As the leaves change colors and we start to get back in gear for our kids return to school or possibly your return to work we need to not break the habit of a healthy meal, even though life may be getting a little more hectic. That is why this month I want to focus my blog on recipes and meal prep ideas to make life easier. I will even throw in some ideas for kitchen gadgets that I have in my house that I use come school time.
We are in for what is to be a year that may have a lot of unknowns, but we don’t have to have unknowns for dinner. When we let life get the best of us and pull our attention away from our meals we can then be left with fast food and take out containers littering our dinner tables. Let’s not let this be the case this year and try to focus our dinner meals on healthy easy to use foods that are versatile in the kitchen.
I am going to confess I am a mom of three and I understand a crazy hectic schedule. My husband and myself both work, but over the past 6 months I can tell you I have made dinner time family time. This means no gadgets at the table ( my 8 year old told that to his grandmother the other night, when she was taking a phone call), yes we all giggled. I have this rule not only to have a moment to talk with my family at the end of the day but also to give our bodies a chance to connect with itself.
Most people don’t realize but sitting in front of a screen while eating can be detrimental to a healthy diet. Our minds are so focused on the screen in front of us that it cannot send the signal to the brian that it’s full. This then can lead to overeating, a meal you thought to be maybe 400-600 calories quickly turns to 700-900 calories. This on a daily basis would mean that on a weekly average you are consuming an additional 2100 calories. That can be a difference of a weight loss or gain that week.
As we get into this month and start to focus on meal prep, put the screens down and connect with your family or just sit and enjoy the foods that are in front of you. If you are able to describe in an hour what you ate and how it tasted, smelled and felt then you were focused on your food.
Below is an easy meal I hope you and your family can connect with:
One Pan Chicken Meal
This recipe is made in one pan for the whole meal! It’s also a meal that you can make ahead of time and leave in the pan in the fridge to heat the next night!
- 4-6 chicken thighs
- 5 potatoes cut into wedges
- 3 carrots cut into three pieces
- 4 stalks celery cut into three pieces
- 1 onion quarters
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp pepper
- 1 tbsp oregano
- Juice of three lemons
- 1-2 gallon ziploc bag
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
Place half of chicken and vegetables into 2 bags. Next add seasoning and oil and shake well. This is something your kids may want to help with. You can leave these in the ziploc bags overnight in the refrigerator to cook tomorrow or you can place in a pan and cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Enjoy!
Theresa Zangerle-McArtin is a New York State Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist with experience in helping individuals to focus on nutrition in an effort to improve their overall health. She specializes in food allergies, food intolerance, digestive disorders, and irritable bowel syndrome.
To schedule an appointment with Theresa, please call #845.471.9410