Meal Prep Made Easy: Quick Tips and Tricks for Healthy Eating on the Go

Tricia:

This is the Mealtime, Magic and Mayhem podcast. I'm Tricia Clark, your host, cooking coach, and kitchen mentor. We're here to talk about all things food, wine, travel, cocktails, and mealtime memories. So many memories are made around the table. We all know mealtime can be stress full, full of chaos and mayhem. But it's also the universal connector, a catalyst for communication and connection and a time to create magic and memories. So many of our memories are tied to food, and I can't wait to share some of those stories with you here. I'm here to share ideas, inspiration, and stories to help you experience mealtime.

Tricia:

With a dash of magic and just a sprinkle of mayhem, you can expect new episodes weekly, including a mixture of interviews, personal stories, and some fun conversations about our adventures and misadventures in the kitchen and around the table. I hope you walk away feeling inspired to try something new in your kitchen or around your table to create more connection with your friends, family, and beyond. Thanks for being here. Welcome to another episode of the Mealtime, Magic and Mayhem podcast. I am super excited today. I am welcoming desiree Argentina. She's a mental health therapist and holistic wellness coach. And today we're going to dive into the world of meal prepping for those who are looking to eat healthier but aren't fans of spending hours in the kitchen.

Tricia:

If you've been longing for easy and pain free ways to enjoy nutritious meals, you are in for a treat. Our guest today is here to share her expertise on making healthy eating a breeze through the power of meal prepping. So Desiree is a dedicated mental health therapist, holistic wellness coach, and she's really just on a mission to enhance your mental health and overall well being by offering practical tips and educational insights. She also has a podcast, The Wellness Project, with Des, and she engages with experts in the wellness field and individuals who share their personal mental health journeys. She's also a cat rescuer, passionate about travel, and a lover of Thai food, which I'm really anxious to ask you about Thai food and prepping as well. I've only kind of dabbled in Thai food, so I'm kind of excited to.

Desiree:

Talk to you about that.

Tricia:

So welcome to the podcast.

Desiree:

Thanks so much. I'm really excited to be here.

Tricia:

All right, so I start every interview with a fun question, and today's question is, how long can food be on the ground and still be fair game for eating?

Desiree:

Oh, gosh, that's a really funny question because I'm a really big germaphobe, so zero. If it hits the floor, it's done. It's garbage. I can't do it.

Tricia:

I have to say I'm somewhat the same way, but it's so funny because it's in different spots. So I dropped something in the floor the other day, and we have two dogs and a cat, and so I recognize that my house is covered in fur and I dropped it on the ground. I picked it up and looked at it almost like, can I? No, I really can't.

Desiree:

I'm the same way. I have three cats.

Tricia:

But it was an ingredient that I was, like, light on, right? And I was like, oh, yeah, sometimes.

Desiree:

It'S very painful, and I'm like, I just can't do it.

Tricia:

Eminems with a coating might be one thing, nothing sticks to those. But anything else, I don't know, man. I don't know if I can do it. All right, so let's get right into our questions. As someone who values healthy eating but doesn't particularly enjoy cooking, how did you start meal prepping as a solution?

Desiree:

Yeah, this kind of started happening a little bit after college. I would say in between those years of undergrad and grad school, I was eating a lot of cereal and ramen and just making pasta with canned sauce. And I had this idea that I've had for a long time. Really wanted to go vegetarian, but it wasn't even not enjoying cooking, so I'm somebody who really doesn't enjoy it. I didn't know how to cook. I didn't know anything about cooking. So I just started googling things. I started googling easy recipes to make at home, easy recipes with limited ingredients, and just being in between undergrad and graduate school, I didn't have a lot of money.

Desiree:

I was, like, working at Macy's, making minimum wage, so I didn't have a lot of money to spare either. So I was trying to look for cheaper solutions. I had found that when I bought veggies, I didn't know how to prepare them. I didn't know what I was doing, and everything was going bad. I was throwing everything out. So it's a big waste of money. So upon googling, I came across pinterest and pinterest. This was ten plus years ago.

Desiree:

I still use pinterest to this day. It's my lifesaver. So I was googling and came across all of these pins that were coming up quick, easy, ten minute recipes. Easy recipes for people who don't like to cook. So that's kind of where things took off, and it was my goal to be vegetarian. Didn't know how, and started googling and pinning vegetarian recipes. Easy vegetarian recipes. Quick vegetarian recipes.

