How To Batch Cook For Better Health: Allison Schaaf
“It's important to really be conscious about how you want to approach your meals. You can look at it being reactive vs. proactive. Do you want to wait until 5 o'clock and scramble to figure something out last minute or do you want to take a step back and be more thoughtful about planning your meals in advance? If I want to take things to the next level, for me that means doing some work up front with batch cooking. It does take some work, but then meal prepping actually helps me save time in the long run and makes life easier.” – Allison Schaaf
Tired of overthinking, stressing, and wasting time thinking about what you're going to have for dinner each night?
On Wellness + Wisdom episode 202, Registered Dietician, Founder Of Prep Dish, and passionate chef, Allison Schaaf, returns to share how you can transcend the overwhelm of eating healthy, set up your environment to win every day with batch cooking, and prepare nutritious meals no matter your skills in the kitchen.
Learn her top advice for meal planning in advance as far as selecting recipes, grocery shopping, and batch cooking.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”‘Meal prepping allows you to prepare in advance so you don't have to start from scratch. You just have to fit together a lot of bits and pieces you've already done for yourself.' – Allison Schaaf of @PrepDish” quote=”‘Meal prepping allows you to prepare in advance so you don't have to start from scratch. You just have to fit together a lot of bits and pieces you've already done for yourself.' – Allison Schaaf of @PrepDish”]
Free 2 Week Prep Dish Trial
Go to http://prepdish.com/wellnessforce and sign up for a Free 2 Week Prep Dish Trial for clean preparation meets delicious gluten-free & paleo dishes.
We plan the meals — you savor them. We’re with you every step of the way with real food, stress-free weekly meal plans that truly hit the spot.
Here’s how it works: We thoughtfully craft a week’s worth of gluten-free and paleo meals that feature seasonal ingredients to make the most of your budget, save you time and surprise your taste buds. Along with a weekly menu, you’ll get a printable grocery list and instructions for prep day — just 2 hours of preparation yields scrumptious, good-for-you dishes all week long.
Prep Dish makes batch cooking easy in 3 Steps:
- Grocery List – We provide you with a printable grocery list.
- Prep Day – We offer easy-to-follow prep-ahead instructions.
- Dish Day – At mealtime, simply dish and enjoy!
About Prep Dish
Listen To Episode 202 As Allison Schaaf Uncovers:
- What's changed the most for her since 2016 when she was on the Wellness + Wisdom podcast for episode 37.
- Transcending the overwhelm of eating healthy; especially while traveling.
- The four segments of Prep Dish that help people eat healthier no matter their cooking ability or crazy schedule.
- How we can set up our environment to win every day when it comes to preparing meals.
- Her top advice for meal planning in advance as far as choosing meals, shopping, and cooking.
- How she handles her own busy schedule and cooking meals for her family either in advance or at the last minute.
- Her relationship with food and how it has evolved including giving up gluten, sugar, and caffeine.
- The process of self-reflection she has faced when it comes to nutrition and what works for her and what doesn't.
- Top cooking hacks for keeping chopped vegetables and lettuces fresh.
- Why freezing batched cook meals can be a great time-saving trick for soups, casseroles, frittatas, baked goods, bone broth, and more.
- Safety concerns to be aware of while cooking or storing food.
- How you can batch cook if you're a vegan or vegetarian.
- Cooking with kitchen gadgets such as the Instant Pot.
- The resources she turns to in order to continue learning more about batch cooking.
- Seasonal foods that are perfect to cook with during the spring compared to other seasons.
- The debate about fruit vs. veggies and her stance on what she prefers to eat more of on a regular basis.
- Tendency typing – what foods can we eat to lower our stress while still eating healthy.
- What else you can do to help relax and avoid eating while stressed out.
- Her experience with transcendental meditation training and what positive changes she has noticed in herself.
- How to shift your mindset on whether or not you can actually add batch cooking into your routine.
Power Quotes From The Show
[click_to_tweet tweet=”‘I have to eat as healthy as my clients and in order for me to do that, I had to take my own meal prepping to the next level. I just had to implement that system to help me reach my own goals.' – Allison Schaaf of @PrepDish” quote=”‘I have to eat as healthy as my clients and in order for me to do that, I had to take my own meal prepping to the next level. I just had to implement that system to help me reach my own goals.' – Allison Schaaf of @PrepDish”]
“Batch cooking ultimately helps you set yourself up for success. Choose a consistent day and time each week for when you can do your meal prep. Even if you just chop vegetables in advance, it really makes life easier and makes you more likely to include vegetables with each meal if they're already prepared ahead of time.” – Allison Schaaf
“Going to a grocery store with a list is key because that's where so much time is wasted during the week. If you have to take an extra trip to the grocery store, your losing time. There are a lot more options now to make grocery shopping more efficient such as grocery delivery or online shopping. Plus, ordering online will helping meal prepping so much easier by planning in advance. At Prep Dish, we're also thinking of different ways of making that grocery experience super efficient but it all starts with making a list.” – Allison Schaaf
“People jump into batch cooking thinking they have to do it, want to do it, or need to do it but can't find the time to actually do it. So, you first have to believe in the idea that this is going to help save you time later on, this is why I want to do it, and this is why it's important to me instead of thinking of it as something that you should do. Stop seeing it as something you should be doing and think of it as something you want to be doing.” – Allison Schaaf
“Having a meal prepared in advance that includes the core pieces of vegetables, protein, and healthy fats will help you avoid eating an unhealthy meal when you're stressed. Whether you're stressed or not, a healthy meal is going to help keep you from going on a built up blood sugar spiral.” – Allison Schaaf
Tips for Organizing Your Freezer with Allison Schaaf of Prep Dish
Links From Today's Show
- Allison Schaaf
- Prep Dish
- WFR 037 – How to Avoid Meal Prep Burnout with Allison Schaaf
- Free 2 Week Prep Dish Trial
- The Prep Dish Blog
- Prep Dish: Paleo & Gluten-Free Meal Planning
- Prep Dish: 21-Day Meal Prep Challenge
- Instant Pot
- Paleo f(x)
- Thrive Market
- US Wellness Meats
- Butcher Box
- Paul Chek
- What Does BPA-Free Mean?
About Allison Schaaf
Allison Schaaf is a Registered Dietician, Founder Of Prep Dish, and passionate chef. She believes that healthy eating is easy and enjoyable. She lives by four simple goals: helping you save time and decrease stress; ensure healthy and gluten-free meals that taste delicious; bring back family dinners; and create happier, healthier people.
Her life as a personal chef started during her summers in high school and inspired her to attend culinary school. During her 4 years learning about culinary nutrition at Johnson & Wales University, she had the opportunity to work at two amazing, world-renowned health spas. She loved soaking up spa cuisine knowledge at it’s finest at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires. She also honed her culinary skills working alongside the skilled chefs at Champneys in Tring, England.
In order to expand her nutrition knowledge, she attended Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition in Boston, earning a masters in Nutrition Communications and becoming a Registered Dietitian.
