This week, I did the bulk of my meal planning on Saturday morning, went to the health food store and farmers’ market  in the afternoon, and then began my prep efforts on Sunday morning.

Before I’d even left for my Buddhist center, and in the midst of having construction going on in my house, I managed to whip up some delicious sweet potato bisque soup.  I like it because it’s an easy recipe I found years ago in a magazine but it’s chock full of fresh veggies — parsnips, Swiss Chard and cabbage, in addition to the sweet potatoes. It’s dense and filling but no with no dairy. Yum!

I also made fresh tuna burgers. I bought tuna steaks at the grocery store and ground them up in the food processor, adding a series of delicious ingredients.  The inspiration for this recipe came from Tosca Reno’s The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook.  We cooked them up on the George Foreman grill so it took only about 5 minutes total. And we had them for dinner both Sunday and last night.

Tonight we’re having brown rice pasta in another simple dish I found in the Eat-Clean cookbook. Tomorrow I’m making quinoa southwestern stew, one of my favorites because it’s so easy and it’s delicious.  In fact, since I have a little extra time, I may even whip it up tonight as I’m doing some other things.  We’ll round out the week with turkey burgers and sauteed kale with raisins and pine nuts.

All of the dishes I’ve planned and am preparing this week are simple and relatively quick. And with our notion of cooking once to eat at least twice, it’s not so hard. In fact, I feel so much better with a solid meal plan — a road map for the week that ensures we’re eating as healthfully as possible.

What yummy dishes are you whipping this week? How does finding your meal planning mojo help you to consistently eat clean and healthy meals? Do tell!

Why? I put so much effort into my during-the-week meal planning efforts that by the end of the week, the last thing I wanted to think about was MORE meal planning.   The result is that we’d have an empty refrigerator and we’d opt for eating out — often high calories meals under the guise of  “I”ve worked hard all week and I deserve it.” 

But I’ve found that a little effort, and some simple cooking later in the week with leftovers in mind, lends itself to healthy meals that are focused on clean eating and keep our weight in mind.

Case in point, last night I made a tasty, clean eating dish full of fresh ingredients — chicken, eggplant, tomatoes, basil and zucchini.  We had it for dinner and have two more servings that will make the perfect lunch on Saturday. While we might normally opt to eat lunch out on Saturday, in the midst of errands, a little foresight means a healthier meal and cost savings in our pocketbook.  The pumpkin soup I made a few days ago is another example of something healthy we have in the refrigerator that we can happily consume this weekend, including as a savory breakfast option to the traditional cereal or eggs.

In the end, it simply takes a little ingenuity and forethought to plan some healthy meals that will extend into the weekend.  What do you have on hand that you can eat this weekend that will keep you feeling your best, avoid weight gain and support your consistent meal planning efforts?

Please share your thoughts and ideas below.

Does that sound remotely familiar? Have you ever had good intentions of using up all the ingredients and you simply forgot, just to find that you’d pretty much thrown your money out the window?

Needless to say, it’s happened to me many times before, but a solid meal plan for how you’ll use up all the ingredients makes it a lot easier to use what you’ve bought and reap all the health benefits too.

Case in point, on Sunday I had in mind making a tray of pumpkin spice cupcakes.  I’m in my fall cooking and baking mode and I love that these cupcakes use a whole grain flour (spelt) and only agave nectar, no refined sugar. So I bought a can of pumpkin but I only needed about a cup. And given that this was a big can, I had a lot left.

But instead of just forgetting about it, I remembered a recipe I’ve made before for pumpkin soup that I whip up in my Vitamix blender. A quick check of the ingredients and I realized that I had everything I needed. So instead of letting the pumpkin sit in the refrigerator to go bad, albeit unintentionally, I quickly got into action to whip up a healthy soup that my husband and I can enjoy over the next several days.

The key to avoiding waste really begins with creating a meal plan that builds in all the ingredients you’ve bought in a week. I used up extra kale in a turkey meatloaf,  juiced leftover carrots and added spinach to smoothies.  A little foresight helps you save money and use up all the delicious and healthy ingredients you so carefully shopped for and chose.

