WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:14.599 Welcome back to Words to the Why is our podcast to help you save money 2 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:18.440 when you shop at Wise Markets. Are find some wise ways to keep your 3 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:23.199 family healthy, some fun ways to keep them entertained with your meals or in 4 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:27.519 this situation today, we want to save you some time when it comes to 5 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:30.640 that time in the kitchen, because that time is so valuable. My name 6 00:00:30.679 --> 00:00:36.280 is Bob Howard, joined today by Melissa Logan, registered dietitian with Wise Markets. 7 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:39.880 It is it seems like we would say this every single year. We 8 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:43.359 have we have less time, we have no free time. Families have us 9 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:48.719 doing so much every day we have an event to go to. Any tips 10 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:52.880 that we can offer to save time for families, especially to eat healthy in 11 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:55.640 the kitchen, Melissa, are going to be so important. Absolutely, that's 12 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:59.159 That's one of the things I get from patients the most is that they want 13 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:02.039 to eat healthy, but they just don't feel like they have the time to 14 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:06.640 cook or put together these healthy meals. So yeah, I definitely have a 15 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:10.439 few tips for us today. My first one, and this is what I 16 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:15.480 personally find the most helpful, is frozen veggies and canned veggies. And you 17 00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:19.159 definitely, you know, if you prefer fresh veggies and that kind of thing, 18 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:23.000 you know. In the in the produce section, they have those convenience 19 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.680 items where they're pre chopped fruits, pre chopped veggies ready to go for you. 20 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:30.599 But those can be quite expensive. So if you're somebody on a budget, 21 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:34.519 really take a look at frozen veggies and canned veggies. The prep is 22 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.040 done for you, right, so all the all the parts that you don't 23 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:42.519 want to eat aren't there. But a fraction of the costs is those those 24 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:46.400 prepped ones for you in the produce section. The only thing I would say 25 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:49.120 is like to watch the sodium. So for canned veggies, look for no 26 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:53.879 salt added. And then for your frozen veggies, the ones with like your 27 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:57.359 sauces, like a Tarioke blend that comes with all that that might be high 28 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:01.760 in sodium. But they have veggies there particularly like a Wise quality brand is 29 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:07.599 just the frozen veggies. You won't find much of any sodium on that nutrition 30 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:09.560 label. So that's a good place to start. I really like talking about 31 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:13.560 the frozen vegetables. If you go back in our previous episodes of the Word 32 00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:16.240 of Words of the Wise, we celebrated National Frozen foods today and talked about 33 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:20.240 how far frozen food has come. And one of the pieces I think we 34 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:23.400 have to always highlight when it comes to frozen food is that flash freezing process 35 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:29.520 because that allows those nutrients to stay there is fresh best always. We love 36 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:34.719 fresh food, but frozen means it was frozen fresh, and I think that 37 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:38.960 that should help you rest easy knowing that if it's look, if it's chopped 38 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:43.360 up and frozen fresh, this is still fresh veggies, fresh fruit, fresh 39 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:45.800 food that's available when you're ready for it. Yeah, and you know, 40 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:47.719 really what we're looking at when we want to eat fruits and vegetables. And 41 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:52.319 I think the reason why people do think that they have to eat fresh veggies 42 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:55.680 is because those have the most nutrients. But really, frozen veggies because they're 43 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:00.479 flash frozen, Like you said, all those nutrients are just locked right in. 44 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:06.159 Canned veggies might have like a tiny discrepancy of nutritional value difference, but 45 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:08.159 it really is so negligible when it comes to your day to day. So 46 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:14.000 don't put any pressure on yourself to everybody you know that you have to eat 47 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:17.120 fresh produce. It really it takes so much time to prep them all. 48 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:21.400 If you can kind of try to define ways to work in those frozen or 49 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:23.039 canned it's I think it'll save you a good chunk of time for sure. 50 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:27.039 And I'll tell you, for a lot of people, the it's either you 51 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:30.599 know, fresh, frozen or fast food. So I mean, even if 52 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:34.039 you're talking about that negligible difference going to a canned vegetable, I mean, 53 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:37.639 the reality is with as fast as we're living our lives, there may be 54 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:42.000 no vegetable. So a canned vegetable is a better option than no vegetable. 