Have you ever made the mistake of grocery shopping on an empty stomach, only to succumb to defeat, become overwhelmed, and return home with cake batter and lightbulbs? Busy schedules can present a challenge when it comes to eating healthy. However, meal planning empowers us to make informed decisions at the grocery store. In addition, meal prep leads to portion control, contributing to a more nutritionally balanced diet. Cooking can also help lower stress levels and, of course, help hone your chef skills.
Healthy meal planning is beneficial when maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet. Planning and preparing meals in advance has been linked to numerous health benefits, ranging from weight loss to reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. It is crucial to determine one’s calorie requirements, which vary depending on an individual’s age, sex, and activity level. Once you calibrate your daily calorie intake, you can decide on the macronutrient composition of your meals. Nutrition professionals say a balanced diet should contain vegetables, whole grains, proteins, and minimal fat.
Studies have shown that diets high in fat and sugar can rewire the brain to desire more high sugar fat-rich foods. The same is true for healthy, nutrient-dense foods. With a bit of time and patience, we can subtly train ourselves to prefer better food.
We ventured to Built Without Guilt on Chandler street to further explore the importance of healthy meal planning, the benefits, and the steps involved in creating a healthy meal plan. The Plate Method is an easy way to build a balanced meal, and meal prep can save you time and money while increasing your nutritional awareness. Following the Plate Method is simple: Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, a quarter with lean protein, and the remainder with starchy vegetables or fruit. Added benefits include eliminating the need for frequent trips to the grocery store by buying healthy foods in bulk and cutting down the time required to cook meals every day.
Shana Maldonado at Built without Guilt shared one of her Plate Method meal-planning recipes: Butter Meat Co. chuck roast, rosemary, roasted beets, carrot & parsnip with balsamic & fig roasted brussels sprouts: 430 Calories per serving.
Shana rubs the chuck in a blend of garlic, ginger, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, ginger, and black pepper before searing it on each side. She recommends using a cast iron skillet and cooking oil with a high smoke point (no E.V.O.O.)
She then uses brewed Lions Mane Coffee, maple syrup, and balsamic to dress it up before roasting it in a pressure cooker. No pressure cooker? No worries. You can roast in the oven at 325 for 1:15. While the protein cooks, she peels and cubes a mixture of root vegetables. She tosses roasted brussels sprouts, beets, carrots, and parsnips, in a balsamic fig glaze with rosemary.
Recipe Steps
Peel and cube root vegetables. (one of each large parsnip, carrot, and beet)
Season meat and gently sear on each side
Chop or quarter brussels sprouts and then roast.
Roll those vegetables around in a large enough bowl with some fig balsamic glaze.
Baste seared meat in a coffee maple syrup blend and set it in a pressure cooker or an oven at 325 for one hour and fifteen minutes.
Package meals individually or package ingredients separately to mix and match throughout the week. For example, swap out starchy vegetables with fresh fruit or healthy grains. We love food but hate waste. So while preparing meals, Shana combats food waste by composting. Chefs work together to collect vegetable scraps and local restaurant waste, including mycelium substrate (from flat 12) mixed with other food waste: which helps the nitrogen and carbon balance -yielding great soil. These materials go into bioreactors: 8ft diameter by 10ft tall bins sitting on pallets in Shana’s backyard.
The hope is to generate C.S.N.: community-shared nutrition. Similar to C.S.A. community shared agriculture. They look forward to a harvest of sustainable produce. It is easy to become overwhelmed by life, but taking control of your body’s fuel is empowering, and from what we have learned- it can lead to better habits. We’d love to know about your favorite meal-planning recipes and the healthy food choices that empower you.
About the Chef: Shana cooks every meal to nurture her mind, body, and spirit. She seeks to inspire people to view food as a source of nourishment and clean fuel for bodies on healthy eating journeys. She embraces her love for cooking with creativity and passion and considers herself a whole foods activist. Shana has gained knowledge and an affinity for healthy ingredients that happen to be delicious. She has sharpened her cooking and recipe-building techniques to create masterful meals tailored to all different lifestyles, such as the paleo, keto, or macro-based diets. Find yourself living an A.I.P., gluten-, soy-, and lectin-restrictive diet? No worries! Her experience balancing flavor and healthy eating highlights the best of each world. Shana eats what she cooks and cooks what she likes to eat. Built Without Guilt was born from this organic relationship, offering daily meal plans for food lovers and personalized diets.
This series is sponsored by Project Best Life. Buffalo Rising and Project Best Life have teamed up to produce a series on wellness inspiration and advice to direct readers to the people, places, and experiences in Buffalo and beyond that will help them fulfill their health, nutrition, and wellness goals. For more information on how you can live your best life, subscribe to the Project Best Life newsletter.
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In tough times, our efforts to maintain fitness, healthy nutrition, and personal wellness can fall by the wayside as we direct all our energy into navigating our individual storm. Yet, in the face of what’s happening in the world around us, it is essential to make space for self-care and experiences that fortify our physical and mental wellbeing.
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