Fresh Focus #69: Be Successful in Meal Planning

In episode #69 VA Dietitians discuss different meal planning strategies to better “fuel for the future” which is the 2023 theme of National Nutrition Month®. For most people, hearing the word meal planning or meal prepping may elicit images of extra time cooking, pre-portioning the same meal into containers to be eaten throughout the week. And while that is one approach to meal planning that works great for some people, this episode explores different approaches to find a system that fits best into our lifestyles. 

What is Fresh Focus?

Fresh focus is a podcast delivering bites of nutrition information to veterans and their family between visits. Whether you are busy with a family, retired, or more isolated, you can stay connected for you. Dietitians from the Marion VA Health Care System will deliver evidenced based, consistent information to take on today's hot topics while promoting positive health outcomes.

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not endorse or officially sanction any entities that may be discussed in this podcast, nor any media, products or services they may provide.

Fresh Focus Podcast: NNM® Series 12, Episode #69
Host: Erin Gobeille, MS, RDN, Portland VA Health Care System
Title: Be Successful in Meal Planning

Welcome to the Fresh Focus Podcast; I'm Erin, a registered dietitian at the Portland VA Health Care System and your host for today's episode. This month is National Nutrition Month, so in today's episode, we are going to discuss different strategies and tips for meal planning, so you are able to better fuel for the future.

For most people hearing the word meal planning or meal prepping may elicit images of extra time cooking and pre-portioning the same meal into containers to be eaten throughout the week. And while that is one approach to meal planning that works great for some people, today we are going to explore different ways to approach meal planning to find a system that fits best into your lifestyle.

First, let's start with why we encourage meal planning. Taking the time to create a basic meal plan that works for you each week can
- save time, and by saving time throughout the week, you are creating more time for yourself and the other things you enjoy.
- It can save stress- you can rest easy knowing you have a meal plan and all the ingredients you need beforehand for the week ahead. Meal planning relieves decision fatigue and the stress of wondering what to cook for dinner at the last minute and reduces the time and energy wasted frantically searching through the pantry for a certain food.
- In addition to time and stress, meal planning can make it easier to stick to a food budget and save money
- AND it can help us meet our nutrition goals by using the healthy plate method as a guide for planning balanced meals. It also provides a better variety of meal choices, so the same foods aren't served too often

To get started with meal planning, it is important to select a planning day and choose a recurring shopping and prepping day. Once you have these days and times set in your schedule, we can start with the steps of meal planning.

Let's talk about the first step of meal planning: reviewing your schedule. Figure out when you will cook to determine the recipes and meals you need. Look at your schedule and determine
o when you'll have the time to cook
o when you'll have the energy to cook
o and how often you would like to cook. Whether you only have one day per week, or you have time every night, you can make a meal plan that fits

Once you determine what works for you, find a few openings in your schedule, block off those times, and make an appointment with yourself to cook. If it's scheduled, you're more likely to get it done!

A quick tip for this step is to start small! Schedule one recipe your first week and try two recipes the week after that. Increasing the number of recipes each week until you find a balance that fits your lifestyle.

Now that we know the times we are going to cook and block those off, we can move to Step 2: choosing our recipes.
• A quick tip here: Plan your evening meal first. Most of us stick to the same thing for breakfast and lunch, so it's okay to put these on autopilot until you get used to meal planning.

Make a list of recipes that you can use in your meal plan based on a variety of factors, so things to consider when choosing recipes might be:
o Time and Style
 Quick weeknight dinners
 Slow cooker Recipes
 Things that work well as Leftovers so you can cook once and eat all week
 One pot meals
• Consider Sales and Seasonality:
 See what's on sale or in season to maximize your grocery budget
 Match sale items to meals your family likes, and look for recipes that work well with that
• Consider the healthy plate model for a balanced plate, so thinking about
 What is your protein
 What is your starch/grain
 What are your non-starchy vegetables
 What would you add as a healthy fat, fruit, and beverage? If you want more information on using the healthy plate model for building meals, go back to series 1, episode 1, for more information.
• Consider other food preferences:
 Do you want to buy Frozen, canned or fresh, consider how that reduces prep time and what you dislike or like about foods.

Also, consider recipes that use the ingredients you already have on hand. Look in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer for ingredients you have. Plan to use these first while they're still fresh. Try some of these ideas:
 Use leftovers for lunch or for some dinners.
 Add leftover vegetables to pasta sauce, salads, omelets, or pizza.
 Use leftover meat in sandwiches, quesadillas, or scrambled eggs.
 Blend ripe fruit, yogurt, fruit juice, and milk to make a smoothie. All great ways to use up what you have.

