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Meal Prep like a pro with Turkey

By Shannon Crocker MSc RD, Vibrant Nutrition Communications

 

Did you make New Year’s Resolutions?

After a month of holiday festivities, New Year’s resolutions are in full-swing and healthy eating is top of mind.

If eating well is on your radar, I’m happy to share that you don’t have to give up your favourite foods to be healthy! And, with a little meal prep, eating well can be easier than you might think.

Here are three top meal prep tips to help you make nutritious and delicious meals that will help you stay on the healthy eating track:

1. Cook Once, Eat Twice.
Contrary to what you see on social media, you don’t need to be a professional meal planner to be able to create a week’s worth of meals that are ready in minutes.

A stress-free meal prep strategy that I use is to make extra food while I’m making a meal. In other words: “Cook Once, Eat Twice.” For example, on the weekend, roast a large turkey breast to enjoy for Sunday dinner and then use the leftovers to make quick meals during the week, like this Grilled Turkey Caprese Salad.

Good to Know: Turkey is lean! The small amount of fat in turkey provides energy and can help your body absorb vitamins from veggies like vitamins A and E. Keep the skin on when you cook a breast to lock in the flavour. Remove the skin after cooking to keep the meal leaner. .

2. Make Ahead Meals (even breakfast!)
Having nutritious meals made and ready in the fridge makes the healthy choice the easy choice.

These simple, wholesome make-ahead Grab And Go Turkey Muffins are great for light lunches (just add a leafy green salad) or breakfast. They’re filled with eggs, lean turkey thighs and lots of veggies to keep you fueled until your next break. Freeze a batch or keep them in the fridge so you can just heat and eat – no fork required.

Good to Know: Turkey thighs may seem more indulgent because of the juiciness and flavour, but thighs are lean! Bonus: dark meat is even richer in iron which helps deliver oxygen through your body to your muscles and your brain so you feel energized.

3. Salads in a Snap
Salads are a super way to get more veggie goodness into your day. Keeping veggies chopped and ready-to-go will help you create scrumptious meal-sized salads. (I like to chop veggies while I’m watching my favourite show on Netflix. Win-win!)

The key to longer lasting salad satisfaction is to add protein. Since turkey is lean yet packed with protein, it’s ideal for boosting the staying power of salads, like this oh-so-good Turkey Buddha Bowl.

Good to Know: turkey is an excellent source of high quality protein. Each 100-gram serving has about 30 grams of hunger-crushing protein.

With a little planning, and small, simple goals, you can be on the road to your eating well journey in January and all year long!

Happy Healthy New Year,

Shannon