Healthy Recipes and Food-Prepping Tips

WITH ANALICIA MIRELES

Dietitian at Methodist Hospital | Metropolitan

BENEFITS OF MEAL-PREPPING

• Eating more meals at home allows you to control of what is in your food (ex: less fat, less sugar). • It is cost-effective due to not eating out as much.

• You’ll be less tempted to grab an unhealthy meal if you already have food ready to eat. • You can feel a sense of stress relief and accomplishment for practicing healthier living. TIPS FOR MEAL-PREPPING

• Make a plan – planning for the week helps you decide on which foods to buy at the grocery store. • Keep staple items in the house that you use frequently in your meals. • Schedule time to plan and prepare your meals. • Use appliances you have to cook multiple items at once to save time (Ex: Instant Pot, slow cooker, rice cooker, air fryer). • Portion foods out using food scales and measuring cups or spoons. • Batch cook recipes – double the recipe so you can eat one after cooking it and freeze the rest.

• Use convenient products when you can like pre-cut vegetables, or frozen fruits and vegetables. • Prepare the part of the recipe that takes the most time on your meal prep day, and then on the day you plan on serving the meal, finish up the recipe. For example, you could make a homemade marinara sauce on your meal prep day, and then on the day you plan on eating the marinara sauce, boil up the whole wheat noodles. Meal prepping does not always mean cooking the food entirely; you can cook part of the recipe to titer down your overall cooking time. • Collect recipes that you like and keep them together, so you have ideas for future meals.

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT

• Mason jars with reusable lids • Glass containers with air-tight lids that have sections or compartments to separate foods • Freezer Ziploc bags • Tape and a permanent marker for labeling your prepared meals and the date you prepared them

“The baked apple overnight oats and class turkey chili recipes are two recipes that can be easily prepped for the week! Fun fact, the chia seeds in the baked apple overnight oats recipe provide dietary fiber, heart-healthy fats, and plant-based protein.” Analicia Mireles, Dietician,

Methodist Hospital | Metropolitan

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup rolled oats 1 tablespoon chia seeds 1 tablespoon almond butter (optional) ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt ½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or oat milk

Optional 1-2 tsp maple syrup ¼ – ½ cup diced baked apples

INSTRUCTIONS

Place oats, chia seeds, almond butter, yogurt, and milk in a mason jar and stir well (I like using a butter knife for stirring). If using maple syrup, stir into oats mixture. Option to layer, stir-in, or just top oats with baked apples. Place in fridge for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight. Enjoy in the morning!