These days with so many people working hard just to get through their insanely busy workdays, and perhaps also shuttling kids to and fro, the idea of making meals to put on the table each night can seem completely overwhelming. Who has the time or the inclination to spend time in the kitchen to prepare a ‘balanced meal’ after an insanely busy day? Sure as heck not me! The purpose of this post is to give you insight into a few accessible skills and strategies that will hopefully lessen those overwhelming feelings and help you to know that you are fueling yourself and your family in ways that are economical, efficient, and add value to your lives. While these skills and strategies are listed separately, they do all work together.
A disclaimer about “healthy”. I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ food. When I talk about “healthy eating” in my posts I am referring to an umbrella for healthy relationships with food, eating in ways that bring us joy, add value to our bodies with nutrients, and fuel our activities. Food is not only fuel; it is about connection and enjoyment. “Healthy” is not limited to chicken breasts and organic produce. It is not about restricting or dieting. Do I want everyone to eat lots of meals that are chock full of nutrients? Of course! But I also want people to know that there is room for all foods in our lives.
Additionally, there are social determinants of health that influence what we eat. Economic stability, education access and equality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, social and community content all influence what we are able to put on our tables. It is not the purpose of this particular post to delve deeply into these, but suffice it to say that what we do or don’t put on our tables is not to be judged by anyone and can be largely out of our control. People do what they can with the circumstances and the tools they have. Always remember, fed is best.
If you do want to read more about social determinants of health, I suggest the fabulous book by Shana Minei Spence, Live Nourished: Make Peace with Food, Banish Body Shame, and Reclaim Joy (2024).
I understand that I come from a place of privilege as an employed white woman with a home, transportation and access to several grocery stores in my neighborhood. I do not want this post to be construed as a list of “shoulds”. Whether you can or cannot adopt them is determined by many factors outside of your control. These are suggestions that, if you are able to adopt one or two of them, do tend to take the stress out of weekly meal preparation in your busy lives and attempt to add nutritional value to your meals.
1. Embrace Batch Cooking and Meal Planning
*Batch cooking is essentially ‘paying it forward’ for the busy week ahead. Cooking multiple meals at once, while a bit time consuming at the time, actually saves hours in the kitchen and takes the stress out of the daily after-work “what the hell are we going to have for dinner?” dilemma. It helps to ensure that there are ready-to-go meals that satisfy your hunger nutritional needs.
*As a general guideline, 2-3 hours devoted to batch cooking can help you to prepare a couple of soups and/or casseroles as well as some extra protein and chopped vegetables that you can use for quick one-pan meals like skillets.
*The trickiest part pertaining to batch cooking is not typically in the actual cooking - it is in the planning of the meals so that you have the tools and ingredients ready in advance. I like to make my list and shop on a Saturday and cook on a Sunday, maybe that is a Tuesday and Wednesday for you.
*You don’t typically need any fancy tools for batch cooking - a couple of pots, a large pan/skillet and a tray for cooking protein or roasting veg are handy to have on hand. If you are fortunate enough to have a slow-cooker, you can add an extra meal to your week as it does all of the work for you while you prep your other batch meals.
*Having a collection of various sized storage containers (freezer friendly) is also important when batch cooking so that you can divvy up all the food so that you can grab and go, or grab and reheat after a long day.
*CRANK THE TUNES! I don’t know about you, but there is ALWAYS a dance party in my kitchen when I am batch cooking. In my opinion, music makes everything better.
*One of my favorite batch cooking recipes is “Pumpkin Hamburger Soup”, filled with protein, flavour, and tons of veggies. It’s a family favourite and I have included the recipe for you. I typically double the recipe below and it lasts my family of 5 several meals (plus a couple of breakfasts for me - I love a good soup in the morning!).
2. Create a ‘Go To’ menu
Another way to help cultivate a “healthy”, efficient food environment is to create a ‘Go To’ menu of personal and family favourites (taking into account tastes, budget, nutrients and ease of prep). These recipes would be ones that for you are tried and true, easy to prepare, and ones you (and your family) like to eat regularly.
Such a menu can be really helpful for planning your grocery list for the week, deciding what to batch cook and adding variety into your diet. This can help to make a more relaxed, less chaotic experience with food. Whether you create your menu online with links to favorite recipes and sites, or kick-it ‘old school’ with tabbed recipes in a binder, the goal is to find a way that works best for you and your lifestyle.
3. Celebrate CONVENIENCE foods!
Not all pre-packaged food isl full of ‘garbage’ ingredients, contrary to much of what you might hear. While I am not suggesting you eat a bag of chips for supper every night (although there is NOTHING inherently bad about eating chips!) , there are MANY convenience foods that can add nutritional value and efficiency to your meal planning and batch cooking. They are CONVENIENT in the best possible way for folks with busy lives! A few examples…
*Canned beans, chickpeas and lentils are relatively cost-friendly and add an extra hit of fibre and protein to your meals. Who has time to pre-soak dried ones? Not me, most of the time! If you're reading this post about how to make meals more efficiently, it’s likely not you either! If you DO have time, go for it, as dried beans and lentils can be very cost effective, but if you want to add some nutrients quickly? Cans it is!
*Pre- Bagged lettuces and salads are a great way to add extra veg and vitamins to your meals. Frozen fruits and frozen vegetables tend to be much more cost effective than fresh and they contain all of the nutrients of fresh ingredients because they are frozen fresh!
*Rotisserie chickens are a great, convenient way to add protein to your meal if you are pressed for time!
So… when you are creating a Go To menu and meal planning what you’d like to batch cook for the week ahead, go ahead and add some convenience foods!
As mentioned above, this Pumpkin Hamburger soup (recipe adapted from itsallaboutaip.com) is a relatively quick, one-pot meal that is a regular in my batch-cooking rotation. I have a family of 5, so I typically double the recipe. As an extra bonus, it is made on the stovetop, so my oven is freed up for a casserole, or a sheet of roasted root vegetables to add to the batch cooking! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Pumpkin Hamburger Soup
Ingredients
1 TBSP avocado or coconut oil
½ red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1lb ground beef
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 zucchini, chopped
6 cups beef broth (or beef bone broth)
1 TBSP onion powder
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP dried thyme
Salt, to taste
1 large can of pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
4 cups chopped kale (optional depending on your relationship with kale 😂)
¼ c green onions for garnish
Directions
1. In a large pot, heat the oil over med/high heat. Cook the onion and garlic for a few minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the ground beef and brown, breaking up with a wooden spoon.
2. Add in the other vegetables, MINUS the kale, green onion and pumpkin. Saute for about 5 min.
3. Add the broth and bring to a boil then turn down to med lo and stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and salt.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes then add in the pumpkin puree and kale (if you are using kale). Simmer another 5-10 minutes
5. Serve and garnish with green onion, if desired
6. Soup keeps for about 4 days in the fridge and about 3 months in the freezer.
ENJOY!!!
If you are interested in learning more about any of the strategies outlined in this post, or additional foundational nutrition habits, skills and strategies, reach out to me anytime at stephanie@punchiit.ca I look forward to hearing from you!
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