55 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:45.000 Just like a meal that we're putting together here is going to be better than 56 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:47.639 a fast food meal. So so we're while we're talking about well, you 57 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:51.879 might sacrifice a little bit, I mean no, we're just we're still very 58 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:54.599 much in the positive calm when it comes to nutrients and eating healthier. Absolutely, 59 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:58.639 yeah, that is that is a wonderful point. Certainly it's better to 60 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:03.120 get some veggies than veggies, right, So let's talk talking about meal prep. 61 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:06.479 This is where I was on such a good meal prep kick for a 62 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:10.560 while. I mean I would I would do I would buy like the family 63 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:13.520 sized chicken breasts and I would cook them all up and cut them all up 64 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:15.160 and do with the food prep containers for myself. And I always thought, 65 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:18.879 man, I'm doing great, and then I kind of fell off. This 66 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:23.360 is an easy way if you put the time in your schedule to really get 67 00:04:23.399 --> 00:04:27.399 a hold of eating healthy and doing it in one shot. Definitely. So 68 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:32.279 meal planning might seem like it takes a big chunk of time in the foreground 69 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:35.079 right when you're prepping, it seems like it takes a lot of a long 70 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.839 time, but it really is going to save you a lot of time throughout 71 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:41.600 the week as well. It's just stress, like that mental load of trying 72 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:45.279 to figure out dinner every night. Plus it sets you up for success. 73 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:47.959 Right, how many times are you driving home from work or whatever you have 74 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:51.199 going on in your life and you're just too tired to cook or too busy, 75 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:54.560 And so that's you know, when you end up through the drive through, 76 00:04:54.959 --> 00:04:57.560 which is fine ones everyone every once in a while. But if you 77 00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:00.439 can set yourself up for success by prepping, that's going to be a great 78 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:03.560 thing. And you know, meal prepping looks different to a lot of people. 79 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:08.040 Some people like to cook a whole batch or two batches of a meal 80 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:11.560 and put it in those little meal prep containers and like have it stacked in 81 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:15.920 their fridge. That's one of the biggest complaints of meal prep that I hear. 82 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:17.639 They don't want to eat the same thing every day for the entire week. 83 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.079 But that doesn't have to be the only way that meal prep looks. 84 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:25.439 Like, so you can just prep ingredients, like if you buy a bunch 85 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:28.480 of produce, chop it up, put it in containers so that it's ready 86 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:30.639 to go, and at least you can eliminate like the prep and pulling out 87 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.639 the cunning board and the knife during your week that kind of thing. But 88 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:38.399 we have a we have a lot of meal prepping, meal prepping tips and 89 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:40.800 other kind of meals you can look at as well. Yeah, so I 90 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:44.199 mean, if you think about the investment of time, yes, it's all 91 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:46.720 one moment, but man, for if you do it one day for six 92 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:50.160 more days, there's no prep and I think about you talk about you've made 93 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:54.360 fast food in reality, because I will say when I did do the male 94 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:58.199 meal prepping once day two came and I'm like, go to the fridge, 95 00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:00.439 I grab my meal done, Like wow, It's like so it was like 96 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:04.920 this is great because nothing is more satisfying than eating immediately. So to have 97 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:09.759 that meal prepp done right and it didn't take you much. You did the 98 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:12.360 same thing, or you did it once and you could still be creative. 99 00:06:12.360 --> 00:06:15.319 In that moment, we mentioned about one of the innovations being fast food, 100 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:17.720 but I think we got to look around the kitchen a little bit. We 101 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:23.519 are multiple generations of people with microwaves, and now we're also the air fryer 102 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:26.959 and the insta pot, you know, we and a lot of times these 103 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:30.399 are gifts given to us that you know, maybe we use with a relative 104 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.639 infrequency, or like a crock pot, maybe we lean on all the time. 105 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:40.759 There are great recipes to use these really convenient tools that many of us 106 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:45.000 have in our kitchen and may not activate as often as we really could. 