{"id":51235,"date":"2016-08-22T07:15:42","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T11:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=51235"},"modified":"2021-05-19T11:55:58","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T15:55:58","slug":"meal-planning-tips-nutrition-stripped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/meal-planning-tips-nutrition-stripped\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Meal Planning Tips From McKel Hill’s Nutrition Stripped Cookbook"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"5
Photo by Kelsey Cherry<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While most dietitians will tell you it\u2019s OK to enjoy all foods in moderation<\/a>, it\u2019s not an approach McKel Hill, MS, RD, author of the forthcoming book, Nutrition Stripped: 10 Whole Food Recipes Made Deliciously Simple<\/a><\/em>, necessarily believes in.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big proponent of balance, but the whole enjoying everything in moderation isn\u2019t in my wheelhouse. My approach is rooted in what I call the 80-90, where 80 to 90 percent of the meals you eat are made from whole foods, and the other 10 to 20 percent is a little more flexible. For some of my clients, that 10 percent is a glass of red wine or a piece of dark chocolate,\u201d Hill explains.<\/p>\n

Hill, who is a chocolate and potato chips lover<\/a>, says you can still enjoy all your favorite foods, as long as they\u2019re made with nutrient-dense ingredients. \u201cI\u2019m human and have cravings like everyone else. So when I want a cookie or potato chips, I think \u2018Can I make my own chips or my own cookie?\u2019 Homemade foods<\/a> are always better than processed or packaged foods<\/a> because you can control what goes into them,\u201d Hill says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Kale and Cake: Inside Andie Mitchell\u2019s New Cookbook<\/a><\/p>\n

Nutrition Stripped: The Case for Being Basic<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In Hill\u2019s new cookbook, she strips down the basics of healthy eating<\/a> and empowers you with beginner guides on how to prioritize your grocery shopping list<\/a> and properly stock your pantry. She also provides tips on how to make your own almond milk or other nut milks and prepare homemade nut butter<\/a> and flour out of nuts, seeds and whole grains, like rolled oats, buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth. Much of what you\u2019ll get in the cookbook supplements Hill\u2019s blog and Nutrition Stripped Society<\/a>, an online meal planning service that provides whole food recipes, meal planning charts, batch cooking guides and even guided workout videos.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve tried different diets myself and became a guinea pig for everything. I felt this was necessary in order to be able to treat my clients. I found that a plant-based lifestyle is what works best for me, and it has become my protocol for clients, but I always consider their lifestyle,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Is the Alkaline Diet Legit?<\/a><\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s recipes are all plant-based and flexible for people who are dairy-free, gluten-free<\/a> or vegan. But that\u2019s not to say that meat eaters and comfort food lovers can\u2019t enjoy the benefits of Hill\u2019s cooking. The new cookbook features healthy takes on homestyle classics like Roasted Vegetable Lasagna With Lemon Raw-Cotta, Baked Sticky Fig BBQ Beans and Carrot Cake Quinoa Porridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recipes are designed to take out the intimidation factor and give inspiration to expand,\u201d Hill says. \u201cPeople don\u2019t need to follow the recipes exactly, but it gives them inspiration to create their own meals and use different ingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"5
Photo: Katie Newburn; Zucchini Pizza Crust With Lemony Pea Pesto Recipe<\/a> by McKel Hill<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Become a Meal Prep Maven<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re a meal planning<\/a> non-believer, perhaps Hill\u2019s tips will change your mind. Here are five things to remember as you start preparing your meals at home.<\/p>\n

1. Set realistic expectations.
\n<\/strong>Just like weight loss, meal planning is a journey. Don\u2019t expect to plan each meal in advance, which can be overwhelming. Instead, take a look at how your days are currently set up and tackle one mealtime challenge. \u201cI used to skip breakfast, so when I started meal planning, I tackled that first. I would batch cook something for breakfast<\/a> so I wouldn\u2019t feel famished by mid-morning,\u201d Hill says. Once you get into the swing of things, planning the rest of your meals will become second nature.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>50 Resources That Make Meal Prep a Snap<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Keep frozen foods <\/a>handy.
\n<\/a><\/strong>\u201cWhen I think of convenience foods, I make sure to stock up on frozen organic fruits and veggies. Those are just really good for 911 meals when I come home from a long day and don\u2019t have energy to prepare a full meal,\u201d Hill says. She advises to use whatever time you have on a weeknight or weekend that you feel most energetic and efficient to multi-task and prepare meals in advance. \u201cI also try to have back-up plans and freeze a chili or soup that I can easily heat up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"5
Photo: Katie Newburn; Chocolate Fudge Paletas Recipe<\/a> by McKel Hill<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>21 Meal Prep Tips From the Best Preppers We Know<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Stick to what you know.
\n<\/strong>It can be intimidating to stock your entire fridge with fruits and veggies at first, which is why Hill says to start small and pick up things you know you\u2019ll immediately use. First up, try some dark, leafy greens. \u201cMy fridge is always stocked with plenty of romaine lettuce, arugula and spinach. I recommend the Stripped Green Smoothie<\/a> for most people because it\u2019s the easiest way to sneak in some greens,\u201d Hill says. She also likes to make her own coconut milk, which is always in her fridge. The other surprising thing she keeps on hand? Nutritional yeast. \u201cIn all honestly, everyone needs more B vitamins in their life, and nutritional yeast is an amazing source of it. It\u2019s nutrient-dense and can be sprinkled on salads and added to homemade chips. It\u2019s also just fun to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n

 4. <\/strong>Streamline your week.
\n<\/strong>Your first inclination might be to look up recipes on Pinterest or food blogs and start buying all the ingredients to make those dishes. But the reality is, you might not have time to cook a fancy meal each night, so it\u2019s best to keep things simple and prepare hearty dishes you already know and can easily put together. \u201cSalad bowls<\/a> are easy and have all your macronutrients. I also love making stir fries on weeknights because they take little time to cook,\u201d Hill says.<\/p>\n

5. Savor your meal.
\n<\/strong>All that said, the most important piece of meal planning is actually stepping away from your busy day (social media included) to savor each bite. \u201cIn an ideal world, I\u2019m sitting down and taking a couple of breaths before I dive into my meal,\u201d Hill says. \u201cIf I\u2019m on the go and can\u2019t stop work, I still chew my food very thoroughly, even smoothies. Chewing not only helps you take time to taste each bite, but it\u2019s also good for digestion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"5
Photo: Katie Newburn; Plantain Flatbread With Poached Egg and Honey Drizzle<\/a> by McKel Hill<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Recipes<\/h3>\n

1. Chocolate Fudge Paletas Recipe<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Chocolate Fudge Paletas Recipe<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Plantain Flatbread Recipe With Poached Egg and Honey Drizzle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more delicious recipes from Hill? Get your own copy of Nutrition Stripped: 100 Whole Food Recipes Made Deliciously Simple<\/a>, on sale starting August 23.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

McKel Hill, founder of the popular Nutrition Stripped blog, dishes on her new cookbook, including secrets to successful meal planning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7],"tags":[204,317,292,71,341,388],"class_list":["post-51235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","tag-cooking","tag-meal-planning","tag-meal-prep","tag-nutrition","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2nutrition"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51235\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}