What do you do to ensure that you use up all the ingredients you buy? How will you meal plan this week to get your money’s worth and keep you and your family healthy?

One of the biggest ways to routinely waste food and throw money down the drain is letting your refrigerator go.

You know what I mean…food everywhere, leftovers on every shelf, no rhyme or reason on where to find things and too much food that’s gone bad. All you have to do is look at a plastic bag full of unrecognizable veggies that have liquefied and you know what I mean.

What’s the key to reducing food waste? It’s all about slowing down and increasing your awareness. Just like those of us who constantly run from one activity to another, eat mindlessly and never listen to our bodies, our refrigerator isn’t much different. When we ignore things, they go bad, start to smell and are completely unappetizing. To me it’s a metaphor for our life.

But with a small amount of attention and keeping track of what you’ve got, you can transform that messy refrigerator into an orderly, inviting space. What’s more, when you know what you have and have a plan for using it, food waste is minimal.

How do I keep a handle on my refrigerator and minimize the mess? I put aside a little time each week as I’m creating  our weekly meal plan. I take stock of what we have, what we need to use up and and what need from the store. And during the week, I keep an eye on fresh produce to make sure we’re using up. With a plan that simple, it’s not hard to save money while staying healthy.

What do you do to ensure you minimize food waste and watch your bottom line?

Looking for simple ideas to make consistent, healthy meal planning a whole lot easier? Sign up for my free, 26-minute downloadable audio, “4 Simple Steps to Meal Planning Success.” http://budurl.com/56xd

The other night, my goal was to make a batch of my favorite one pot meal – quinoa southwestern stew. It’s super easy and so simply fantastic. But instead of making it all in one shot, I cooked the quinoa last night. Tonight I sauteed the onion and garlic and added the other ingredients which took minimal time. Because it’s a quick recipe to begin with, my 2-part effort made it seem like a breeze.

The beauty is that with some simple foresight like this, you can easily break your meal prep into some simple steps and feel a whole lot less burdened.

What do you to break things up and make meal planning easier? Do tell — share your thoughts below!

Looking for simple ideas to make consistent, healthy meal planning a whole lot easier? Sign up for my free, 26-minute downloadable audio, “4 Simple Steps to Meal Planning Success.” http://budurl.com/56xd

I love the fact that my very sweet husband, Bruce, had thoroughly cleaned the house — laundry, dusting, floors mopped, bathroom cleaned — but he overlooked the little detail about what we were going to eat. Actually, that’s not completely true. He stopped by KFC and picked up a bucket of their grilled chicken and some less than appetizing sides which I’ll point out I was happy to eat on Monday for dinner since it didn’t require me having to cook.

But the truth of the matter is that because I jumped into the week with a lot on my plate and didn’t have a clearly defined plan, I’d hardly call our eating optimal. Fish from Trader Joe’s on Tuesday with steamed broccoli and quinoa tabouli was fast and easy, but with meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, all bets were off. Salads from Panera Bread on Wednesday night covered dinner and we fished around the freezer for something on Thursday night, but I’d it was rather a half-hearted effort.

So my point here is simple: just do a bit of pre-planning before you leave for a trip to ease back into your routine and lessen the burden. That way meal planning doesn’t have to seem like such a big task when you get back. Even if you  map out as few as two meals, you’ll ease the pressure of having to put your thinking cap on when you get back. Keep the basic ingredients on hand and you only need to pick up a few fresh items to get your meal planning mojo back.

Do you ever plan meals in advance of returning from a trip? What’s your secret to easing back into your routine with less effort but with an eye to healthy meals for your and your family?

