The Perfect Plan

You Can Eat Healthy Delicious Meals

by Kara Johnson

It’s one month into 2020. How are you doing with your goal to eat healthier? It’s ok. I’d like to share a few tips to help you stay on track. Can you say meal prepping? Well today, I have full proof advice from two, top personal chefs. A large part of your success is about developing new habits. Habit is the key word when it comes to maintaining the consistency that leads to success. Instead of falling into habits, now it’s time to create good habits on purpose. We have fun and easy ways to make these guidelines part of your new, healthier lifestyle!

There are 3 KEY components to meal prepping:

-PLAN

-PREP

-COOK

Devise a menu conducive to your dietary needs and preferences. This component requires a written menu, menu ingredients and places to purchase food items. Food containers that separate menu items into proportions for your diet are also important. Make sure you have everything you need in advance. If you are anything like most people these days, life is crazy busy. Planning ahead to order online for curb-side grocery pick up at local stores or delivery to your doorstep will make the planning part of the process easier

.Now that all ingredients, seasonings and containers are on deck, the prep can begin. This component includes chopping all vegetables, poultry, marinating meat/seafood and cleaning all cooking tools and pots to prepare for cooking. Prepping one day prior helps to keep the process organized and consistent.

With adequate planning and prepping complete, the final component is to cook and separate portions for daily meals for the week in meal prep containers. To maintain the quality of your meals, store in a refrigerator and consume cooked food within 7 days. After a week, discard food that is left, wash containers and repeat all components for the following week.

When I’m planning meals for health-conscious clients, I keep it fun by making sure the meals are seasonal, farm to table, and locally purchased. Keep the sodium content to a minimum, and use the ingredients that have the least cholesterol. I often overlap light ingredients like seafood which can be used in more than one dish that week. For example, crabs and shrimp are used in salads and seafood boils in the summer and in gumbo and stuffing in the winter. A sexy plate presentation is also important and can make a dish more appealing to a client.

There you have it. This is everything you need to know to organize your meals for the week. Get into the habit of planning ahead. Not only will your meals be good for you, but with a few extra steps, you can turn any meal into a memorable dining experience.

Jeff Thomas

Publisher — Black Source Media

Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist •  New Orleans

Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.

His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.

He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.

Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas

Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu

Jeff Thomas

Publisher — Black Source Media Jeff Thomas Publisher • Opinion Columnist •  New Orleans Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades. His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands. He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had. Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know. They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead. Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans? The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It. The Failure of Mitch Landrieu

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