107 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:46.399 Yeah, man, dude, I love a crock pot. That is my 108 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:50.560 favorite thing in the world, especially we're coming up on fall season. But 109 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:55.680 yeah, and you know what, yeah, those those those fancy appliances. 110 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:58.879 Certainly you can do something. But man, just the good old oven. 111 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:01.639 If you can find a good sheet pan meal, or even just one pot 112 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:05.319 one pan meal for your stove, or even no cook meals, you know, 113 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:08.560 the microwave might come in handy, but you might not need a heat 114 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:12.519 component at all. That is something to consider when you're planning what you're going 115 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.000 to eat for the week, So pick your recipes wisely. Something might look 116 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:19.199 delicious and healthy, but if you're going to be dirtying every pot and pan 117 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:23.680 and just kind of getting your like a tornado went through your kitchen, it's 118 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:27.120 really not going to be worth worth it for you. So check check for 119 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:30.879 those for sure. That's that's very fair too. And my wife loves to 120 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:33.879 cook, but she loves to cook for fifty and she struggles to cook for 121 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:39.879 five. So it's usually more food than we could eat in one sitting. 122 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:44.920 That is not a bad thing as long as you take the right precautions right, 123 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:47.680 right, right, And so that's a great point. Leftovers right kind 124 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:51.839 of if you just leftovers in a way is meal prepping. I actually I 125 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:55.480 just made in one of our classes the other day. I made these taco 126 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:59.959 zucchini boats. Delicious. It was like keenwa a bunch of chopped vegge. 127 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:03.759 I also used like the microwave keena that come in those little bowls. They're 128 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:05.839 like two dollars, very affordable, done in a minute, you don't have 129 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:11.839 to worry about like boiling keenuan getting the water ratio right. But yeah, 130 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:15.639 so the diced veggies in there, and I only made half the recipe as 131 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:18.199 far as zucchini, so I had extra filling leftover. So the next day, 132 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:22.040 maybe I'm not feeling like eating the same exact meal. I don't want 133 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:26.480 the zucchini boats, but I have that extra keenuan veggie filling with that like 134 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:28.759 taco flavoring already, right, So I just put it on some lettuce, 135 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:31.720 made myself a little tuco salad, and you can, you know, get 136 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:37.080 creative with repurposing those leftovers. Yeah, it's quick creativity because you're talking about 137 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:39.440 add one little thing in there, add a little flavoring, you know, 138 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:43.120 throw it into a bag of salad, so to speak, or a little 139 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:46.720 bit something you have already handy, and you can use that without it going 140 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:50.440 to waste, which go back into our previous episodes A word to words of 141 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:54.639 the Wise. We've talked about waste and how what Wise Markets does to fight 142 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:58.919 wasteed and its stores and of course for our family, some great tips for 143 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:03.440 us to do that too. But those are great tips on simple little things 144 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:07.720 to do every day, and they're probably if you're not doing them now, 145 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:11.080 they're probably just a you know, a little inch to the left or right 146 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:13.799 from what you're really doing every single day. You probably do the same thing 147 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:16.480 with leftovers. You probably don't throw them out. The key is to have 148 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:18.480 kind of a game plan with them, and you know, maybe you do 149 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:22.000 the crock pot and for like one thing, you're like, wow, I 150 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:26.360 really love a taste. Try for three more things. So there's a lot 151 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:30.080 of ways that we can get into the kitchen and we can save some time. 152 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:33.480 But I think, you know, we need to get into the meal 153 00:09:33.559 --> 00:09:37.879 prep part because I think this is still the challenge. You'd mentioned that I 154 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:41.600 don't want to eat the same thing every single day, and that might be 155 