Enjoy this guest post from Big Sky New Britain Master Trainer Maggie Nelson. Maggie has her bachelor’s degree in Sports Management, as well as her NASM CPT and Precision Nutrition Certification. She is passionate about teaching people to live a happy, healthy, and balanced life.
We know there’s so much nutrition information out there that it can be confusing and frustrating just trying to understand it all. Trying to figure out how to cook, meal prep and be healthy, not to mention the dozens of fad diets flooding the internet and complicating things. . . But we also know that SIMPLE is the way to go. Your diet doesn’t need a name and it doesn’t have to be complex. When you’ve spent an hour at Big Sky swinging kettlebells or sweating it out in Bodypump, the last thing you need is a complicated dinner plan. Today we’re going to focus on meals made simple.
Let’s conquer the mystifying world of nutrition with a few easy steps to make mealtime less stressful and more delicious!
Grocery shop with a plan.
Research some recipes – short ingredient lists are your friend! Check out the Big Sky Blog for ideas! Here are a few of our favorites:
https://bigskyfitness.com/easy-fish-taco-rice-bowls/
https://bigskyfitness.com/ground-turkey-sweet-potato-skillet/
https://bigskyfitness.com/quick-and-easy-panko-crusted-salmon/
Cook more than 1 serving at a time. If you’re already in the kitchen making meatballs and pasta, why not cook enough for tonight, tomorrow night, and a lunch in between? It saves you time in the kitchen and prevents you from having to eat lunch out at least one day a week – maybe more!
Cook once, Eat Twice! Things like baked chicken and taco meat are so versatile you can create new meals using the same protein – think chicken tacos, a taco salad, or spaghetti squash with the meat on top.
Keep meals simple. A protein, a vegetable, a starch and a healthy fat make up a very well-rounded meal. As long as you’ve got those – you’re all set! Decide on 1-2 different types of protein, 2 different vegetables, 2 different starches (pasta, potatoes, rice…) and 2 -3 versatile sauces (marinara, salsa, barbecue…). Keeping a couple bags of frozen veggies and rice in your freezer means you can create a quick meal in no time.
Some is better than none! If you feel like all of this is still a little overwhelming, baby steps are the way to go. Try one of these to get started:
1. Chop all your veggies and store them in reusable containers. Use them to cook quickly as needed, or add to a bowl for a quick salad.
2. Buy a rotisserie chicken and store the meat in a container for salads or sandwiches.
3. Buy a cookbook and find new recipes that make you excited to cook.
