Sunday Meal Prep | Week of July 7
Rebooting after a holiday weekend with a protein-rich salad, and other summer delicacies.
We got back last night from a trip to the East Coast and I’ve never been more excited to grocery shop and meal prep than I am to do that today. If you’re also feeling thrown off by holiday travel (I get the sense there are many of us), resist the urge to restrict and let the pendulum swing too far in the other direction. Get back into your groove by focusing on whole, unprocessed, blood sugar balancing meals, drinking lots of water, moving your body, and getting a few good nights sleep. It will be like it never happened.
Let this meal prep be your reboot. We now have six+ months (!!!) of meal prep under our belts and a lot of new people here (hello, welcome), so I thought this would be a good time to go back to our why.
I firmly believe that one of the best things you can do for your health (and your family’s) is eat more home-cooked meals. My hope for this weekly is series is not only to help you put a healthy (and delicious) dinner on the table, but also to encourage you to become a more confident, organized cook, and offer ideas and inspiration for when you feel stuck in a cooking rut or don’t know where to start.
From a nutrition perspective, these dishes are meant to be flavorful, nutrient-dense, versatile, and easily. They are not chosen at random! This is the criteria I use when crafting the menu each week:
Blood sugar balancing
Every recipe has adequate protein, vegetables, and moderate levels of carbohydrates to help you maintain optimal blood sugar levels. This means at least 25 grams of protein per serving, multiple fiber sources, no added sugars or excessive carbohydrates.Variety
Maximize your nutrient intake by eating as many different whole foods as possible. These meals are crafted to offer variety while streamlining your shopping and the amount of time you cook. I encourage you all to try and eat 30 different plants per week, which is absolutely doable when following this meal plan.Efficient and enjoyable
This exercise takes the stress out of “what should we have for dinner tonight”. It can take a little more time and effort in the beginning, but it will save you time once you get into the swing of it. You’ll notice that Sunday’s prep is never overly cumbersome and it shouldn’t take more than an hour or so, tops.Educational
I hope that these weekly emails help you increase your nutrition knowledge and understand how to weave more healthy, home-cooked meals into your daily routines. We like to repeat recipes so there is some familiarity while also introducing new dishes to increase your culinary repertoire.
This is an ever evolving space and we’re building it together. If you have any thoughts, feedback, ideas, things you want to see more of, please let me know in the comments! Thank you, thank you for being here.
On that note, a few announcements!
July Giveaway
I am super excited to partner with Material Kitchen for our July giveaway! One subscriber will get The Knives + Stand set and a kitchen tool, plus a 1:1 nutrition session with me. These are the knives I use to meal prep each week. I love love them and can’t wait to give a set to one of you! All you need to do to enter is be a paid subscriber. For an extra entry, share your meal prep on Instagram or in Substack notes and tag me. And for all those who followed the June giveaway, the winner was selected, but Ziip has generously offered you all 15% off one of their Nanocurrent devices with the code MIA.
Book Club
July’s book club is Forever Strong, A New Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. I haven’t started the book yet, but I love her approach nutrition and health and am excited to dive in. Discussion will be Thursday, July 25th at 9:30 am PT/12:30 ET. Hope you’ll join!
As a reminder, these are perks for paid subscribers. If you’d like to upgrade, here’s how.
WHAT I’M LOVING RIGHT NOW
Just a couple of things I’ve been into lately:
Upgrade your morning walks:
Weighted vests
I will talk your ear off about the importance of building muscle if you let me. If you’re a walker, one easy way for you to do some resistance training outside of the gym is with a weighted vest. Start with about 10% your body weight and go up from there.
Currently eyeing:
Cesta Collective
This is the perfect summer bag, and it’s made with sustainable materials by artisan women in Rwanda who are paid 500-700% the national average salary. All of their bags are made of biodegradable sisal or raffia and dyed with organic vegetables. Sisal groves have strong roots which reduce soil erosion and absorbs more carbon that in produces. I also picked up one of their beach towels recently and love it.
MENU | WEEK OF JULY 7TH
We’re starting the week with a steak salad I first made about a few weeks ago. It features grass fed skirt steak and a variety of vegetables and herbs. You could, of course, top your salad with any protein you wish, but I love it with steak. Also on deck for the week is a chicken satay, a fun breakfast for dinner meal, and my favorite greek bowls.