Healthy Meal Planning | MealEasy

Have another cup

MealEasy — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:52:03 +0000

I drink coffee as I’m sure a lot of you do. I’ve never been too concerned about the supposed health risks involve because I usually limit my coffee intake to a cup with my breakfast and that’s it.
But if you are among those that drink lots of coffee throughout the day, you may take this new study to heart. Turns out, coffee might even be good for you! Now as with most things, moderation is the key. The MealEasy meal planner has a few meals that feature eggs and therefore are higher in cholesterol but again, eating eggs in moderation is the key. If you were to eat 3 eggs a day every day, then you might want to consider cutting down.
What this study proves is that there are still lots of things we don’t yet understand when it comes to food and how it affects our bodies; I would say that it also varies from person to person. So, if you’re a coffee drinker or not, stay active and eat a variety of foods and remember to take things in moderation.

Has it really come to this?

MealEasy — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:24:14 +0000

By now we’ve all heard about the obesity epidemic that has hit North American and by all accounts, many places around the world. We’ve all heard the staggering statistics and the huge costs associated with obesity; we’ve read about how unhealthy eating is causing a huge increase in diabetes and heart disease among other ailments.
But will it really take a 20% tax on junk food to force us to change our eating habits? According to the British Medical Journal this just might be the only way to get people to eat healthier. This, they argue would hit people where it hurts the most…their pocketbook. But is there really a price on good health? Do we really need a government tax to wake us up to the fact that junk food is bad for us? Unfortunately for many folks that is the case. Often people don’t take notice until it affects their budget. If the price of a bag of chips is suddenly $0.60 more per bag or the fast food combo is no longer under $4?
At MealEasy we’re thinking about your budget and your health. We’ve created healthy and affordable meal plans that suit just about any tastes. From our Heart Healthy Meal Plan, Gluten Free Meal Plan to our Vegetarian Meal Plan, we know there’s something there for you and your family to eat well and save money by planning ahead. Don’t wait until the government imposes a tax on junk food to start eating right…do it now!

Sunday Feast Leftovers

MealEasy — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:41:42 +0000

Making lunches throughout the week can be both stressful and time consuming. Quite often you’re left with little choice but to grab something on the go. This often means you’re spending money you shouldn’t and eating something that’s not healthy.
That’s why it is so important to plan your meals ahead of time. And, while planning ahead, plan for leftovers. Leftovers are the easiest lunch there is. What could be more convenient than taking some leftover supper and eating it for lunch?
That’s why at our house I always plan on a big dinner for Sunday evenings even though there are only 3 of us in our family. This week, even with my dad and his wife visiting, we still had plenty of leftovers for lunches for me and my wife as well as some chicken that we used for our dinner on Monday night. I decided on a whole roast chicken which I cooked on the rotisserie and a quinoa salad with as many vegetables as I could cook. Sure it took a couple hours to cook the chicken but as it roasted away, I leisurely prepped the veggies for the quinoa salad while chatting to my dad as we sipped our wine.
This week’s quinoa salad featured a whole bunch of fresh seasonal vegetables such as fiddleheads, asparagus, beet greens and spinach from our own garden. It was great! I highly recommend quinoa salads as a starch for dinner and as a lunch item on its own; so filling and nutritious. I’ve included a recipe from our MealEasy collection here but feel free to experiment and add whatever vegetables you may have on hand.

Time to step up dad

MealEasy — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:43:57 +0000

Mother’s day is this Sunday and if you didn’t book a table at mom’s favourite restaurant by now…you’re too late. But why take mom out for brunch when you can cook it yourself? I know most men don’t know a spatula from a ladle but now’s your chance to prove that you can do it…you can cook a nice meal for the love of your life.
All this week on our MealEasy Facebook page and on our twitter, we’ve been featuring recipes that are super easy and would make anyone proud. I’ve included another easy and impressive recipe here in this blog…so fathers, there’s no reason you can’t do this. You can even get the kids to help. My daughter loves cracking eggs and whisking stuff.
And mothers, if you’re reading this, you can either forward it dad’s way or even print it out and leave it conspicuously next to the TV remote…ya never know, maybe you won’t be waiting in line at the local diner with all the other families who’s dad’s forgot to book ahead.

This will put you to sleep

MealEasy — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:11:48 +0000

I like sleep. I find I need to sleep every night. I just feel better if I’ve slept. But, like I’m sure most of you out there, I feel I never get enough sleep. I try to sleep at least 7 hours a night but sometimes that’s just not possible. Not sure why it’s not possible but sometimes it’s not.

I’ve always known that a minimum of 7 hours is what’s recommended but many nights I just can’t put the book I’m reading down and next thing you know, its past midnight and I have to get up in 6 hours.
Now, neurologist Dr. Nathaniel Watson of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center in Seattle has linked lack of sleep with obesity. Yep, the doc says get more sleep! Now, he doesn’t say sleeping 12 hours will make you lose 20 pounds or anything like that, but along with a healthy meal plan and physical exercise, a good night’s sleep is essential in maintaining a healthy body. So tonight, put down that book, turn off the TV and do yourself a favor…get lots of sleep.

New Magic Diet Weight Loss Pill

MealEasy — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:11:08 +0000

It seems not a week goes by without some new diet guru espousing their magic weight loss formula or some celebrity talking about their new fad diet that gave them the perfect body they now enjoy. I’d say that there are about as many weight loss diets as there are dieters…sure seems that way.

