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Easy Meal Plans for Busy Families

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How to Eat Healthfully Every Week.

by Stephanie

How to Eat Healthfully Every Week.

I’m not sure about you, but I get a weird vibe from many people about eating healthfully. 

Like it’s not a normal thing to do. Or it’s not a cool thing to do. 

But why can’t eating healthfully be cool?

Some people just don’t know how to do it, and I get that. 

That’s why I’m here! 

I want to teach as many people as I can that it’s ok to want to eat healthfully every week. Day in and day out.

Guess what? It doesn’t have to be a three-day torturous cleanse or eating boring salads for every meal (although I do like the idea of eating greens with most meals!), or super expensive.

Eating healthfully also doesn’t have to be bland or tasteless.

There are two major things we have to do first though to get the ball rolling.

First, We need to change our mindset.

Don’t think of eating healthfully as “I have to eat well every week, day in and day out or else!!”

I don’t know about you, but every time I tell myself I have to do something I run the other way (work expenses anyone?).

Instead keep saying this to yourself: “I eat well every week, day in and day out.”

You can also try thinking of your body as a machine that needs proper fuel so that it can keep running smoothly.

  • A car needs the right fuel to run or it will break down.
  • Olympians need to fuel their bodies properly or they won’t be able to perform properly.
  • Regular ‘ol people like us need the proper fuel to keep our energy up, our blood sugar balanced and hormones even on a daily basis.

Media messages are so confusing these days which makes us more confused about what type of fuel is best for our bodies. 

Every day there’s a new study, or stat, or cousin telling you something that you should or shouldn’t be eating (yes I’ve been guilty of that!).

But every body is different.

This is where mindfulness comes in. Take a step (or 10 steps) away from Facebook and Instagram chatter to listen to your body and what it’s trying to tell you.

I bet you know what kind of “fuel” makes you feel great and what doesn’t. But sometimes we aren’t listening very closely. Or we ignore it.

For me beer makes me feel bloated and caffeinated coffee makes me anxious. I feel those things almost instantly.

Next time you eat, breathe, stop and listen. What is my body saying to me right now? Does what I’m eating make me feel great inside or gross?

‘But what about the food?’  you ask. ‘How do I maintain momentum every week?’

I’m getting to that part!

You have to make meal planning a weekly habit.

Read that again.

Make meal planning a weekly habit.

Planning our meals every week will help us to stick to our goals of eating well every week. So many people have told me that if they don’t plan their meals, they won’t eat well that week.

Of course! If you don’t have anything planned you’re more likely to order a pizza, which is fine once in a while of course, but we want to get into the regular habit of planning healthful meals that will fuel our bodies for the entire day, every day and every week.

That is where real change happens. When we make it a regular habit.

We do that by meal planning with real food:

  • vegetables
  • fruits 
  • lentils, legumes, whole grains
  • A tiny bit of fish, meat, and poultry if you eat it

Start with those foods and see how that works for you.

Now there’s a trap that many people fall into when it comes to eating healthfully (it’s a sneaky trap!).

The trap is that little voice in your head that says: “Oh I was so ‘good’ today I deserve to have crappy food for the rest of the week! Then I’ll start again next Monday.”

Don’t fall for it!

Do you know what you deserve? You deserve to treat your body with respect by eating nutritious food day in and day out. That’s what you deserve.

Once you make meal planning a priority and habit for a while that dumb voice in your head will disappear. Believe me! I used to fall into that trap too all. the. time.

Now I’m not saying that you can’t treat yourself to dinner at a restaurant, and wine, and ‘junk’ food. 

There’s a place for it all.

I just want you to get into the habit of planning healthful meals regularly every day so that those treats are valued in a different way and they won’t make you fall into a trap that makes you want to give up and ‘start again on Monday.’

Once we change our mindset, create a habit of meal planning, and stick to it you’ll start to feel the change I promise you.

You’ll start to view eating healthfully on a regular basis as a normal (and cool — I hope!) thing to do.

—-

If you need extra help, that’s where my meal plans come in. They’re done-for-you plans full of nutritious recipes, a calendar, and a full grocery list. These plans will help you kick-start your habit so you can eat healthfully every day for the long term.

Just start with one week and see what happens. Then you can get another week and keep moving on from there.


Follow me on Instagram to get more inspiration!