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:45.080 the mentality that holds people back from meal prep. What are some meal prep 156 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:48.320 tips you have? Yes, definitely. So meal prepping doesn't even have to 157 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:50.000 be like, oh, I'm going to cook Sunday for this week, and 158 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:54.480 then next Sunday I'm going to cook for that week. You can really capitalize 159 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:56.559 on your time and really meal prep in the future. So, for example, 160 00:09:56.600 --> 00:10:00.639 one of the things that I like to do is to just double a 161 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:03.519 recipe, so say you're making enchilada's for dinner one night, you know you're 162 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:07.159 gonna roll up those tortillas laid all out in a pan. Wonderful, tasty 163 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:11.000 dinner that night. Do the exact same thing, Philip, a second pan. 164 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:13.519 You know, you can buy those little disposable foil ones and put that 165 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:18.240 in your freezer with some foil over top. You can double the foil so 166 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:20.000 you know you don't get freezer burn or anything. Everybody has their own little 167 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:24.559 trick for that. But then that'll be good at least two months. You 168 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:28.960 know, I eat things way longer in the freezer, but at least two 169 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:31.000 months. So down the road, if you're needing a meal on a week 170 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:35.679 night, in a pinch or anything like that, maybe it is the next 171 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:37.480 week that you end up eating it. Whenever your family's ready for it, 172 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:41.200 just pop it in the oven and it's good to go. Yeah, that's 173 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:45.320 why I met you two about my wife cooks for fifty people better than cooks 174 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:48.080 for five. I mean, instead of splitting it in the leftover side and 175 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:50.440 laid it all on the table, like look at it right there, and 176 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.240 like, okay, here's my half, I'm gonna plate for five people. 177 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:58.000 Our family, and I'm gonna pan the rest and goes right into the freezer 178 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:01.240 and it's done. It actually really helps with the clean up in that moment 179 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:05.639 too, because you've already separated the food and there's not going to be anything 180 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:07.240 on that leftover side to really worry about what all of a sudden done. 181 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:11.399 Yeah. Absolutely. You know, I talked about how the zucchini boats I 182 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:16.120 had left over filling, but I kind of just as intentionally doubled the recipe. 183 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:18.279 So when I'm pouring out two cups of Queenwa, you know, it 184 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:22.960 takes the same amount of time pretty much virtually to pour out four cups of 185 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:26.120 Quenwa versus on a separate day, like pulling out the measuring cups, pulling 186 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:28.960 out the queen wa, pulling out the bowl, and like making the recipe 187 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:33.679 again. Like you really are saving time that way. So yeah, good, 188 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:37.480 I love it. I love it. We mentioned you're the freezer. 189 00:11:37.559 --> 00:11:41.600 Is is the greatest weapon I think really we have in winning this this meal 190 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:48.159 prep war. And we take it for granted because we haven't been not just 191 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:50.720 flash freezing, but even refrigeration in general in general. I mean again, 192 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:56.559 two maybe three generations like this is still new when you're in the long scheme 193 00:11:56.600 --> 00:12:00.919 of things. So you have a major advantage just having that free and it's 194 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:03.960 probably the number one full of stuff in there. If you plan better, 195 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:05.799 you can probably use it. But number two, there's usually a lot of 196 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:09.519 freezer space in general to work with when you plan it out. Yes, 197 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:13.240 certainly you can. You can organize your freezer. Mind the organized I mean, 198 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:16.799 it's it's like the it's the thought. It's like when you think about 199 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:18.480 but I can probably get rid of a bunch of stuff in there. And 200 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:20.559 if you go through it, like you could say, wow, I can 201 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:24.000 organize. I know I have these meals. The freezer's right there. It's 202 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:28.000 so easy to use, so easy, and you know what I like, 203 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:31.240 I certainly am somebody who's prone to forgetting about things in my freezer. So 204 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:35.320 if you're also one of those people, just keep a little list and like 205 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:37.600 smack it on the side of your fridge or the front of your fridge. 