What A Nutritionist Eats In A Day | Amy Crum, MS, RD, LD
By Nutritional Weight & Wellness Staff
April 27, 2022
Do you have kids in sports and are you running out of ways to feed them healthy meals and snacks? Are you spending time being chauffeur to theatre rehearsal, band practice, or after school events? Kids in activities (and the parents/grandparents who cheer them on at performances and games) need healthy meals and snacks throughout the day. That can be hard to plan for and have ready for when you need it, especially when you have your own very full schedule to juggle.
So, we are excited to have licensed dietitian Amy here today to share with you how she plans real food into her family’s busy life! Take a look at what tips this working mom has to share on how to have whole, healthy foods ready for the week:
Tips for Food Prep
Amy, how do you plan for a week of real food?
I plan my meals on Sunday for the week. I use a paper planner to write down meals and my grocery list. I start by looking at my calendar and figuring out how many meals I need to be able to prepare quickly or have in the crockpot and how many meals I will have a little extra time to work on. My kids are in lots of sports in the evening, so there are many nights we need to eat fast. I always thank myself at dinner time if I’ve taken the time earlier in the day to put a stew, soup or meat in the crockpot or if I marinated meat earlier so I can cook it quickly.
I usually do my grocery shopping on Monday and I alternate grocery stores depending on what I need. Sometimes I put a grocery order in and pick it up just to make life easier. On weeks that I don’t do that, I go to Trader Joe’s or Costco to pick up all the staples we need to have on hand.
What are your top five items used in the kitchen?
- Blender: I bought a Vitamix years ago and have definitely gotten my money’s worth since I use it almost every morning for smoothies.
- Food processor: A couple of my kids are pickier eaters, so I often chop vegetables into very small pieces to add to meat sauces, meatloaf, muffins, and other recipes. It’s a good way to make sure I get enough veggies in my day as well.
- Instant pot: I use my instant pot multiple times a week. I usually use it for cooking staples, like hard boiled eggs, beans, chicken stock, egg bites, and chicken breasts.
- Traeger smoker: Most weeks, we smoke large batches of meats for us to use throughout the week in recipes. Chicken breast, salmon, pork, and all types of beef are our go-to’s.
- Half Sheet Pan: I like to use a pan that’s pretty large, 18” x 13”, to fit lots of veggies to roast or plenty of food for sheet pan meals, since I like to double the recipe.
What tricks do you use that make meal prep easier?
I usually spend about an hour a week preparing breakfasts and snacks for the week. To be efficient with my time, I like to make a batch of protein muffins and protein balls at the same time, since they use similar ingredients. For quick snacks, I always make about a dozen hard boiled eggs in the instant pot and will cut up raw veggies to have in the refrigerator. I also like to make an egg bake or egg bites to have for breakfasts or lunches. The week is always easier when I have easy snacks and breakfasts already prepared. The small amount of time it takes at the beginning of the week always pays off when I’m not scrambling for food when I’m hungry.
When I’m cooking any meal, I like to double recipes so we can have leftovers for lunches or freeze half for a meal another day.
I’m always trying to think of new ways to repurpose leftovers. It takes less time to use meats and veggies that are already cooked, so I like to find ways to make sure it doesn’t seem like we’re eating the same meal over and over. Grocery shopping isn’t always my favorite activity. I like to try and find creative ways to use the things in my kitchen so I don’t need to go as often.
What do you always keep on hand?
- frozen berries
- a variety of frozen vegetables
- eggs & hardboiled eggs
- cooked meat to add to salads
- chicken stock
- heavy cream
- spinach
- nuts
- natural peanut butter
- nitrate free meat sticks & lunch meat
What To Eat
Now that we have some great meal prepping tips on what kind of equipment is helpful to have in your kitchen and what types of foods to have on hand, here’s a peek into what that might look like all pulled together in a days’ worth of meals and snacks (get your napkins ready for that drool!):
Breakfast: During the week, I drink a smoothie almost every day. Sometimes I vary what I put in it, but this one is frozen berries, riced cauliflower, canned coconut milk, protein powder, and a little almond butter for flavor.
Snack: Greenridge meat stick from Costco paired with celery & cream cheese with Everything But Bagel seasoning. I never thought I would look forward to celery, but I feel like this snack is so delicious it always feels like a treat.
Lunch: If I don’t have time to prepare vegetables ahead of time, sometimes I buy a premade salad from Trader Joe’s or Costco, and then use just the chopped vegetables with my own salad dressing. My favorite dressing is balsamic vinegar with olive oil and a little Primal kitchen mayo blended together. I added leftover chicken and cooked butternut squash to round the meal out.
Snack: An apple, hardboiled egg, and macadamia nuts. In the past, afternoon was a time I would be tempted to reach for something sweet. When my blood sugar is balanced by eating a combination of protein, fat, and carb, I find I rarely have an afternoon dip in energy.
Dinner: My husband makes the best salmon on our smoker. He usually makes extra, so we can have extra protein the next day. I like the leftover salmon on top of a salad or mixed with Primal Kitchen mayo and relish as salmon salad. Tonight’s salmon was paired with a mix of roasted broccoli and carrots, with a drizzle of olive oil.
Looks pretty darn delish if we do say so ourselves. And you can eat like this too! Make a plan for the week and get your grocery list out on paper or in your favorite list app. Set aside a short time to prep breakfast and snack items that are easy to grab on the go. When you cook, double the recipe or batch cook your proteins, like chicken, salmon, and hardboiled eggs. Explore ways you can use similar ingredients so you can cook once and eat multiple times without getting bored! And if you need help brainstorming ideas, make an appointment with Amy or one of our other creative nutritionists and dietitians!
For more information on eating real food and meal prepping, check out these additional resources:
- Read: Nutrition for Stressful Times
- Listen: Tips to Help Picky Eaters
- Try: Instant Pot Garlic Herb Chicken or Sheet Pan Asian Salmon with Brussels and Red Pepper
- Take: Virtual demonstration cooking classes
Amy sees clients at our Wayzata location, check out her bio here.
