The Mindfully Healthy Lunch Box

Developing the Healthy School Lunch Box Checklist

As school approaches, I have been brainstorming ways to make sure my kids get a healthy lunch box on those chaotic mornings. I always like preparing and organizing before school starts. This year, I feel an even stronger urge to organize because my youngest is (eek!) starting Kindergarten!

healthy school lunch ideas, healthy lunch box
The Healthy School Lunch Box Checklist

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Get Organized with the “Healthy Lunch Box Checklist”

I decided to get organized with a “Lunch Box Checklist.”  This healthy but extremely simple Lunch Box Checklist will make packing a lunch so much easier on those hectic days.

I was so happy with this checklist, I thought you might like it too! You can actually download my “Healthy Lunch Box Checklist” as a free printable and join the “Mindfulness in Faith and Food” Fam here.

Lunch Box Notes
Mindful Lunch Box Notes

*Bonus* Mindful Lunch Box Notes

I like to find joy in the little things, and I want my children to find joy in the little things too! Nothing like a little lunch box note to bring some joy to my children’s day! When you join the “Mindfulness in Faith and Food” family, you get the free “Mindful Lunch Box Notes” printable too!

Do you have some amazingly healthy school lunch ideas? Please share your ideas in the comments!

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The Mindful Planner: Free Printable

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Best Meal Planning Books, Apps, and Products

Maybe you have decided to eat healthier as a family, but you have realized you NEED a meal plan to do it! Now you are wondering, ‘how do I go about developing and incorporating a meal plan for my family?’ That is why I put together this collection of meal planning recourses for you. Now you can find everything you need to start your exciting, fun, and healthy meal planning journey.

Below is a list of my favorite meal plan resources and why?

This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)

The Best Meal Planning Books, Apps, and Products: A collection of meal planning recourses for you. Now you can find everything you need to start your exciting, fun, and healthy meal planning journey. #mealprep #mealplan #mealplanning

The Best Meal Planning Books, Apps, and Products: A collection of meal planning recourses for you. Now you can find everything you need to start your exciting, fun, and healthy meal planning journey.

52-Week Meal Planner: The Complete Guide to Planning Menus, Groceries, Recipes, and More

I LOVE to feel organized. Getting organized takes the weight off your shoulders, doesn’t it?!?! That is why I love this book! The goal of this book is to help you organized your meals for a whole year! This meal planner includes:

  • One year’s worth of weekly templates to plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
  • Grocery lists and price comparison sheets
  • Recipe pages

This wonderful origination tool is written by registered dietitian, Jessica Levinson, MS, RDN, CDN.

The Nourishing Meal Builder

Created by a dietitian (that’s me!), The Nourishing Meal Builder shows you how to create anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, mood boosting, immune supportive meals that reduce the risk of chronic disease and promote cognitive function, focus, attention, and memory.

The Meal Builder Cards included in The Nourishing Meal Builder takes the stress out of meal planning. In fact, you don’t have to do much meal planning ahead at all!

You simply use the food list to grocery shop! Then when you are ready to cook a meal, you use the included meal builder cards to create a nourishing meal on the spot! It’s so easy and the meal possibilities are endless!

The Nourishing Meal Builder
Create anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, mood boosting, immune supportive meals that reduce the risk of chronic disease and promote cognitive function, focus, attention, and memory.

Your 6-Week Guide to LiveBest: Simple Solutions for Fresh Food & Well-Being

This book also made an appearance in my “Healthy Living Books Written by Registered Dietitians,” but I thought this book fit well in this list as well. This 6-week guide includes more than 100 breakfast, lunch, and dinner solutions. In this book, you will find simple, realistic solutions as wells as assessments, food tips and meal ideas to help you live a happier, healthier, and stronger life. 

Plant-Powered for Life: 52 Weeks of Simple, Whole Recipes and Habits to Achieve Your Health Goals―Starting Today

If you want your meal plan to be full of flavorful, nutritious plant-based foods; then, this is the book for you. This guide, which is broken down into 52 weeks, provides 125 A-MAZING plant-based recipes!