Tricia:

Okay, so interesting that you bring up pinterest, because for me, pinterest can be a black hole. I can get sucked into that rabbit hole and then come out with like, I realize I've pinned the same recipe 20 times because somebody else had pinned it, and I don't even remember that it's in there. So how have you kind of managed that beast when it comes to are there certain people that you follow that you know, that you trust their recipes over others, or do you still just like, Google? Does that look good to me? Like, for somebody who's just starting out, do you have any tips for that? Because I have found on pinterest that not all recipes are created equal. And sometimes it really can be almost overwhelming.

Desiree:

Definitely, Pinterest can be super overwhelming. So back when I started meal prepping and was easing into going vegetarian, I was pinning different. I didn't follow particular people, but I was having different, I guess what would you call them, folders, or you could label different folders. So I'd have vegetarian meals, easy meals, breakfast meals. I do like to prep breakfast sometimes, too. So I was doing a lot of that back when I started, but now I just go through and pull up a recipe that just looks good to me. I'm somebody that likes to try new things all the time, so I don't typically repeat recipes anymore. I will here and there, but not usually.

Desiree:

So it really does. I just go through and pick what I like. And it's just been such a great time saver and money saver, too, because my meal prepping, that is my grocery list. So I open a Pin, I look through it, I see how many ingredients. Is this something that really looks like it's going to be quick? A big thing for me is also the Crock Pot. That's been a huge time saver. So I have a folder of just crock pot recipes. And again, I was doing that a lot more when I started, and now it's just what kind of looks good, what I think I'm going to have time for, for the week.

Desiree:

So I do this by week. So I'll do week by week. So I'll go through Pins, come up with my grocery list from the ingredients list on that recipe, and do even the shop online. So we have King Supers here in Colorado. So I will put my whole grocery order. I take it from each week. There's only me and my partner, so there's only the two of us. We don't have kids or anything, but I will do probably like between four and five recipes per week, go through the ingredients list, put those in King Supers, schedule a pickup.

Desiree:

And there's some things we can't get. So there's just a few things we have to go into the store to get. And then a lot of those are Crock Pot recipes, and I'll cook them the night before. And I like to do two recipes per night. Again, just because I really don't like cooking, I like to bang them out. So I'll do a lot of crock pot recipes. Do one, and the longer ones, you have them go overnight and then it's ready in the morning. And then I have tupperwares, and I prep that for the whole week, for my whole work week.

Tricia:

Okay, so are you just I think I heard you say you pick four or five recipes, so the meal prepping, you do, you're really doing meal prepping on the weekend and you're cooking all your dinners for the whole week.

Desiree:

I try to do that. I can't always so sometimes I do have to cook during the week, but that's my ideal is that I wouldn't have to be doing that after my work week because I commute, I get home pretty late and I also have a private practice, so I'm seeing clients after work, so I don't really have time to cook. So I do try to do them on the weekends if I can. And again, the Crock Pot is so easy, you just dump things in and four to 8 hours later, however long, you leave it alone and it's ready for you.

Tricia:

So if you're doing meal prepping for dinner, which is a huge time saver for anybody who well, for anybody, but particularly if you have a really busy schedule where you're going from work to your online business to wrangling kids helping with homework. All of those things that I didn't hear you mention is how do you plan for breakfast and lunch if you're prepping for dinner?

Desiree:

Right, so basically those four or five recipes that I make for the week, I switch those out between lunch and dinner. So I'll prep my lunch for the week and then I'll have the other recipes for dinner for when I get home. So those four or five recipes, I mean, we live off of the leftovers, we make those four or five recipes for the week and we have those for lunch and dinner and swap them out every day.

Tricia:

Do you find that you repurpose those leftovers into anything else or are you good with eating it literally the same thing, like alternating or eating the same thing throughout the week?

Desiree:

Yeah, so I know a lot of people don't like doing that, and that's a big, I guess, obstacle for people for meal prepping. But me and my partner, we do the same meal for lunch and dinner every day for that week and we are switching out between four and five meals. But it is a lot of repeat.

Tricia:

That keeps it interesting. Yeah. So for anybody who's listening, there is going to be an episode coming up. I don't have the exact air debt yet, but be watching for it. That's going to be about repurposing leftovers. So if you're one of those who can't eat the same thing over and over again, there's tons of ideas on how you can repurpose those foods into something else that makes you feel like you're mixing it up more. So keep your eye out for that because I think that one will be fun. So as you started meal prepping, what changes did you notice in your relationship with food and meal time after implementing this approach? Like, what did you see change outside of I know you were in the process of becoming vegetarian.

