Tips for easy meal prep
This week I'd just like to share a handout from a recent event that I held — with tips for easy meal prep, and some recipes. The menu was burgers, sweet potato fries, salad, and ice cream, of course all from healthy ingredients and easy to make! I hope you find these useful 😊
First, a few quick meal prep tips:
1 - Plan your meals in advance
2 - At the weekends, cook large quantities and freeze into individual portion sizes
3 - You can prep some healthy foods beforehand, for example you can
- grill vegetables in the oven
- buy pre-cut frozen veggies
- cook lentils
- make easy hard boiled eggs, just put your eggs in a muffin tin and bake at 325F for 30 min
4 - You can prep your breakfast the night, for example make a sandwich or overnights oats
5 - Buy some storage containers
6 - Freeze pre-portioned packets of chicken, vegetables, pesto, bone broth, or lemon juice with mixed herbs such as basil, oregano, parsley
7 - Cut onions or garlic then freeze them
Recipes
Almond buns
- 2 cups (160g) of almond flour
- 220g of egg whites (about 7 eggs whites)
- 50g of psyllium husk
- 30g of white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 400ml boiling hot water
- Bake at 350F for about 40 min
Oven baked purple sweet potato fries
- 8-10 Purple sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced in fries shape
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch (potato or corn starch)
- Salt
- Paprika
- Mix well then bake in oven at 425F for about 25 min
Burgers
- 1 pound Molokai ground beef
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp psyllium husks or oatmeal flour
- Salt and pepper
- Coriander
- Thyme
- If you like you can add fresh parsley or onions too
Avocado ice-cream
- 300g organic frozen strawberries (or your choice of fruit)
- 1 avocado
- Honey or other sweetener, for taste
- Use a blender on high power, then freeze
Benefits of Psyllium Husk
Psyllium is the common word used to refer to fibers taken from the plant known as Plantago ovata, which grows around the world but is most common in India. Psyllium husk powder is an edible soluble fiber and prebiotic.
Prebiotics are non-digestible compounds that nourish intestinal bacteria and help them grow.
Psyllium husk is often referred to as a bulking fiber, because once it is ingested it expands, forming a gel-like mass by drawing water in from the colon. It then promotes easy, healthy elimination by sweeping waste out of the colon more quickly and efficiently.
It can help especially with type 2 diabetes, weight loss, constipation, colon cleansing, and improving digestion, especially of fat, and cholesterol.
Avocados
Avocados come in hundreds of different varieties, and are actually a fruit! The avocado tree is a member of the flowering plant family Lauraceae. They have a rich creamy flavor that comes from their high-fat content.
Avocados have good healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytosterols. Consuming them regularly can help reduce the risk of heart disease, improve digestion and liver function, and help you to lose weight. It can also help keep the eyes healthy, and they are rich in lutein content, which helps with skin health, especially for wrinkles.
Lutein is a type of carotenoid that is commonly found for example in green, leafy vegetables, and can have a wide range of effects on your overall health. It is a xanthophyll, and is often linked to the health and function of the eye.
Avocados are considered a “superfood”. They are also a good source of (healthy) monounsaturated fatty acids. One medium avocado can have around 20g of mostly monounsaturated fats (with a little amount of polyunsaturated fat) and is very low in fructose.
According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, avocados contain minerals including calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese, phosphorus and zinc. They also have high levels of vitamins A, K, C, E, B6, thiamin, riboflavin, and B3.
Polyunsaturated fats are essential. This means that they are necessary for your body to function, but the body can’t make them itself. Your body uses these fats to build cell membranes and the covering of nerves, and they are also needed for blood clotting and muscle movement.
Monounsaturated fats are similar to the fats found in olive oil which can help reduce inflammation as well.
One cup of avocado also provides 10g of fiber, particularly insoluble fiber (see description below).
Some of the benefits of eating avocados include:
- Heart health
- Improved digestion
- Promoting weight loss
- Skin and hair care
- Helping osteoporosis treatment — substances called saponins, found in avocados, soy and some other plant foods, are for example associated with reduced symptoms in knee osteoarthritis
- Liver care
- Regulating blood glucose levels
- Improving cognitive function
Actually, avocado seeds are also highly beneficial. Researchers have found that avocado seed husks contain a variety of chemical compounds that could help to kill viruses, and prevent or reverse heart diseases and even cancer.
Fiber
Fiber is found in the cell walls of plants, where it provides structure and functions as a sort of skeleton. It is not digestible by humans, so it doesn’t provide nutrients or calories. But it is nonetheless critical to your health.
There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Each performs a different job in your body.
Soluble fiber helps lower blood glucose levels and cholesterol, and is found in foods such as oatmeal, beans, and legumes, as well as in some fruits and vegetables.
Insoluble fiber acts like a broom, cleaning out your digestive tract, and is found in foods such as whole grains, kidney beans, bran, and fruits and vegetables.
Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes
The color comes from anthocyanins, which can also be found in raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, eggplants, concord grapes and other fruits and vegetables.
Anthocyanins are a type of flavonoid which can have antioxidant effects, and can reduces the risk of health disease, improve cholesterol, obesity, boost cognitive function by slowing age-related degeneration of brain function and memory, and improve immune function.
Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin A, vitamin C and manganese. They are also a good source of copper, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and iron. Sweet potatoes are known to improve blood sugar regulation, and also have significant antibacterial and antifungal properties.
Resources
1 - https://examine.com/supplements/psyllium/
2 - https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318707.php
3 - https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/health-benefits-of-avocado.html