One of my favorite meal planning tips when choosing recipes is to create a "Master Meal List" or "Recipe All-Star List," whatever you would like to call it. This is a curated list of recipes that you know and love. The more you meal plan, the more "recipe all-stars" you'll discover. These are recipes that you always look forward to eating, are easy to prepare, and are a good fit for your budget and lifestyle. Keep a running list of these go-to recipes. Once you have 10-15 favorite recipes, meal planning becomes a quick plug-and-play task that only takes minutes.
This can also reduce the overwhelming of selecting recipes from infinite options on the internet, cookbooks, etc every week.

This is also a good step to discuss tips for meal planning for a family, which adds another set of challenges. First, consider your family's meal habits (quick breakfast, lunch, etc.)

Next, get input from other members of the household. Poll your family to decide what foods should make a regular appearance on the menu or requests for new and different meals/snacks. Have family members contribute to that "Master Meal List" or "Recipe All-Star List." It may be helpful to put the recipes into categories such as protein food, dishes from other countries, freezer meals, or no-cook meals to simplify planning:
Alright, moving on to our next step- Now that you have a list of recipes that you'd like to make, plug them into your schedule in the times you've dedicated to cooking. Some tips when we are plugging in recipes:
Think about using a menu template. You can start with a one- or two-week menu and rotate weeks. You could even do this monthly and cycle through the monthly plan, and you can save more time in the future by reusing previous menus.
Another quick tip: If cooking every night fits your lifestyle, creating themes for each night of the week can help make sure there is variety in your menu. Once you have your themes, just take recipes from your favorites list and plug them into the appropriate night. A sample week of themes may look like:
o Meatless Monday
o Taco Tuesday
o Take Out Remake
o Pasta Night
o Pizza Friday
o Around the World (global flavors)
o Slow Cooker Sunday

Once you have your list of recipes for the week, write the list of ingredients needed and take that list to your kitchen to cross-check it with what's in your pantry and fridge. Go through item by item and cross off everything you already have on hand. This is one of the most important steps! This is a list you will take to the grocery store. Listen to the eating on a budget episode for additional grocery shopping tips!
Once you are stocked with groceries, it's time to cook! Choose what to cook on a meal prep day vs. what to cook the day of. Even doing some tasks on a meal prep day, such as cutting veggies or cooking more time-consuming ingredients, can help save time throughout the week. When deciding what can be prepared ahead of time, it is important to remember that some foods do not maintain the same quality for a week at a time after they are cooked, for example, pasta. Some foods that are best to pre-cook to save you time later in the week could include:

o BeansGrains (rice, quinoa, steel-cut oats)
o Proteins (chicken, ground meat, hard boiling eggs)
o Baking bread, muffins, pancakes
o Soups, stews, curries
o Chopping vegetables

• Quick Tip: if you're eating it fresh, you may consider chopping it on your meal prep day so it's ready to grab and go instead of needing to do the chopping the day of.

Remember when cooking to plan for leftovers. Make a double batch of a recipe and freeze part for another day. Or prepare some ingredients for a future meal, such as chopping extra vegetables, browning ground beef, or grating extra cheese.

All that is left is to eat and enjoy. Save extra portions for leftovers to freeze and eat for lunch or future dinners. When it comes to storing food and leftovers, store large amounts of leftovers in several small, shallow containers to cool faster. Refrigerate promptly – even if leftovers are still warm – to reduce your risk of food poisoning.. Cooling foods keeps them out of the "danger zone" — between 40°F and 140°F — and slows the growth of illness-causing bacteria. Never thaw or marinate foods on the counter. Also, toss expired foods. To help limit food waste, carefully date leftovers and keep them at the front of the refrigerator where you can see them and use them right away. It is recommended to use prepared foods w/in 3-4 days of prep and discard all leftovers after four days.

Starting to implement a meal planning process can feel overwhelming. We have provided a variety of strategies and tips for meal planning in today's episode, and it may take some trial and error to discover a unique system that works best for you. If you have any questions, want additional support with meal planning, or need personal recommendations, feel free to contact your local VA dietitian! Thank you for listening to Fresh Focus; please like and subscribe to this podcast, rate the series, and leave a review!