I’m a big fan of simple, fresh ingredients and I love that in moments I have a flavorful dressing that makes my salad more interesting. Here are just a few of the things I like to add:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Lemon juice or one of my favorite vinegars. I like apple cider and white wine vinegar
• Fresh herbs – like parsley, basil, thyme or rosemary
• Minced garlic
• Lemon, lime or orange zest depending upon the dressing, for added flavor and pizzazz

Here’s a super simple dressing I made last week in my Vitamix blender. It literally took about 5 minutes and the flavors are simply fantastic, especially the addition of the herbs:

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary,chopped
zest of 1 lemon, minced finely
salt and pepper to taste

What’s your favorite homemade salad dressing recipe? What do you do to add flavor without unhealthy fat and sugar? Do tell!

I’m a big fan of salad all year round but when warm weather rolls around, salads are especially appealing. Why? Salads are naturally cooling and eating more raw veggies typically found in salads is one of the best natural energy sources. In addition, when we load a salad with lots of fresh veggies, we’re getting abundant amounts of immune boosting nutrients and anti-oxidants, and fiber.

The challenge however, is that some of us like to add heavy salad dressings that are chock full of unneeded fat and calories that can make a basic healthy salad something that can actually clog our arteries. Perfect example: the fast food chain Chevy’s, offers their tostada salad at a whopping 1551 calories and 94 grams of fat! That is completely obscene in my book.

The beauty is that keeping your salad healthy is SO easy. Here are a few simple tips:

• Buy locally grown and/or organic salad greens whenever possible and include 2-3 cups
• Choose dark leafy greens like spinach and romaine for increased nutrients
• Choose your favorite seasonal veggies as toppings — foods that interest and inspire you like tomatoes, peppers and carrots
• Go for a variety of colors in your veggie choices to get the full benefit of diverse nutrients
• Add healthy fat like avocado or nuts that provide flavor and depth
• Save money by making your on salad dressing and avoiding so much fat, sugar and sodium
• Add fruit like apples, pears or strawberries for variety

What’s your favorite spring time salad? What do you love to include? Have a favorite recipe you want to share? Do tell!

We can all benefit from National Salad Month.

Low in calories, with no fat or cholesterol, this veggie is the perfect addition to anyone watching their weight. But did you also know that asparagus has loads of folic acid, critical for pregnant women to help prevent birth defects? Or that asparagus has ample amounts of vitamins A and C, zinc and folic acid? And it’s also a helpful anti-inflammatory, welcome news these days since I have an inflamed knee.

A member of the Lily family, the history of asparagus can be traced to ancient Egypt, Syria and Greece. These days asparagus is a versatile vegetable that you can prepare in a multitude of ways:

• Roast it with olive oil
• Saute in a stir fry
• Steam it
• Use raw in a soup. Easy to do if you have a Vitamix blender. I added an avocado and other veggies and it was so creamy and delicious.

Check out my latest video for more information on asparagus and how I like to prepare it. It’s so easy that it’s ready in less than 15 minutes. How’s that for fast and healthy?

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Zest

I loved an idea one of the people on the call, Chris, shared and I’ve already adopted it myself. Chris has a routine of introducing one new recipe a week into her meal plan for the week. It adds variety, she veers away from getting in the rut of eating the same old thing, and it inspires her creativity. What can she find that’s new and different and totally appealing?

This really is a great strategy whether we’re single or not, to get us out of our comfort zone. Adding new tastes, flavors and textures makes our food more interesting. And when we cook with a broader variety of ingredients, especially fruits and vegetables, it ensures that we get the maximum benefit from nutrients.

On Sunday, I did just that. In making the meal plan for the week, I mixed things up with a new fish dish. I was inspired by my neighbor Kathy who left me with a variety of produce since she was going out of town. The bounty I received included fresh fennel, something I’ve been experimenting with, as I mentioned in a post a few months ago. I successfully married the fennel with fresh orange juice and red snapper in a simple and tasty recipe I found on epicurious.com. Just trying something new on Sunday got the week off to a creative, healthy and adventurous start.

Can you see the possibility of mixing it up with one new recipe a week to get you out of the cooking doldrums? What methods do you use to keep it healthy and interesting week to week?

Want more ideas on how to become an effective meal planner? Check out my free audio download, 4 Simple Steps to Meal Planning Success for a dose of meal planning inspiration: http://budurl.com/3asx