Hi friends! Today’s podcast is featuring fellow RD Lindsay Livingston. You may know her from the blog, The Lean Green Bean. When I think of Lindsay and her blog, I think about meal prep and recipes. She is a pro! A lot of times meal prep seems intimidating or time consuming, but Lindsay makes it seem easy. She’s sharing some of her tips today. Enjoy!
About Lindsay!
Lindsay has a degree in psychology and began her career as a preschool teacher. She was inspired by her students and realized that there was a need to address nutrition even at their young age. She went back to school to become a dietitian through Ohio State and started her blog, The Lean Green Bean, in 2010! She started out working part time under another dietitian and now stays home with her two (soon to be three) children while running her blog full time. Her blog features family friendly recipes that can be prepared ahead of time.
How Lindsay got started with food prep
Lindsay started this type of meal prep when she was in her dietetic internship. This meal prep helped her with prepped lunches and easy to throw together dinners when she got home after a long day!
Lindsay’s food prep process to prepare for the week
Lindsay notes that the type of food prep she does may not work for everyone as she does not necessarily do meal planning, but instead preps ingredients to throw meals together. When she talks to other people about meal prep, she encourages them to make a meal plan, especially if they struggle with what they’re going to be eating throughout the week. From that plan, make a grocery list, go grocery shopping, and based on what they’re planning to make, identify what could be prepared ahead of time. This could mean preparing an entire meal, preparing things like rice or chicken in advance, or chopping up vegetables and putting them in containers until it’s time to cook.
Lindsay tends to focus on snacks for her kids, side dishes, and plain proteins that can be used in different ways throughout the week. One of Lindsay’s top tips for people starting food prep is to hone in on what time of day you have the most trouble with, whether that is breakfast, snacks, or dinner, and start out by focusing on that meal.
Scheduling food prep
Lindsay typically uses Sundays to prep and makes enough to get her family through Thursday. She still does cooking throughout the week, but uses Sunday food prep as a way to make life a little easier.
Tools to help with food prep
Lindsay uses Pyrex glass dishes for storage. She loves her Instant Pot and slow cooker, which she often uses for shredded meat.
Multitasking tip
Have different things going on in different areas of your kitchen. You could have vegetables roasting in the oven, rice cooking on the stove, and chicken cooking in the slow cooker.
Tips for time management and prioritizing health and wellness
The first step is deciding you’re going to make it a priority. The second step is recognizing that it doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Even if you’re not a meal prep pro, you can get a lot done in an hour! Pick a month and experiment with food prep: see how much of a difference it has made by the end of the month.
Lindsay’s favorite way to take care of herself
Lindsay shares that she is working on drawing a line between work and personal life. Working on social media and online, it is easy to be on your phone and computer all day long, so setting boundaries is important.
Tips for women listening who want to improve health & wellness and are not sure where to start
Lindsay’s first tip is food prep! If you’re feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start, trying to fit in a 20 minute workout 3 days a week is a great start, but the food side of things can be just as powerful at affecting your health. Encouraging people to take that first step and do some food prep can help them implement healthy habits.
About Lindsay Livingston
Lindsay is a Registered Dietitian and mom of two from Columbus, OH. She is the author behind the healthy living blog, The Lean Green Bean, where she shares healthy recipes, nutrition tips, parenting advice and more. Her tips and recipes have been featured on media platforms including Buzzfeed, Greatist, Women’s Health and Shape Magazine. She’s passionate about showing people that healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive and is a huge proponent of teaching people how to add food prep to their weekly routine. She has two ebooks -The Ultimate Guide To Food Prep and How To Cook Dinner on the Fly, and she also does freelance recipe development and writing.
In addition to blogging, she’s also a full-time mom to her 3.5-year-old son and 19-month-old daughter who constantly keep her on the move. In her free time, she enjoys working out and reading mysteries.
Lindsay’s Food Prep Resource: https://www.theleangreenbean.
Website: www.theleangreenbean.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/
Instagram: theleangreenbean
Twitter Handle: @leangrnbeanblog
Lindsay’s E-Books: https://www.theleangreenbean.
Blog: www.theleangreenbean.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/theleangreenbean
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