The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook: Easy and Wholesome Meals to Cook, Prep, Grab, and Go

Our lives are so busy that we often don’t have much time to plan and cook our foods. This is why meal prepping is soooo beneficial! Toby Smithson provides so many meal prepping tips and solutions in her book. This book is perfect for busy families who want to find a way to eat healthy on a busy schedule.

This book includes:

  • Helpful tips,
  • Meal plans,
  • Shopping lists,
  • Storage solutions
  • Healthy recipes
  • Healthy Grab and Go Snacks
  • And More…

Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition For Dummies

As soon as I discovered this book, I knew I had to include it here. Deciding what to eat on a diabetic diet, can feel overwhelming. This books takes out the guesswork by helping you easily plan your meals. Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition for Dummies includes tons of helpful information like healthy eating tips for diabetes, food swap ideas, and of course, yummy recipes!

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals by (yours truly) Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN

This IS the ultimate meal prep book! Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals shows you how to prep ALL your meals for a month in ONE DAY!!! I developed this book because, although I LOVE to cook, I couldn’t find the time to cook healthy meals everyday. Life. Gets. Soooo. Busy, and figuring out what to eat everyday is one more mentally draining decision you have to make.

That is why I began prepping and freezing a month of meals in one day. Over time I became extremely efficient at making all of these meals at once. I can now get all my breakfast, lunch and dinners for a whole month prepped and frozen in only 6 hours!!! This book teaches you the tricks and the steps to take in order to prep and freeze your meals efficiently too. When it’s actually time to eat breakfast and lunch, you simply throw one of these meals in the microwave for 2 minutes and IT. IS. DONE!!!! For dinner, I usually put the family-style meals in the crockpot while I am making my kids lunches in the morning. It’s so simple! With Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals, you have one less thing to think about each day. Now you can enjoy healthy meals and focus on your family instead of trying to figure out what to cook!

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals includes the some of the most popular family recipes. From Pizza Bites and Southwest burrito dip, to Asian Chicken and rice; there is something for just about everyone.

Meal Prep and Meal planning, weight loss, freezer meals ebook, mindful eating, healthy freezer meals, healthy meal planning for busy families
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook

Healthy Meal Planning Ultimate Bundle

With this Healthy Meal Planning Ultimate bundle, you are able to get a HUGE assortment of meal planning resources all at once for an amazing price! Instead of paying for each resource separately, you pay one price and get a whole collection which includes:

  • 1072 whole food recipes
  • 38 meal plans to choose from
  • Nutrition information on every recipe

AND it integrates with the Real Plan app!

You can find out more about the Healthy Meal Planning Ulitmate Bundle here.

Healthy Meal Planning Bundle 2019

The Real Plan App

With the Real Plan app, you can customize your meals and grocery lists from your phone! Real Plans even includes easy Instacart integration so you can get your groceries delivered!

Best Meal Prep Products

My favorite is the Baggy Rack!

Meal Plan Checklist Printable (It’s Free!!!)

I developed this meal plan checklist because I wanted to make sure I was incorporating foods that helped improve my mood, immunity, and inflammation; reduced the risk or chronic, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases like Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Cancer, heart disease, and Rheumatoid arthritis; and helped with stomach problems like cramps, distention, and diarrhea. In other words, I wanted a COMPLETE list of foods that I should include in my weekly meals all in one place.

So I made a simple, easy Meal Plan Checklist! You can use the checklist to make sure you are getting these amazing nutrients into your daily life! And all subscribers can print and start using the Meal Plan Checklist now! It’s completely free! You can get this FREE Meal Plan Checklist here!

Copyright © 2019 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

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The Meal Plan Checklist

I have made a simple, easy Meal Plan Checklist! You can use the checklist to make sure you are getting all the amazing nutrients into your daily life! And you can print and start using the Meal Plan Checklist now! It’s completely free! You can get this FREE Meal Plan Checklist here! You can read more about your free printable below.

The Meal Plan Checklist

What nutrients and foods should be included in most of my daily and weekly meals? And which foods do what? How much omega-3 foods should I be eating each week? How about berries? Is there some sort of Meal Plan Checklist available?

Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN is the owner of Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC and author of Faith, Mindfulness, & NutritionThe Nourishing Meal Builder and The Nourishing Meal Builder: the Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Edition.

