JBK Nutrition Notes: Get Some Help With Healthy Meals

Quality vs. convenience. It seems like this is a never ending tradeoff when it comes to food choices. What is healthy often isn’t quick or easy, and what is quick and easy isn’t often healthy. 

But in a world where we’re all stretched to the limits and the value of health is higher than ever, you might be feeling like something’s got to give.

We feel you. And you’re right. Because your time is worth something. And YOU are worth nourishing.

Take some burden off without compromising quality or convenience. 

Healthy convenience

Healthy convenience is not an oxymoron. It’s what we do at JBK. So we feel like we can provide some solid tips to help you stay nourished with healthy food and make it easier to do so! 

Don’t shame yourself: The first thing is to know that it’s ok not to be able to whip up a healthy meal 3x a day. That’s freaking hard for anyone. Don’t beat yourself up about needing help. 

Supplement your meal: Order healthy food from restaurants to make dinner steps easier (obviously we know a great place called Just BE! ;-)). Get corn or grain free tortillas for taco night, GF hamburger buns for a BBQ, or a couple of your favorite salads to compliment your main. You’re just supplementing what you’re doing at home, to make a full meal more easily. 

Weekly prepped meals: take meal planning and prep out of the equation all week long. There are lots of local places that offer a package of meals made entirely ahead- including Just BE! Look around at various places offering weekly prepped meals to see what menus look great for you and go from there. This allows you to cook on the days when you have a bit more capacity and to supplement with a prepared healthy meal for when it’s just too much. 

Family meal deals: because making a meal doesn’t just mean cooking, it also means planning, shopping, prepping, and DISHES. Many healthy restaurants are offering family-style meal packages now. The portions are of great value – so you may even be able to squeeze some leftovers! You could even choose to buy a box and freeze it right away for when you are in those pinches! 

Grab some groceries – skip the store and grab your groceries when you’re ordering from a restaurant or food market. Again, lots of local spots are doing this, so add to your meal order or just grab some groceries to go so you can make one stop…not two!

Booze – With COVID laws changing, you can avoid heading to the liquor store and get booze easily from your grocery, markets, and restaurants – take advantage of the convenience of 1-stop shopping!

Delivery: This is so big now – I remember seeing a mom I value asking for help on groceries if any of her friends happened to be going because she needed groceries for dinner…everyone commented to use Instacart! Make it easy on yourself and take advantage of grocery and restaurant delivery! (hot tip though: if you’re ordering from the grocery store itself, allow yourself some time, many of them have a lot of demand and sometimes there’s a delay in when they can deliver!). You can also order from a CSA or other “farmer’s box” and organizations like The GrowHaus are doing great boxes with yummy produce! 

Make the most out of your prep: When you do buckle down and cook, make the most of the effort. Double the recipe and freeze half for another day. You’ll thank yourself later!

Prep for your meal prep: Sounds funny, right? But the idea is that you do part of the work ahead so that when it’s meal time crunch time (aka you’re wrapping up a call at 6pm and the whole house is already hungry), much of the work is already done. This might mean marinating meat and veggies ahead to throw on the grill or washing and chopping all of your produce and proteins to throw in the skillet with a quick sauce. Batching up this prep at the beginning of the week makes meal prep more efficient all week long.

About the author

Hillary Bennetts is the founder and owner of Purposeful Plate Nutrition, through which she provides nutrition consulting to individuals and businesses. She also provides business consulting and content creation services to companies in the health and fitness industry.

Prior to studying nutrition and launching Purposeful Plate, Hillary spent almost a decade in corporate consulting with Ernst & Young and KPMG. Purposeful Plate is the result of combining her lifelong passion for health and wellness with her business background and nutrition education. 

Hillary holds a BA in Economics from Washington and Jefferson College, an MBA from Emory University, and an NC from Bauman College.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

A marathoner, mountain climber, and mama, she lives in Denver with her husband, toddler son, and golden retriever. You can find her online at purposefulplatenutrition.com and on Instagram at @purposefulplatenutrition!