Desiree:

Yeah, it really changed everything. I was saving so much money because again, I was throwing out so much. I was throwing out all the vegetables and everything and it really helped me become vegetarian. Because I didn't know how to. So I was able to go full vegetarian just from looking up pinterest meals. So I saved so much time, I saved so much money. I was eating healthier because before, like I said, I was just eating ramen. I didn't know how to cook.

Desiree:

I learned how to cook from following these recipes because they were so easy. It gradually got me into learning how to cook. And my boyfriend also taught me how to cook as well. So it really shifted everything. I mean, it completely shifted my diet. So I was able to save so much time, so much money, and I'm eating healthier and now I'm vegetarian and now I'm even easing into going vegan because now I'm looking up vegan recipes.

Tricia:

Interesting. So did you also notice that by having all of that done ahead of time, that when you and your partner, do you have a tendency to eat together most evenings or are you kind of eating on your own?

Desiree:

We always eat together. Yeah.

Tricia:

Do you find that the energy and I guess kind of the ambiance of that dinner has changed now with the pressure of wondering what to cook and the time it takes to cook, do you feel like that time that you have together or the conversations are any different as a result?

Desiree:

Oh, yeah, definitely. Because if we were cooking and this still happens sometimes, because if we don't have time to meal prep, we have to throw something together quick or get a recipe quick, see what we have. So if we like before, we were scrambling, we were both coming home from work, we didn't have much time. We were scrambling to find something for dinner. Then the kitchen was a disaster. We were stressed, we were eating late, we were eating at like we weren't done cooking and we were just scarfing something down and then we had to clean the whole kitchen. It was just so stressful. And now we just take our tupperwares out of the fridge and heat them up and then we just put them in the dishwasher and we're done.

Desiree:

And we can watch a movie at night together or whatever project we have going on. And now we're able to eat dinner stress free and we're able to chat and enjoy the kitties and stuff. So it's definitely so much less stressful than that scramble and getting home from work. And whenever I get home from work, I don't know why that I just got into this habit, but I'm so hungry as soon as I get home from work. So now we're able to sit down and eat dinner, whereas I get home from work, I'm hungry, I'm cranky, we need to cook something. It was stressful. So definitely saved on a lot of stress.

Tricia:

I love that because so much of my business and my coaching business is all about that shift of energy, right? That how do we take advantage of that time. We have to eat together to really connect versus thinking of it as a chore and how do we get through this quickly and move on to the next thing. And so, so often I'm talking to moms, and people really relate that to families, but you don't have to have children, you don't have to have a family for those same struggles to exist. Right. And so I feel like what you're talking about, finding out what works for you and really creating that process, it really does enhance your relationships and allows you to connect more regardless of where you are in your cooking journey, your working journey, your relationship journeys. Right. It's so important. I love that you found exactly what works for you and you know exactly what that is because it really does change everything.

Desiree:

Yeah. And I would say it's just the two of us. And for somebody that has children, I can't even imagine the shift that this would make, being able to meal prep, just taking a day or a few hours and meal prepping for your kids for the week. I mean, what an energy saver, what a time saver, what a money saver. And also with kids, I know they could get sick of things a lot, too. So, like you said, that repurposing and everything just so beneficial, so much value in that you're saving so much time, energy, stress, it's just such a shift.

Tricia:

And then all of that feeds into what you do. Right. Because all of those things, all those expectations, the perfectionism, the running from one thing to the next, all of that really does start to weigh on your mental health to where as a mom, we can often or I think, even as if you don't have kids. But I see it more with moms, you sort of have a tendency to lose yourself because you're putting all these other things first, and then that takes a toll on your mental health. And it can be a long road back to kind of really tapping into and rediscovering yourself. And so I love that this really plays into what you do as well. So I really think of meal prepping. When I think of meal prepping, I think of efficiency and healthier choices.

Tricia:

Like, you never really hear anybody talk about meal prepping who isn't trying to eat healthier. Because I think about that just occurs to me, and I'm like, wow, you don't have to be on a health journey to embrace meal prepping. Right. And I think we associate certain words with certain lifestyles and trying to do certain things. But whether you're making healthier choices or not, which I cook and eat pretty healthy in general, but just think about ways you can start to incorporate some of those meal prepping habits, right. It doesn't mean you have to change the entire way you eat. It's just about getting some things prepped earlier to take the pressure off of yourself. Can you share some of your top tips for busy people who want to start meal prepping but they aren't even sure where to begin? Like, just simple and easy tips just to get started.