This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)


Use the Free Meal Plan Checklist to determine if you are eating foods that help support mood, immunity, inflammation, cognitive function, gut health and reduce the risk of chronic (ex: heart disease), autoimmune (ex: rheumatoid arthritis), and neurodegenerative (ex: Alzheimer’s)

Here are a few more questions you may be pondering:

  • What foods are anti-inflammatory?
  • Are there foods that boost the immune system?
  • What foods help with mood, depression, anxiety, and brain function?
  • Can certain foods boost memory and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia?
  • What foods reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes?
  • What foods help with bloating, stomach distention, constipation, GERD, cramps, diarrhea, or other stomach problems?
  • Can certain foods reduce joint pain, arthritis pain, headaches, and migraines?
  • Are their foods that can help with autoimmune or neurodegenerative diseases?

The answer is yes…

Certain foods can help alleviate symptoms and/or GREATLY reduce your risk of developing MANY conditions like:

Diabetes, Inflammation, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Distention, Bloating, IBS, Leaky Gut, Heartburn, Migraines, Diarrhea, Constipation, Stomach Pain and Cramps, Fatigue/Decrease Energy Levels, Headaches, GERD, Gas, Frequent Colds and Illnesses, Autoimmune diseases, mucus drainage and phlegm, Allergies, Memory problems, Joint Pain, Hormone imbalance, mood disorders like depression, anxiety, and stress, Acne, Insomnia, Inability to lose weight, IBD, Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth, Crohn’s Disease, Lupus, Ulteracitive Colitis, Celiac Disease, Diabetes, Parkinson’s, Heart Disease, Cancer, Alzheimer’s and Stroke

Backed by Research

While the link between many of these foods and diseases are backed by a multitude of studies, some food-disease links are still in the first stages of research. Whether backed by extensive research or just in the preliminary stages, the foods on thus dietitian’s meal plan checklist are healthy for your body so it’s a good idea to be mindful about incorporating them into our diets.

More Questions

Now you might be saying, “Yes, that is interesting, Lacy, but can I find this list of foods I should be eating all in one spot? And is there an easy stress-free way to make sure I’m getting all these crucial foods into my daily diet?


Use the Free Meal Plan Checklist Printable to determine if you are eating foods that help support your mood, immunity, inflammation, cognitive function, gut health and reduce the risk of chronic (ex: heart disease), autoimmune (ex: rheumatoid arthritis), and neurodegenerative (ex: Alzheimer’s)

You may have guessed the answer to those questions as well. Yes, you can!

I am an organizer; so I decided I to make a sort of checklist.  I knew I wanted to make a list of foods that could help improve my mood, immunity, and inflammation. But I wanted more. The checklist should also include a list of nutrients and foods that can reduce the risk or Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Cancer, and stomach problems like cramps, stomach distention, and diarrhea too. I also wanted to include nutrients and foods that can help reduce the risk of strokes, heart disease, and even autoimmune diseases. In other words, I want a COMPLETE list all in one place. You can find this nutrient list as well as the list of foods that have these nutrients in The Nourishing Meal Builder ebook. But if you want something for FREE that can help you get started, you can use the Meal Plan Checklist!

The Noourishing Meal Builder ebook
The Nourishing Meal Builder

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You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

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Healthy Turkey Noodle Soup Casserole


Why Is It Healthy?

This recipe has so many things going for it! Bone broth and chicken broth are becoming more popular these days and for good reason. Bone broth and chicken broth may have anti-inflammatory properties and boost the immune system. Sipping on a warm chicken broth soup may even help you feel more relaxed! Spinach is another fantastic ingredient on the list. With nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, fiber, folate, and vitamin E, spinach has so many beneficial attributes like immune boosting and cancer fighting properties. Carrots and beans, two more ingredients in this recipe, are prebiotics. Prebiotics feed good bacteria and promote a healthy gut. The whole grain pasta and beans are great sources of fiber, which can help you feel full. Turkey has many beneficial nutrients as well, such as protein, zinc, vitamin B6, Selenium, Tryptophan, and B12!

