FORT KNOX, Ky. — Let’s face it, we’re all on the go around here.
Time is that ingredient of which we all seem to need more and never have enough. Time is also likely one of the biggest obstacles to eating right.
Enter Laura Bottoms, dietitian with Nutrition Care Services at Ireland Army Health Clinic. You could say food is her specialty; she’s a bonafide foodie, and not just because it happens to be her day job. Bottoms says she practices at home what she preaches at work.
In fact, cooking is also something she and her child do as a kind of fun passionate connection. And over the years, she has developed some recipes and food prep ideas that address the number one reason many of her patients give for why they don’t eat better – “I don’t have time.”
She starts them out by explaining what meal prep actually is.
“The term ‘meal prep’ can be intimidating to a lot of us,” said Bottoms. “But really, meal prep is just thinking about what you’re going to eat before you eat it, having a plan and then executing that plan. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it doesn’t’ have to be complicated.
“It doesn’t have to be all the food for an entire week in your refrigerator in little glass containers.”
One question she poses to patients gets at their shopping habits.
“How often do you go grocery shopping? We should go grocery shopping at least once a week if not a little bit more to keep fresh foods in the house,” said Bottoms. “That makes doing meal prep easier.”
Bottoms said the basic level of meal prep is thinking one to two meals ahead when planning for what to eat.
“If I know what’s for breakfast, I know what’s for lunch, and if I have lunch, I know what’s for dinner, and dinner, I know what’s for breakfast – then I’m not making decisions when I’m hungry, and I’m able to make better decisions.”
Bottoms said meal prep is also about what the older generation calls “leftovers.”
“It’s cooking enough that you can eat it again, so, it doesn’t take any additional skill sets beyond just basic cooking,” said Bottoms. “The only real big difference is, when we were young our parents would put all the meat in one Tupperware, and all the potatoes in another as opposed to meal prep, which is having a meal ready to go and prepared to eat it without having to spoon it out.”
So, about that quick-and-easy part: Bottoms said there are ways to do that which focuses on cooking just once or twice a week and eating multiple times throughout.
One idea is to cook a foundational meat, like chicken, and then reuse it differently each day. For instance, cook a whole bird – “I prefer an air fryer because it’s even quicker” – slice and eat it as is for the first meal, then chop some of it up and reheat it the next day for a different meal – like chicken salad or a wrap. Then slice it up for chicken sandwiches the next day.
“Once you have your base protein, you can build some variety into how you use that protein so that you’re not eating the same boring protein all the time,” said Bottoms.
For those who have even less time on their hands, Bottoms suggested buying a rotisserie at the Commissary or other grocery store.
Chicken is the base for one of Bottoms’ favorite meals.
“A quick recipe that I like for chicken salad is buffalo style,” said Bottoms. “You take your cooked chicken, add buffalo seasoning to it, dice a carrot, dice some celery; if you like red onion, you could dice that, mix it together with a cup of nonfat Greek yogurt, which replaces the mayonnaise with a high protein, low-fat carb [alternative]. You can then serve that up a lot of different ways.”
Purchasing prepackaged salads is great way to cut down on prep time. Bottoms said prepping salads in individual Mason jars provides a grab-and-go meal that stays fresher longer.
“The challenge with making a salad every day is, it’s a lot of work,” said Bottoms. “But if we do all the work once and then package it into individual containers, it makes it a really quick and easy lunch for the other days.
“I like to use Mason jars or washed-out reusable pickle jars or any jars you have laying around with a lid that will go on tight.”
Bottoms then builds each unique salad inside. She’ll start with a protein at the bottom and layer other items she wants – beans, corn, tomatoes, spinach and more – then tops it with a favorite seasoning, which she suggested should be stored in a separate container, so it doesn’t spill.
“By packaging it in the glass jar, it will stay fresh three or four days,” said Bottoms. “When you go to eat it, you dump it all into a bowl.”
Prepackaged vegetables are also a great way to produce quick and easy meals like stir fry, tacos and burritos, and more.
Another big recommendation is to use fish as the protein. It is good to eat and surprisingly quick to prepare.
“It only takes a few minutes on a grill or in a skillet or air fryer,” said Bottoms. “We often overlook fish as a quick option, and it’s also a very healthy option.”
Once meals are prepped, time no longer becomes an issue. Batch cooking also saves money, and mixing variety into the menu reduces boredom with eating the same leftovers over and over.
“By using a basic recipe and then building variety into it, we can have a new meal each day,” said Bottoms. “And by using different fruit, vegetables or seasonings in the meals, we’re going to get different nutrients.”
Planning is key, said Bottoms. It cuts down on waste, which is what Bottoms said she sees a lot of with patients as they start getting healthy and focused on a diet plan.
“They make a trip to the grocery store and just buy a bunch of random stuff with no real game plan of how to use it,” said Bottoms. “That’s when they start to waste things.”
Part of the plan should include buying fresh in season and frozen out of season, which provides alternatives when making a meal plan. Another thing to keep in mind is how long fruits and vegetables stay ripe. For instance, bananas go bad in days whereas apples can last weeks.
“It’s good to know what goes bad faster to know what to eat first,” said Bottoms.
All of these ideas add up to tremendous time and cost savings and take the stress out of cooking healthy meals.
“These are great ways to eat what you know you’ll eat when you know you’ll eat it and save money and time,” said Bottoms. “And time is money.”
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Editor’s Note: Ireland Army Health Clinic beneficiaries can request an appointment with the Nutrition Team by calling 800-493-9602 or through the MHS Genesis Message Center. Search for “Fort Knox Margetis Nutrition Clinic.”
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