04/30/2020
By Marianne Evans-Ramsay, RD, CDE, LD, Wentworth Health Partners Diabetes Services and Erika Behrmann, RD, LDN, The Works Family Health & Fitness Center
Your life is busy and you don’t have time to cook. Order take-out, right?
Well, we may have better options that will save time, provide flavor, and also cost you less while taking care of your health and your diabetes.
The simple solution is doing it yourself, but that can be a BIG challenge if you’ve been "cooking by phone with take-out" or, "living a microwaved life."
We know people want help with meal planning, and they want meals that are tasty, affordable, easy, and healthy.
To get you started you can begin to think about the following questions:
• How much homemade and how much convenience foods are you going to have in your plan?
• Are you willing to experiment with different foods and spices?
• Do you walk into the grocery store without a plan?
• Is saving money on food important to you?
• Can you use the weekend to batch cook a dish that allows you come home after a long day at work and simply re-heat your prepped meal?
• What foods you are curious to try?
Spending time in the kitchen can pay off in nourishing ways when we shift our thinking to providing vs. avoiding foods. Meal planning doesn’t have to be complicated or require you to do a complete overhaul. It can help to lower stress rather than pile on the chores when we think of breaking it down into manageable changes. Start with keeping the kitchen well stocked with nourishing, supportive foods and scheduling some weekly preparation time. Meal prepping is a science and an art that requires some skill but it is not that hard. There is a multitude of resources online and in cookbooks to help you with kitchen skills.
Join the Sweet Support Podcast, and hear Marianne Evans-Ramsay and Megrette Fletcher, two dietitians specializing in diabetes care, as they explore ”Time in the Kitchen” and dig in with ideas, tools, and tips on how to enjoy meals that are tasty, affordable, easy, and healthy.
Change up your routine and come to class or an individual appointment and meet one of our dietitians that specialize in diabetes care to help craft a personalized meal plan that is right for you.
Wentworth Health Partners offers classes and individual appointments.
To learn more, listen to our Sweet Support Podcast or call Wentworth-Douglass Hospital’s Diabetes Services at (603) 740-2887.