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Make Ahead and freeze Healthy Recipes: Healthy, relaxing turkey noodle soup casserole: rich in anti-inflammatory, cancer-fighting, and immune boosting nutrients like antioxidants, fiber, and probiotics.
Make ahead and freeze healthy recipes using the pressure cooker or oven: Healthy, relaxing turkey noodle soup casserole: rich in anti-inflammatory, cancer-fighting, and immune boosting nutrients like antioxidants, fiber, and probiotics.

Materials:

  • 10” round extra deep casserole cake pan

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 ½ cup frozen spinach
  • 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/3 cup bone broth
  • 2 cups chicken broth, low sodium
  • 1 tbs. garlic, minced
  • 2 tbs. Steak seasoning
  • 1/3 tsp Fennel Seed
  • 3 tsp black pepper
  • 3 tsp paprika
  • 2 cups whole-wheat Linguine, cooked per package directions

To Freeze:

  • Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground turkey and brown the meat, breaking it into small pieces. Continue cooking until the turkey is no longer pink, about 4 to 6 minutes. Drain the turkey.
  • Dump ingredients into a 10” Round extra deep casserole cake pan
  • Cover pan with aluminum foil.

When ready to cook in the oven:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 ½ hours or until warm. Oven times will vary.

or

When ready to cook in the pressure cooker:

  • Put 2 cups of cold water into the inner pot.
  • Place a trivet in the pressure cooker inner pot.
  • Place the round aluminum dish containing the frozen turkey soup casserole on top of the trivet.
  • Lock the lid. Place the steam release handle pointing to sealing.
  • Press the steam button. Program for 15 minutes at high pressure.
  • Use the quick release when it is finished.
Turkey Noodle Soup Casserole: A make ahead healthy freezer meals: From freezer to pressure cooker
Turkey Noodle Soup Casserole: A make ahead healthy freezer meals: From freezer to pressure cooker

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Want More?

Soon you can get soo much more because a book is in the works that is going to provide food lists, recipes, and grocery lists to help you optimize your health, BUT while you wait, I made a simple, easy Meal Plan Checklist you can use to make sure you are getting crucial nutrients into your daily life! And all subscribers can print and start using the Meal Plan Checklist now! You can get the Meal Plan Checklist here!

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Copyright © 2018 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

This site is hosted by Bluehost.

70 Reasons How “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” Can Transform your Life

What is Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals?

Mindfulnes in Faith and Freezer Meals is a faith-based mindful living and nutriion ebook written by a registered dietitian. This book is so packed full of invaluable information that it is hard to describe it in one sentence (hence the need for this “70 reasons” post). So keep reading the list to truly understand what is in this book. But if I had to describe it in one (or three sentences) I would say this:

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals is designed to help you live YOUR healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and nutrition. This book is perfect for busy families who want to eat healthy and organize their lives in order to follow God and server others more fully. Timesaving, make-ahead healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes, as well as mindful living and mindful eating techniques are included.  

This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)

Find out all the reasons you will want Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals below:

70 ways that the faith-based mindful living and mindful eating practices explored in "Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals" transformed my life.
70 ways that the faith-based mindful living and mindful eating practices explored in “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” transformed my life.

70 Reasons you NEED Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals

The Perks to Learning to Live a Faith-Based Mindful Life

1. You want less stress in your life.

Mindfulness techniques have been shown to have a huge impact on stress. Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals provides detailed stress-relieving mindful living and mindful eating techniques. For me, the faith-based mindfulness techniques included in this book provide the greatest impact when it comes to stress relief.

2. You want to improve your mood through mindfulness.

Did you know preliminary observations show that Mindfulness programs in schools may improve social behaviors, mood, stress levels, and even academic performance and test score? Schools are even reporting less suspensions, detentions, violent incidents, principal visits, bullying, and classroom disruptions since incorporating mindfulness programs! If these mindfulness techniques can improve the moods of children in schools, perhaps they can help you too! 

3. You want to improve your brain function and focus through faith-based mindfulness.

Notice these school mindfulness programs seem to help with academic performance and test scores as well. Mindfulness techniques help clear our minds of all the other thousands of thoughts preventing us from focusing, and we know that stress can hinder our ability to focus and pay attention. This is where those stress relieving mindfulness techniques can be helpful. Plus, when we practice faith-based mindfulness, we learn to notice God in the present moment. Feeling God’s presence and knowing God is with us, provides peace and comfort like nothing else. Talk about a stress reliever.

