Inspiration for Better Living

Making Healthy Meals Easier to Prepare

October 16, 2020

2 min read

Written by Caroline Fornshell, MS, RD, CDE, NASM-CPT

How do I make healthy meals easier to prepare during weeknights?

It’s easy to make enough healthy food to last all week and reduce your weeknight cooking time. Before your weekly shopping trip, make sure you’ve got your meals planned for the week. That’s a crucial step to ensure you choose doable recipes, healthy carbs, lean proteins and plenty of veggies.

Choose Healthy Carbs

Pick a healthy carb to prepare. Make enough whole grains like quinoa or chop up enough starchy veggies like sweet potatoes for the week on Sunday. Reconstitute grains with water and season to suit your recipe during the week for quick healthy meals.

Prepare Proteins in Advance

Pick one or two proteins for dinners and prepare in advance, too. For example, grill enough lean chicken to get through the first few weeknights and reuse in your recipes for the week. Choose easier proteins for Thursday. Think eggs, tempeh or BPA-free canned light tuna or salmon on Thursday for simplicity and variety.

Clean and Store Veggies on Sundays

Clean and store veggies like leafy greens, carrots, cabbage and green beans on Sunday to last until the weekend. Enjoy simple masterpieces all week long by planning and prepping in advance.

About the author

Caroline Fornshell, MS, RD, CDE, NASM-CPT

Caroline is a seasoned Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist, personal trainer and certified diabetic educator. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a hospitality degree. Her passions for cooking and eating led her to the science of food and nutrition. While Caroline obtained prerequisites for the Registered Dietitian Credential and a Masters Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the State University of New York at Oneonta, she worked as a Certified Personal Trainer for many years. She completed the required clinical rotations through the Sentara Healthcare System throughout Hampton Roads. Later, Caroline found great satisfaction through her work in diabetes and obesity research at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

The combination of fitness, culinary arts and Medical Nutrition Therapy™ gives Caroline a unique trifecta of knowledge to offer to her patients and clients. She maintains the Registration Dietitian – Nutritionist Credential with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), and the Certified Diabetic Educator Credential with National Association of Diabetic Educators (AADE). She is also a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). She is certified in Adult Weight Management by both NASM and AND. She is also certified as a Senior Fitness Specialist (NASM).