206 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:39.600 I'm like, okay, I'm meal prepped, these enchiladas. They're in there, 207 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:43.200 and so you know you have it to refer to if it ends up 208 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:46.120 in the way back. But one of the other freezer tools that I like 209 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:48.919 to use, and this kind of goes hand in hand with the crock pots 210 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:52.879 as well, but freezer bag meals. So we've been doing quite a few 211 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:56.759 of these. I do a meal prep class for one of our online classes, 212 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:01.120 and so basically these freezer bag meals you just need like a gown zip 213 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:05.759 block and you can do any kind of cuisine. We've done butter chicken, 214 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:11.399 or zip block of freezer bag meals, stir fry ones. We did a 215 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:15.720 lentil curry pineapple chicken. We've done so many. So basically, just prep 216 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:18.679 everything right. So I would like slice up my raw chicken. Typically the 217 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:22.000 chicken breasts just stay whole in these meals anyway. But you throw that in, 218 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:24.879 you measure out your sauce, you chop your veggies, and you put 219 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:28.919 it up in this nice little package, lay it flat in your freezer, 220 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:31.039 and it's good to go. So it's not like your I think people are 221 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:33.639 a little more open to this because it's not like you're cooking a meal, 222 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:39.039 freezing this cooked food and then just defrosting and the microwave cooked food. It's 223 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:41.840 like it's raw food. You're still going to cook it and eat a nice, 224 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:45.600 fresh cooked meal, but the prep and the time is way behind you. 225 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:48.080 And again at least two months in the freezer there, but I eat 226 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:52.120 way past that for sure. I feel like things actually last forever in the 227 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:54.679 freezer. Yeah, I mean, there's always that recommended amount of time. 228 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:58.879 And again we encourage you to use your judgment more than anything else when you 229 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:01.840 inspect, especially freeze or burn or you know it's gonna it needs to be 230 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:03.960 a little more than just taste right for you too. We need to be 231 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:07.360 healthy for you. You mentioned about forgetting, and I'm a forgetful guy. 232 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:13.320 But your device is your smart speakers, your virtual assistance. Look setting an 233 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:18.240 appointment. You mentioned even about putting those post it notes on the side of 234 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:20.879 the fridge. It's nothing to ask your smart speaker to remind me on Tuesday 235 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:26.320 to unfreeze this, and people can act on that on that virtual calendar. 236 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:28.799 Like there's there's a lot of ways you could plan without lifting a finger into 237 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:33.279 it fast. Yeah, absolutely, And you know for frozen meals, you 238 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:37.000 know, if you freeze something the day you cook it, then when you 239 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:39.039 defrosted, it's good for at least four days or so after that. Right, 240 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.799 However, you would typically keep it in your fridge, so you know, 241 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:45.759 even if you think you will forget, just put it in. Like 242 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:48.960 if you think you're gonna eat those chelads that you froze on Thursday or Friday 243 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:52.600 and you're thinking about it Monday, go ahead and take it out Monday, 244 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.320 stick it in the fridge Monday, and it'll be defrosted whenever you go to 245 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:56.559 put it in the in the oven, or just put a straight in the 246 00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:01.200 oven from the freezer either way. But yeah, send an appointment, certainly. 247 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:03.679 It's you know, we make appointments for so many things, and I 248 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:09.000 hear this recommendation for a lot of things like exercise in particular. You know, 249 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:13.120 like you don't really miss appointments. If it's an important meeting for work 250 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:16.919 or doctor's appointment, you don't just say like not right now. So do 251 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:20.720 that for yourself as well. Do that with meal prep, set an hour, 252 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:24.159 two hours, whatever it is, and just really do it. We 253 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:28.440 even do so. I mentioned the meal prep classes we usually do like Sundays 254 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:31.480 at ten am or sometimes Monday evenings. But I think the best thing for 255 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.799 people and what they like about it is that it's like a set time. 256 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:39.559 They know at ten am Sunday, we're making two recipes. And then it's 257 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:41.879 also a little bit of a bonus because they don't have to plan the meals. 