Desiree:

Yeah, I would say there's also an app, I can't remember what it's called. I think it's called like Yumly or something, but I'll have to double check that. But you input the things, the items, the ingredients you have in your house already, and it comes up with simple recipes for you. Different things that you can throw together. And that's really good for people that are really busy, come home from work, you have a bunch of ingredients, you don't know what the heck to do with them. But also for people who were like me, who didn't know how to cook, who had random things and couldn't think of, didn't have the imagination of how to put them together. And over time, with that practice and with these different apps or with Pinterest, these different recipes, it really teaches you and it opens up this different aspect of your mind. Like, now I can look at things in my cabinet like, oh, I can throw this, this and this together.

Desiree:

Whereas before I'd opened the cabinet have a bunch of things and I'm like, I have nothing to eat. I'm going to starve. I have to eat a can of beans. So that really helps. So apps like that are really helpful. Again, Pinterest. And I like the crock pot. I haven't experimented with the Instant Pot yet, but people love that because it's just super quick.

Desiree:

It's, I think, ten minutes to an hour super quick. So my sister has that. She loves it. So things like that, the instapot, there's so many things that you can do now. There's even like something you could plug in and it hard. Boils your eggs in just a few minutes, just 30 seconds, whatever it is. So all this technology that's coming out is really helpful now, too, I think just automating as much as you can. Buying those tupperware sets and something just to do a variety and get healthy snacks is I buy fruit to prep every day and stick in my Tupperware, my lunchbox for the week.

Desiree:

And I also have little tupperwares that I put different, whether it's dried fruits in or nuts in. So just thinking about different aspects that are important to you, is it important for you to eat healthy? If it is, you can definitely look up these different kind of things. Are you trying to get as much protein as you want? Are you trying to stick to a certain diet or lifestyle or way of eating? Are you keto? Whatever it is, you can Google those recipes, those particular recipes. You can start a folder on Pinterest to organize yourself. These are breakfast recipes. These are easy dinners. So really organizing and automating as much as you can. I think is really helpful and it is a process.

Desiree:

It does take a little while to get there, but once you put in that front, work that time up front, it just saves you so much time and energy.

Tricia:

Yeah. So if I meal prep so I love to cook, right. I mean, that's my whole business. But I will meal prep breakfast and lunch because those are the times of day because I work a full time job during the day. So those are the times when I need something I can grab. And then cooking for me at the end of the day is kind of that wind down. That's my self care to get me into that transition into the evening of spending time with my family. And so that makes me think of it's, really thinking, like she said, thinking about what's really important to you and where do you want to start? I would say don't go out and buy a week's.

Tricia:

Plan a week's worth of meal prep meals your first time out. Like pick whether you want to meal prep breakfast, lunch, or dinner this week and pick one or two recipes and just start with that and see how it goes and see where you need to tweak it. Are you getting tired of eating the same thing every day? If you are, maybe you need two recipes instead of one and really ease into it to build those habits because otherwise it can be overwhelming and you end up wasting food. I've done it a million times where like, I'm going to meal prep everything this week and it's going to be awesome. And I'll go do it all and I'll meal prep it all and somehow I'm still wasting all that food because I never get through it all. Like my eyes were way bigger. My plans were bigger than my schedule.

Desiree:

Yes. Breaking it down, starting out with one or two, that's so important. Very good point. Yeah, because get overwhelmed and like, I'm going to do it all and that's also that perfectionism. And that setting your expectations too high. Yeah. Start out really slow.

Tricia:

Yeah, start out slow.

Desiree:

Yeah.

Tricia:

Because I find like if I decide I'm going to food prep breakfast, lunch, and dinner and I plan a whole week and then I haven't checked my calendar, all of a sudden I have prepped way more meals than I'm ever even going to have time to sit down and eat at home. I'm still going to eat out and I'm still going to throw out food. I've done it so many times. And admittedly, I know how to meal prep. It is not a habit that I'm into because I get bored easily. And so I love having you on who's somebody. Like this is what you do in order to help my listeners to really embrace that because it's not something they hear a lot about from me. So being a vegetarian, how do you approach meal prepping to ensure you're getting a variety of nutrients and flavors throughout the week.