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Follow me on Instagram • @lealoulemonade

On Mother’s Day weekend, we hosted my family for On Mother’s Day weekend, we hosted my family for brunch. I bought a few quiches to eat for brunch mixed with bacon, croissants, and fruit.⁠
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No need to make everything from scratch friends!⁠
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According to the quiche reheat instructions, the internal temperature was to be 165° so after I baked it for about 18 minutes I checked the temp with my digital meat thermometre.⁠
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My mom’s husband looked over at me and said to her: “Look honey, she uses a thermometre too!” My mom laughed and said that her husband uses one for everything and uses a timer for all of his cooking.⁠
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When we were growing up my mom simply smelled and looked at the food to tell if it was done. ⁠
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“Mom, how do you know the turkey’s done?"⁠
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“Oh, I just know.”⁠
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My mom would smell it first in the kitchen and then she would peek at the food in the oven and decide it was done by how it looked.⁠
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It’s interesting how those experiences help us to establish what we do in our own kitchens when we start to cook for ourselves.⁠
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I use a thermometre and timer for many things, but I still use the smell and look method to help me decide if it’s done.⁠
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A balance of both of these approaches while cooking is important.⁠
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If you’re new to cooking, you might simply use a timer for a recipe, but once the timer is done, it might not be cooked all the way through. ⁠
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A more experienced cook would observe that the dish is not quite browned enough and that it needs more time in the oven.⁠
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Every oven has a different temperature, so it’s important to balance that with the time. This is why I find using a thermometre really helpful. It can also prevent overcooking and drying out the food.⁠
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Chicken is notoriously overcooked because people are afraid to undercook it. ⁠
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A thermometre will tell you exactly when the chicken is finished at 165°. It stays somewhat moist and juicy at that temperature.⁠
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If you wait until it’s browned on the outside, it might be too dry to eat. Alternatively, just using a timer could result in either a dry or under-cooked chicken breast.⁠
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I made this nifty graphic you can keep handy the next time you’re cooking. Use it to cook moist meat, not dry!⁠
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xo
Happy Friday 13th!⁠ ⁠ Do you find eating salad Happy Friday 13th!⁠
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Do you find eating salads scary??? 😱⁠
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According to my highly unscientific research, there are two types of people who don’t like to eat salad:⁠
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1️⃣Those who think eating salad is boring.⁠
2️⃣Those who think that salad isn’t filling enough to be a full meal.⁠
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Ok, one more… those who don’t like eating vegetables!⁠
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If you fall into one of the first two categories, I’m here to tell you that maybe… just maybe… you’ve been making salads wrong.⁠
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I know... People don’t like to be told that what they’ve been doing is wrong (I don’t like to be told that either) but I can guarantee you that salads can be fun and filling and it’s all in how we put them together.⁠
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On the blog, I have all the tips on how to make the perfect salad just for you: ⁠
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>>https://lealoucooks.com/howtobuildasalad/⁠
>>or get the link in my profile here: @lealoucooks
I love the idea of looking into the cupboard and c I love the idea of looking into the cupboard and creating something from what seems like nothing.⁠
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I do this to use up the food I have before bringing more food into the house.⁠
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I'm not sure about you, but when I don't use up the food I have, it gets pushed to the back of the fridge and then lands right into the compost bin. ⁠
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This is one of the ways groceries can get expensive.⁠
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So before you make your next grocery list, look in the cupboards and fridge first. What do you have in there that can be used up?⁠
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Then search for a recipe that uses those ingredients.⁠
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Shop your kitchen first, then make a list.⁠
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If you have food in your house you're not sure what to do with, comment below and I'll think of what to make with it!⁠
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#mealplanning #mealplanningtips #mealhelp #dinnertime #supper #eatleftovers #fridgefood #recipes #savemoney #foodwaste⁠
This weekend is a bit of a doozy - a fun doozy!!⁠
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💛My street is hosting a giant street sale (if you're in Etobicoke you can DM me for the address).⁠
💛It's my anniversary (14 years!)⁠
💛AND it's Mother's Day (on the same day as my anniversary! Sorry hunny).⁠
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I'm hosting my sisters and mom for a brunch and I asked them what their most favourite brunch meal is to eat... I'll make the menu a combination of everything for them!⁠
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My sister asked me the question back and I, of course, thought of eggs.🥚⁠
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(Why are all of my posts about eggs??)⁠
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This photo is of a breakfast I had last week and it was so good!⁠
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💛Sourdough GF bread from @thebreadessentials⁠
💛Topped with hummus⁠
💛Topped with a yellow heirloom tomato (fun!)⁠
💛Topped with eggs (duh)⁠
💛Topped with jalapeno sheep cheese from @blythfarmcheese⁠
💛Topped with Broccoli sprouts from @livingearthtoronto⁠
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That brekky was a favourite hands-down.⁠
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Eat what you love friends! 🌱⁠

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About Stephanie

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Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

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