The 5-Minute Meal Formula (+ 50 ideas)
The 5-Minute Meal Formula (+ 50 ideas)
Assembling > Cooking
Earlier this week, I was talking to a client of mine (a busy working new mom) who shared a story I’ve heard (and lived) 1000 times before: she ordered a Sweetgreen salad for lunch, it costs almost $30 with the delivery, she had all the ingredients for the salad already at home, and it was meh.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Sweetgreen. As far as restaurant food goes, it’s pretty great, but home-cooked meals are better. And cheaper. You all know that it’s my goal to encourage you to eat more meals you’ve cooked, but I have a feeling that some of you are thinking: I could never cook all that stuff at lunch, I don’t have the time. Well, that’s the beauty of this, we’re not cooking, we’re assembling.
Assembling is very different from cooking. It does not require an apron or 30+ minutes of your day. It’s also not just leftovers. If you have the right ingredients available, you can make endless varieties of salads, bowls, wraps, tacos, sandwiches, and more.
If you’re thinking, I’ve never been the kind of person who can just whip things up, I need a recipe, I’ve got you. But instead of recipe, I’m giving you ‘The Formula’ — an easy way to put together delicious and satisfying meals in minutes. Trust me, this works.
Before we get into it, part of this email is paywalled because I spent many hours on it. If you want to see all the meal ideas, consider upgrading to a full subscription. It’s $8/month, which is considerably less than Sweetgreen delivery. I appreciate your support and promise to make it worth your while!
WHAT MAKES A COMPLETE MEAL?
I like to tick all the boxes: easy, delicious, intentional, nourishing. Following ‘The Formula’ makes it easy and effortless to create nutrient-rich, blood sugar-balancing meals to help you feel your best both today and in the future. You will have more energy, feel more satisfied, experience less cravings, mood swings, and more, while also eating high quality whole foods that support your longterm health. Here are some specifics:
Balanced macros. Meaning adequate protein, fiber, and healthy fats to regulate your blood sugar levels, while ensuring you get enough protein and fiber to meet your daily needs.
A range of micros. These are the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc. that your body needs in smaller quantities for optimal health. It’s easy to eat the same old spinach and broccoli every week, but this plan will help you get more diversity in your diet. Every food has it’s own unique micronutrient mix, so the more variety you have in your diet the more nutrition you're getting.
High quality foods. Eating more whole foods will help you avoid disease-causing additives, toxins, seed oils, chemicals, pesticides, etc. Higher quality foods (i.e. unprocessed, organic, regenerative) also have better macro and micro nutrient profiles.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
The biggest obstacle most people have in doing this is not the actual time it takes to prepare this food (there are ways to do this with zero food prep at all), but the mental prep. Winging it is a one way ticket to takeout town. If you want to improve your health and eat more home-cooked meals, you have to prioritize it.
Organization and time management are literally the most important skills here. If you’re always flustered, in a rush, or late, you’re never going to make time for this. But, if you make time for this, you might find that you’re less flustered and rushed because you’re nourished and not waiting until you’re starving to figure out what you’re going to eat.
Make the easy choice the healthy choice. We live in a world of convenience for a reason (life is crazy!) and we will make the obvious choice more often than not.
Spending 15 minutes on a Sunday brainstorming your meals and making a strategic grocery list will not only save you time, but it will also save you money (think fewer $30 Sweetgreen lunches and wasted food from aimlessly browsing the grocery store) and help you achieve your health goals by eating more home-cooked meals. It will seem like more work in the beginning, but eventually you’ll realize how time saving it is to plan ahead, how much better you feel, and more productive you can be.
Organization, however, isn’t just about punctuality or planning, it’s about your kitchen as well. It’s way easier to cook in an uncluttered kitchen. I redid my pantry a few months ago, and it has been a total game changer. I talked about this ad nauseam at the time, but you can read about it here in case you missed it:
If you are following along with Sunday meal prep, this is a great add-on to keep in mind without spending a lot of extra time in the kitchen. When planning your dinners, see what you can make more of to repurpose for a quick and satisfying lunch.
‘THE FORMULA’
I’ve broken down the essential parts of a meal into five pillars so you can mix and match to create different dishes. This will hopefully maximize both your nutrition and enjoyment of a thrown-together dish. Think of it like a choose-your-own-adventure. There’s a PDF at the end of this with a comprehensive list of options from each pillar.