Tricia:

So when I think of vegetarian as somebody who hasn't switched to vegetarian, the concern is getting enough protein and making that switch from being, I'll say, a meat eater, a carnivore, if you will, to really embracing those protein substitutes. And I don't just mean like beans and Edamame and some of those, but there really is when you start switching to Tofu and Satan, and it is different. Right, so how do you make sure you get all those nutrients in order to eat healthy?

Desiree:

Yeah, I'm not one to track my particular nutrients. I'm not one to track my calories, anything like that. I just really find recipes with all different vegetables, all different options. And I'm somebody I know a lot of people don't like Tofu. I love it. I could eat it every day. I really love Tofu a lot. And I think just nowadays it's easier now than ever than ever before to be a vegetarian just because and even going vegan, because there are so many options now.

Desiree:

There are so many meatless options. I love these. I think it's called corn with a Q. They make really delicious meatless, chicken nuggets. They are so good. There's just so many. I love the Impossible Burger. I love things like that.

Desiree:

The Beyond Burger. I don't eat them a lot, but they make crumbles that you could add to pasta, whatever. They make little meatless crumbles that you could put in. So there's a lot of different options. But on top of that, I am somebody that has a chronic illness, so it's really important for me to take care of my whole wellness. So I do have a lot of vitamins and supplements and things like that, just to make sure. For me, it's really important that I get all of my vitamins and nutrients and everything. But I've never really had a problem.

Desiree:

I feel healthier now than I ever have with meal prepping and being vegetarian. And also, it was just easier for me, too, because just growing up, I was never a big meat eater on Thanksgiving. I never ate the turkey. I was always eating all the sides. I was just never a big meat eater to begin with. So I think for me, it was just I was kind of lucky in that it was easier for me to go vegetarian. My hardest thing was sushi. I really loved sushi.

Desiree:

And when I discovered vegetarian sushi, I was done, I was over. So I was like, this is amazing. It's so good. So there's so many options now. If you love something, there's probably a vegetarian version of it.

Tricia:

Yeah, I would love to see like, well, I guess it kind of kind of goes in. But some of your you've already mentioned corn and impossible. And I think really making sure that people having those strong recommendations, because not all of those substitutes are created equal. They do not all taste great, and then some of them do, and there's a lot of trial and error. So I would love to see a list of, like, these are the best brands, but I guess that's also subjective. Everybody's taste buds are different.

Desiree:

Yeah. The one thing I struggle with trying to go vegan is we do substitute the milk and the butter and the mayo, the things like that. The one thing I struggle with is the yogurt. I can't find a good vegan yogurt. So it is we're still coming along. And again, there's more options now than ever, but ever before. But there are some good cheese brands. But I like the Daya brand, I think it's called, is the best vegan cheese I've found.

Desiree:

But, yeah, they are not all amazing yet. We're getting there. And that doesn't mean they're healthy either. Right. It's really again, with your values. I went vegetarian, and I'm going vegan because of my love for animals. Again, I'm an animal rescuer. So it's a whole other conversation of the food industry and the animal agriculture industry.

Desiree:

But it's again, what are your values? Probably the corn, meatless, chicken nuggets are not good for me, but they taste delicious.

Tricia:

You know what, though? I really believe everything in moderation. And so if they taste good to you and they may not be good for you, but you're not eating them every day.

Desiree:

Right, exactly.

Tricia:

So enjoy those things that make you happy, that taste good. Right. There's a reason we call them comfort foods. The slippery slope is when that's all we eat is the comfort foods.

Desiree:

Exactly.

Tricia:

So what are your favorite? Do you have a couple of go to vegetarian meal prep options that you would recommend for somebody who's just starting out with meal prep? I know you said you rarely cook anything twice now, but I'm sure in the beginning there were, like these were my go to because they were easy and it made the transition easier.

Desiree:

Yeah, there's one. We actually just made it the other night that is really good. That's one that we have repeated over the years. It's just roasting veggies. So it's just you get potatoes. We used red potatoes, but you could use any potatoes. Just cut them in half, stick some asparagus in there zucchini, squash, a pepper, and you just roast those and then add quinoa, and then just a little, like, vinaigrette. And it's so good.

Desiree:

It's so easy. It really doesn't take long at all. Takes probably 30 minutes, maybe, besides the roasting time, because I think that in general is 30 minutes. But yeah, it's just chopping up some veggies, roasting them in the oven, and then putting some quinoa with it super easy. And it's really good. That's one we've repeated. Yeah. I'm trying to think, because we really don't repeat too much.