258 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:45.279 You know, we send the recipes, we send the ingredient list. 259 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.120 So even if you want to just sign up for if you can't make that 260 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:50.919 time, just sign up for the classes. At least you'll get some recipe 261 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.360 ideas and a shopping list and if we can help you save time that way 262 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:58.039 too, I'm all for it. I mean, and the Wise Dietitian team, 263 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:00.000 I mean, when you do speak with them, and this is something 264 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:03.799 we'll touch out at the end of the episode two, I mean, they 265 00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:06.440 really are there to help. They're not there to say, well, here, 266 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:10.120 here's the three flavors of rice cakes we have to offer. This goes 267 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:15.759 so much more into eating healthy and eating delicious and enjoying what you eat too, 268 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:21.000 So I really encourage you to take advantage of that availability. This is 269 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:23.200 what the team is there for. And again, when you schedule that time 270 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:26.919 out for food prep, you're really scheduling it out for yourself and for your 271 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:30.440 family. It's one of those things if you do first in your life, 272 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:33.919 your family and you are going to eat well. For the rest of the 273 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:37.600 week. And that's a big, big advantage because otherwise, again it's it's 274 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:41.200 fast food is your option. You're going to eat something, so having that 275 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:45.240 available is great. You had we talked about these, these sheep pan meals 276 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:52.000 and even no cook meals. I love the thought processes of even the no 277 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:56.000 cook because you know you don't have to worry about minding something or watching something. 278 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:59.279 You know, is it going to boil over, is it gonna burn? 279 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:03.200 I mean having these types of meals to be able to easily throw together. 280 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.839 They're great as options to come up with something fresh and fast. Definitely. 281 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:11.680 Typically no cooked meals are like colder and temperature like. They're not really 282 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.200 heat. They don't need heat. So as far as taking it out of 283 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:18.079 your fridge when you actually go to eat it, a lot of times they 284 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:21.359 were there. It's a quick, quick option. So we do have two 285 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:25.200 no cooke recipes to recommend today. They're actually in the current edition of our 286 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:29.119 Healthy Bites magazine. I'll talk about that later, but one of them is 287 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:33.200 peanut chicken spring rolls. So this is using either leftover chicken that you already 288 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:37.839 have, so maybe you have frozen chicken that you made a while ago, 289 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:41.359 you can take that out to frost it. Or if you don't have already 290 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:45.119 cooked chicken, you can buy chicken pre cooked right like a rotisserie chicken. 291 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:48.799 You could even use can chicken for this recipe, just be mindful of the 292 00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:52.720 sodium. And then this recipe has a bunch of different like chopped and shredded 293 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:56.240 veggies, So you can either buy a whole carrot and chop it up yourself 294 00:17:56.279 --> 00:18:00.880 if you want to, or just buy the bag of carrots that you would 295 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:04.559 like put on a salad and have that and use that shredded red cabbage. 296 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:08.400 And then all you're really doing is mixing together the chicken and those veggies. 297 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:11.359 And then there's a quick sauce you whip up. It's like peanut butter soy 298 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:15.799 sauce, and maybe some ginger. You could swap out ginger powder if you 299 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:18.880 don't want to mince up fresh ginger. You know, quick quick options there, 300 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:22.039 and then you roll it in spring wrappers. Then it's like this nice 301 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:25.279 Asian treat and who doesn't o the meal where you get to dip something. 302 00:18:25.640 --> 00:18:29.440 I love things that common wrappers like that. Yeah, that sounds delicious. 