But regardless of which weight loss plan you choose, there’s one common element to all diet plans and that is will power. If you’ve decided that now is the time to start x, y or z weight loss diet, be it low carb, low fat, high protein or all pureed green vegetable, you need to choose a plan and stick to it. That’s the only way that weight loss plans work…in fact, that the only way any plan will work. If you’re not fully committed to your diet plan, the odds of achieving your goals are greatly reduced.
It’s the same thing when choosing one of MealEasy’s Healthy Diet plans. If you’re not committed to changing your eating habits, it will be harder to achieve your fitness goals. The key with the MealEasy plans is portion control. It’s really simple math. You need to burn more calories than you take in…that’s how you lose weight. Then, when you’re at your optimum weight, MealEasy’s healthy meal plans help you maintain you fitness level but supplying you with all the nutritional information you need as well as with delicious, nutritious and easy to make everyday meals.
Therefore, if you want to lose weight, pick a diet that’s right for you…and stick to it.

You have to get the facts

MealEasy — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:16:00 +0000

News came out today that four families had won a class action lawsuit against the makers of Nutella because the company had claimed that their product was “healthy” when in fact the product is nothing more than sugar.

While I find this sort of false advertising repellant, the onus is on the consumer to read the label. Not just the front label where they make their “healthy”; “low fat” or “green” claims, but the nutrition facts label that will give you the nutritional breakdown of all the ingredients in the product.
It’s important when reading the nutrition facts to note the portion for which the percentages are listed. Two similar items may have very different portion sizes when it comes to how they represent their nutrition facts; one can of tomatoes may claim 1 cup as a portion or serving size while another might say 1 oz.
Reading the nutrition facts is the only way that you can be sure that what you are eating does not contain an incredible amount of sugar as in the case with Nutella. Despite what may be written on the front label or what they claim in their advertising, products can’t hide anything from the nutrition facts label. At MealEasy we pride ourselves that all our meals and recipes have accurate nutritional information included every time because we’ve got nothing to hide.

Is it Time to Drop the Pop Habit?

MealEasy — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:39:21 +0000

I used to drink sodas regularly and still do on occasion but I must admit, these occasions are fewer and fewer. I was never a big pop drinker; we rarely buy any for the house; my wife never drinks it and our 4 year old has never even tried the stuff.
The only time I end up having a cola is when I am at a restaurant and the only drink options are alcoholic or colas. I never drink if I have driven or plan to drive in the near future so that leaves me with pop or tap water. As I said, I used to drink colas almost every day but decided a few years back that, for my health, I should cut down on my consumption of pop. Now, the mere taste of a soda turns me off completely. I find that they are irritatingly sweet and frankly I can no longer stomach them.
Ditching cola was easy. And with mounting evidence that soft drinks, both regular and unsweetened, are really not good for you, I am happy I did get them out of my diet. And it’s not just soft drinks; sugar laden “energy drinks” which are hugely popular these days are equally unhealthy. Sure pro athletes everywhere are promoting them regularly as a pick me up and a refresher after a hard work out but that’s just it…after or before a work out an energy drink might be okay. The fact is soft drinks offer “empty calories” and not much else.
You may enjoy the flavour and you may need the “pick-me-up” of soft drinks, but maybe now is the time to really consider your health and drop the pop.

The goodness of Kale

MealEasy — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:48:57 +0000

My brother was the world’s pickiest eater. It was always white bread toast for breakfast; fish sticks and chips for lunch; and chicken and potatoes for dinner. Now, in his mid thirties, he has a new appreciation of most foods. Surprisingly, one of his new favourite foods is kale. And why not; kale is delicious, nutritious and easily cooked.

I wrote recently about chia and its status as a “superfood”. Well, if we’re talking about superfoods, then kale has to be at the top of the list. High in fiber, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Calcium and antioxidants, eating kale on a regular basis has to be one of the best things you can do for your health. And…it’s yummy!
Use it in a soup, steam it, sauté it or bake it into kale chips and you can’t go wrong. Check out MealEasy for many awesome kale recipes.
Here’s a quick and simple way to enjoy some kale.
Kale Chips
• 4 cups kale, stems removed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 350F
Remove the tough stems from the kale leaves.
Wash and spin dry in a salad spinner.
Place in a mixing bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with salt.
Place on a parchment covered baking sheet.
Bake until edges begin to turn brown and leaves are crisp, about 12 minutes.
These will keep for a few days in a tightly covered container. So next time you go to reach for a bag of potato chips for a snack, try some kale chips instead.

Don’t be afraid of fish

MealEasy — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:56:48 +0000

The health benefits of eating fish have been well documented throughout the years by nutrition experts. Most agree that folks should eat a minimum of one portion of fish a week, while many say eating fish at least three times a week has been proven to be extremely beneficial to our overall health. Yet, most North Americans don’t come close to eating fish that often. Are we afraid of fish? Is it a lack of knowledge of how to cook fish?
There have been two recent articles about fish and fish consumption that have tackled these questions. This article wonders if the reports of the negative health effects of mercury have people scared to even try fish. While this article thinks it might be a simple case of not knowing where to start when it comes to buying and cooking fish. Well, here’s where MealEasy comes in. With over 300 hundred recipes featuring fish as a main ingredient, all with clear and uncomplicated instructions, we take the mystery out of cooking fish. It’s simple to plan healthy meals using MealEasy.
There are no rules when it comes to cooking fish. In fact, there are a few recommendations in the “Afraid of cooking fish?” article which I don’t agree with; I do like to use olive oil when searing fish and, depending on the fish, think some fish are best served rare or thereabouts. But overall these guidelines are worth following. There’s a riddle I like to ask every new cook I meet: “How many chefs does it take to screw in a light bulb?” The answer: “10. One to screw it in the other 9 to say: “That’s not the way I would have done it.”” My point being, there are as many techniques as there are chefs. The best way is to try different methods and see what works best for you. Cooking is not an exact science so have fun and don’t be intimidated by new ingredients, especially something as healthy as fish.