Desiree:

There are some that we repeat sometimes in the winter that are different. Curries that we like to make in the Crock Pot. So something if you use the Crock Pot, I don't know about instapot because, again, I don't use that. But with the Crock Pot, if you're doing recipes, there a lot of them. Are those different curries? Because they're very water, or I use vegetarian bullion, but that kind of base. But yeah, a lot of different curries will buy non to go with it, which is really good, and just make some rice on the side of it. So, yeah, you just stick some veggies in there, your different base. And those are easy.

Desiree:

So we make those all the time because those are always different. Right. We could use lentils or a lentil curry. So we make curries a lot just because they're easy in the Crock Pot.

Tricia:

So your podcast, The Wellness Project with Des covers a range of wellness topics. How does meal prepping tie into your broader mission of improving mental health and overall?

Desiree:

Wellbeing, yeah, just when it comes to our mental health, I really take a holistic I implement a holistic approach to wellness. So thinking about your sleep, thinking about what you eat, thinking about that physical wellness, of getting that physical activity in each, it's it all ties in. We have such a strong mind body connection and we I know there's that old saying, but we are what we eat. If we're eating McDonald's every day, that's going to impact your mental health, that impacts your gut, which impacts your brain. So it's so important, if you're looking to improve your mental health, trying to eat more veggies, more fruits, what works for your body? I'm somebody that I've always liked a lot of veggies. I always feel good when I eat a lot of fruits. So again, tuning into your body and I've had a lot of guests come on that have struggled with eating disorders in the past or disordered eating. So I have a lot of episodes on food and how your diet, how your lifestyle implements your mental health, and just that.

Desiree:

Also, like you said, that moderation. Also having that cake when you want it, when you go to a birthday party, and not being strict about it, because that can lead into disordered eating, which is a very slippery slope. So I am somebody that loves chips, I love cake, I love candy. While I try to eat a healthy lunch and dinner, sometimes breakfast, I eat that instant oatmeal just because it's the quickest thing and it's what I could do in that time. So everything in moderation, not being strict about it, doing the best that you can, giving yourself that grace and that self compassion, but also realizing that what you're consuming, and not just when it comes to food. Right. Every day we're consuming different media, different social media, different things that we're reading and different things that we're seeing. Everything we consume impacts our mental wellness.

Desiree:

And just being aware of that and being aware and mindful of what you're putting in your body every day.

Tricia:

I love that. I'm going to ask you one more question and then I want you to tell everybody where they can find you and about anything that you're promoting. But as you mentioned that I do think it's really important to really listen to your body because our bodies will tell us what is good for us and what isn't right. And that's going to be different for everyone. And so what couple of tips would you have for somebody who's listening that's like but I don't know what that is. How do I start listening to my body to understand what does feel good to it and what doesn't?

Desiree:

Yeah, something that I have implemented recently that I'm really enjoying is mindful eating. So that can look a lot of different ways for people. But for me, it's eating slower, being chewing. We tend to scarf our food down. I see people I have a long commute on the highway about almost an hour. I see people eating in the car, stuffing their faces all the time. Be surprised how many people are eating breakfast in the car on their way to work. And just being mindful and paying attention to what you're eating, how fast you're eating.

Desiree:

Sit down to eat your meal if you have time. Chew your food, have digest. And then you can practice even meditation or just I know a lot of people are watching TV when they're eating or scrolling social media when they're eating. But be present. Be present when you're eating. Be present with the people that you're eating. Be mindful of that. Have conversations and try to shift your idea from I know we're always on the go, we live in this very busy hustle and bustle society and culture, but sit down and try to be present during that meal.

Desiree:

And it's funny when you go and travel to other countries and you ask for to go boxes and food to go, they kind of look at you like, what are you talking about? We don't do that. Like getting good coffee to go. They're like, no, we sit and eat. Like they don't know what we're talking about. So totally in this different culture of where we don't think of food as something as almost medicine and something to energize our body, we think of it as something we have to do to get through the day. So we're going to eat something quick, stuff something down quick just to get to our next task and have enough energy to work. And it is about that mind shift and that energy shift. So just slowing down a little bit, being a little more mindful, and just practice that.

Desiree:

And it gets easier over time. It's really hard at first, but it does get easier.