303 00:18:29.799 --> 00:18:33.839 Yeah, And then this might be a little common, like a tuna salad 304 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:37.400 lettuce rap. So this then what's for lunch? I mean this is the 305 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:41.359 tuna is almost always makes a great lunch for everybody. And you know with 306 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:45.559 the tuna cans or tuna pouches, I mean something I think we almost always 307 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:47.480 have hanging around the house. I know we do. Yeah, no, 308 00:18:47.640 --> 00:18:51.359 definitely, and you know what you're getting those nice Omega threes if you can 309 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:53.559 switch in some seafood, so good good things there. But you know, 310 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:59.680 certainly this particular recipes is lettuce wraps. But if your family prefers to eat 311 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:02.319 tuna salad as a sandwich, to certainly go for it. I think it's 312 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:04.799 nice to just have some in the fridge. My favorite thing to do with 313 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:10.000 tuna salad is like an aposta salad. I make this quite frequently. I 314 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:12.880 cannot recommend whole wheat pennay enough. I think if you just cook it for 315 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:17.000 like ten minutes, I really don't think it's that big of a difference from 316 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.400 white pasta, especially with so many other things going on with it in a 317 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:22.759 tuna salad. So give it a try. It's pretty much the same price, 318 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:26.200 if not the exact same price as white pasta, but you're getting some 319 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:30.480 extra protein and fiber in there as well. And then also if I'm really 320 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:34.400 in a pinch, I will either pick up like a pre made tuna salad 321 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:38.319 in the Delhi section you can get like the Wines to Go tuna salad or 322 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:42.799 star Kist has those tuna creations under two dollars a bag. If you're making 323 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:45.960 like a whole pound aposta, you might need a few bags. But that 324 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:48.680 tuna salad is pretty good and you just dump it right in and mix it 325 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:52.480 together, really good flavor and yeah, not going to break the bank, 326 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:56.440 not going to really suck up a lot of your free time, and it's 327 00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:59.240 pretty flavor filled as well. I love, you know, bring in that 328 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.119 whole week pasta into this whole conversation as well, because one of my favorite 329 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:07.240 things, even for the color difference, I like the way it looks laying 330 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:11.880 out there on the plate as well. If you check out Healthy Bites magazine, 331 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:15.960 we have a two prep now, Eat later recipes in our current edition 332 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.839 which both sound amazing. Yeah, so one summer garden chicken skillet. The 333 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:25.160 other one is a freezer friendly sweet and spicy meatball that one's kind of one 334 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:26.799 of those like freezer bag meals I was talking about. You make it, 335 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.359 freeze it, and then you can defrost it in the crock pot for a 336 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:33.680 few hours if you want to, or even just on the stove or the 337 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:37.519 microwave. That one is really good. It's pretty tasty. And just make 338 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:40.119 some quick rice, real quick before. I have some fresh rice with it. 339 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:44.920 But then also I'll give you a little sneak peek for September coming up, 340 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.279 we have a few sheep pan meals. So one is everything salmon, 341 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.759 so I feel like everything bagel seasoning is quite popular right now, and so 342 00:20:53.079 --> 00:21:00.079 we slept on some salmon. And then we have lemon parmesan chicken with brockle 343 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:02.960 tomatoes and onions. Those are kind of like tenders, so your kids probably 344 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:07.240 will really like that one. And then the other one is a vegetarian recipes 345 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:11.160 orange ginger tofu with veggies. So in general, what I like about these 346 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.480 three sheep pan meals is that a they're easy, right, they're super quick. 347 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:18.400 They only use one sheep pan. It all goes in the oven at 348 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:22.359 the same time for the same amount of time. But then you're getting a 349 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:25.920 nice variety of protein as well, and that's one of the things we like 350 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:30.680 to recommend, like one of our general nutrition tips, because all different kinds 351 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:34.519 of protein have different nutrients to offer us. And so with just these three 352 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:38.480 sheep pan meals, you're getting a seafood right for those Omega three, some 353 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:44.599 vitamin D chicken, a nice lean protein, low and saturated fat, and 354 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:48.920 then tofu pretty much no saturated fat, more of a plant based option, 355 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:53.680 but it's still good protein. Yeah. Wis Markets dot Com slash Healthy Bites. 