the sauce!)
👉 olive oil and vinegar (or lemon) for a quick dressing

What's your If-Then back-pocket plan that works for you?

#simplenutrition #whatsfordinner #nutritiousisdelicious #healthymadeeasier #healthyhabits #shapethepath #tinyhabits #behaviorchange #nourished #nourishednotfamished #balancedplate #plantforward #omnivore #slowcarbs #ifthen
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