Tricia:

It definitely does. The other thing I would encourage is really when you sit down to eat. And you're trying to pay you're learning to pay attention to your body. Really use all of your senses when you sit down to be present with that food. Yes, because your nose will tell you. And I don't mean like whether the food is bad. Right. There's an element of that too.

Tricia:

But whether I can now take a couple of bites of food and know instantly if it's going to settle well with my gut, if it's not, and if it is or isn't the right choice from smell or taste. It's really interesting, but I did not start out there. But now if I take a bite of, let's say, like, I love fettuccine Alfredo, but it's really rich, and there are days when I can take that first bite and I'm like, no, this is too rich for my system today, and I can't eat this. Which can be really frustrating when you're in a restaurant and your body tells you not to eat what you just ordered.

Desiree:

Yeah.

Tricia:

But it will give you those signs and signals, whether it's in a smell or a taste or sometimes it's just even a gut feeling, as crazy as that sounds. But it's so true. Like, your body will tell give you all the messages that you need. But it's that learning to tune in, right?

Desiree:

Yeah, exactly.

Tricia:

And it doesn't have to be like, I'm going to cut out dairy and then I'm going to see how my body reacts when I add it back in. That is also one way to do it, but I think you can do it without cutting out all of those things and making those drastic changes. I think you can really do it by being present and paying attention and really asking your body what it thinks.

Desiree:

Yes, exactly. Because we ignore our bodies all the time. We ignore those messages all the time. So paying more attention to those. Again, we have that strong mind body connection. Your body's always communicating with you, but we don't listen. And we're taught not to listen. Right.

Desiree:

We're taught to just go through our day ignore in school, no, you can't use the bathroom, things like that. We're taught to ignore our bodies growing up. So it is something a learning process to get back in tune with our.

Tricia:

Bodies, because that means food. No food is inherently good or bad. Right. We have this societal thing right now where carbs are bad. But I can tell you there are days where my body is like, you just need rice, you need bland, you need simple that has some nutritional value. And there are other days where my body is like, you need a ton of protein today or you're not going to make it through. And so it's been a fascinating journey. Well, as we tie it up, tell everybody what you have going on and where they can connect with you.

Desiree:

Yeah, definitely. As we said, I have a podcast, so definitely subscribe to that. I interview people in the field of mental health and wellness. So, again, I've interviewed people about their journeys with food, with their disordered eating, with eating healthier, but I interview people about their mental illnesses, their mental health journey. So if you're looking to check that out, if you're looking to really tune into your mental health and your overall wellness, definitely check that out and subscribe there. You can find me in my Facebook group pretty much every day with mental health and wellness content. And that's also the Wellness Project with Des. So I'm in there every day and I'm pretty active on social media.

Desiree:

So you can find me on Instagram at the Wellness Project with Des, on TikTok it's therapy with Des. And I do have different courses and things coming out. I have an etsy shop. I am a crazy cat lady, so I have a lot of cats and wellness products on my etsy shop. That's Wellness Project by yeah, you can find me in all these different areas. And I do have some workshops in my Facebook group if you want to check those out. And I am going to have some courses coming out very soon. Great.

Tricia:

Thank you. So we never did get to talk about prepping Thai food. We're going to have to save that for another conversation. I feel like we have a lot more to talk.

Desiree:

Yes. Yes.

Tricia:

So Des also has a weekly, free weekly wellness checklist, and we will be sure to drop the link to that in the Show Notes, as well as all the links for her social media, her podcast, to make it really easy for you to find her. Remember that on this journey, whether you hate to cook, you feel like it just takes too much time. You like to cook but want to save time, or you're really looking to improve your health journey, there are resources like Desiree and I out there to help you and guide you along the journey, depending on the support that it is that you need. So don't forget to ask for help. You can find all of our links in the Show Notes. Thanks so much for listening to another episode of Mealtime, Magic and Mayhem. I'll talk to you guys in the next episode. Thanks so much for listening.

Tricia:

And if you enjoyed this episode, please go hit that follow button.

Desiree:

Subscribe.

Tricia:

Leave us a review. And if you're ready to change what mealtime looks like for you, breaking that cycle of chaos and having more fun in the kitchen. Build some confidence and discover your love of cooking. Schedule your free dish with Trish. Call at the link in the Show Notes. We'll chat, add a few minutes, and you'll walk away with personalized strategies to take your mealtime routine, from tired to inspired. See you next time.