356 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:56.920 You can actually take a look at those recipes, the ones now, 357 00:21:57.079 --> 00:22:02.680 the ones that will be coming out in September. I love varying things because 358 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:04.759 that was one of the big objections at the front where we started talking about 359 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:08.079 this. When I do meal prep, I'm gonna be stuck eating the same 360 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:11.559 thing over and over again, and a lot of the same ingredients can be 361 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:17.400 used in myriad ways. Look it at kind of what we just went through 362 00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:22.559 throughout our suggestions during this episode as well. So it's something that you take 363 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:26.559 the time for yourself and your family first, and you're gonna eat great all 364 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:30.920 throughout the week. Definitely, And I mentioned tom meal prep can look like 365 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:33.640 just chopping your veggies. It doesn't have to be a full meal. So 366 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.079 let's just take red bell pepper for example. If you chop up your red 367 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:41.799 bell pepper on Sunday before the week and that's ready to go along with some 368 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:44.640 other veggies, how many different things can you do with that bell pepper. 369 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:47.200 You can put it an omelet, you can make tacos, you can make 370 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:51.359 kcdias, you can make stir fry if you want an Asian type of flavor 371 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:55.079 profile. Lots of different things you can do with that. But that prep 372 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:57.400 time is done. All you gotta do is whip it up and eat it. 373 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:00.559 Yeah, so let's let's recap all this. First of all, I 374 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:04.799 want to remind you Healthy Bites magazine, Wise markets dot com slash Healthy Bites. 375 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:07.319 Of course, you could take a look at wise markets dot com slash 376 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:11.359 recipes. You can look at those sheet pan recipes or even set the filter 377 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:15.480 to no cook. I mean really, it's not a deep dive to go 378 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:17.720 in there and if I say, oh wow, this is great to try. 379 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:21.359 But the tips we really came out with this, and right at the 380 00:23:21.400 --> 00:23:25.200 jump, I'm a frozen veggiean frozen food guy. I love having that available 381 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:29.160 on demand. But but give those cans, give those frozen veggies to try 382 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:33.759 to cut down your prep time. You don't need to use all these appliances. 383 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:36.839 Schedule which we kind of came to the top of this to use that 384 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:41.039 schedule to your advantage and talk to the Wise Markets dietitian team. Not just 385 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:45.039 ideas on how to eat healthier, would eat more delicious. There's so many 386 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:49.119 places you can get great ideas from wise And I mean you see these recipes, 387 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:53.359 They're not difficult from the Wise Markets perspective. I mean these are really 388 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:56.920 easy for you to pull off. Even if you would label yourself a beginner 389 00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:00.440 chef with minimal time, I think you can marry those two things together and 390 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:03.759 eat deliciously. Yeah, and even you know, if you are beginner, 391 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:08.000 you're welcome to take our classes. They're totally free. You can check those 392 00:24:08.039 --> 00:24:12.640 out and register for them at Wise markets dot com slash nutrition. That's also 393 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:15.359 a big component of time, right. The more comfortable you are in the 394 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:18.079 kitchen, the more skilled you are, the quicker things are going to go. 395 00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:21.559 So if you can learn some new tips, maybe some new hacks in 396 00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:25.400 our classes, that would definitely benefit you. And then you know, I 397 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.240 completely understand that it can be a challenge to plan meals, come up with 398 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:36.039 recipes, and really balance eating nutritiously with your busy lives. So we're here 399 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:37.839 to help with that. You know, we offer free nutrition counseling as well. 400 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:42.319 So again that's all at wise markets dot com slash nutrition. We love 401 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:45.720 to help. We're here to help and lots of great services there. And 402 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:49.240 I gotta point out too, not the only people that would be seeking help, 403 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:52.480 Like, there's a lot of people that do turn to the Wise Markets 404 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:56.200 dietitian team and they've heard it all and they want to help. So so 405 00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:00.640 many healthy ways to eat and eat well with a limited amount of time because 406 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:03.480 we try to save you some time in the kitchen. Well, listen, 407 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:06.880 Logan, thanks so much for spending time with us today. I'm Word of 408 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:08.759 the Wise. Yeah, thanks for having me and thanks for listening. Don't 409 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:12.720 forget to subscribes you don't miss any episodes, and make sure head back into 410 00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:18.000 our archive check out previous episodes. Thanks again for listening to Words of the Wise.