4. You want more control over your emotions and actions.

When I practice faith-based mindfulness, I listen to God more. Listening to God helps me make better choices because I’m not letting negative emotions take control of my actions. (At least not as often, anyway)

5. You want to enjoy the present…

 6. And have a more positive outlook on life. 

One aspect of mindfulness is focusing on being present in the moment. Another aspect of mindfulness is focusing on the positive in your life in that moment. With faith-based mindfulness, you are focusing on how God is present with you in that very moment. While focusing on God’s presence you get to notice all the gifts from God and the beautiful little things in God’s world. Soon after incorporating some of these mindfulness practices, you may begin to notice that you have a much more grateful attitude. (This helps with everyday life situations and annoyances. Sometimes bad things happen and you will, of course, feel sad and upset. Those feeling are completely okay. You should let yourself feel them.)

7. You want to experience those goose-bump, “God is here,” moments a little more often. 

When I intentionally focus on God in the present moment, I actually SEE what God is doing in my life and the lives of others around me. By focusing on God in the present moment, I get to experience the feeling of amazement more often, and I WANT TO BE AMAZED!!! (Don’t we all want to be beautifully amazed?)

8. So the strategies in Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals are designed to help you feel closer to God…

9. And notice God as God guides you through your day.

10. You want to strengthen your walk with God.

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals explores not only mindfully pausing and praying before eating, but also discusses mindfully pausing before doing anything! Pausing before eating was crucial for my nutritional health, but I began to notice how crucial the pause was in every aspect of my life. I began to notice the impact of pausing and praying before entering any new environment whether the new environment was a park, a friend’s home, or the grocery store.

Pausing and praying, was life changing. I began to notice the importance of pausing and praying when I felt angry, or before saying something difficult, or before even talking with my children. When I forget to pause, I noticed the difference in MY actions and my strength to endure life. On the days that I do a better job of pausing, I notice God’s presence and God’s guidance more.

The Perks to Cooking A Month of Meals in One Day

11. We have established that life is stressful, but meal planning and cooking shouldn’t have to be. 

I love to cook, but I found that I didn’t have the time to cook everyday. Trying to juggle cooking, soccer practice, dance class, volunteer meetings, work, cleaning the house, and all the other “mom duties” was just causing too much stress. Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals shows you how to cook a month of healthy freezer meals in one day. Talk about taking the stress out of cooking! I cook once, and I am done for the whole month. 

12. Your life is too busy!

To piggyback on #11, sometimes we just can’t find the time to cook healthy meals. When you prep and freeze them all at once, you have time for the other things you want to do.

13. You want to save money.

This book helps you save money in multiple ways. Because you have food on hand, you eat out less. We all know that eating out is expensive. Since you are cooking everything at once, you can bulk shop and thus get bulk prices. This book also provides money saving tips and tricks that I use while grocery shopping. My grocery bill has substantially gone down since I started freezer meal cooking. 

 14. I can serve others through food. 

Food nourishes, comforts, provides energy, and sustains us. After a long day, sitting down to eat gives us needed rest. Food is a gift from God, and when we eat, we are about as close to God’s creation as we can get. In fact, if you think about it, we are actually taking God’s creation into our bodies. So, I think, when we give someone food, it is the ultimate sign of our love for them. 

A benefit to having all of these freezer meals on hand is that we have food ready ASAP when our friends or family could use it. Whether a friend just had a baby or just got home from surgery, you have a freezer meal ready to give. 

15. You want more time to serve God and others.

Cooking, grocery shopping, and meal planning can be extremely time consuming. One of my priorities in life is to serve God and others.  With all my meals done, I have time to spend quiet time with God, and I have more time to love on and serving others in our community.  

16. You don’t have to make all your recipes at once, but if you do want to make them all at once, this book shows you how to do it quickly and Efficiently.

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals provides steps and pro tips on how to make all the recipes in one day. These “Efficiency Pro-tips” are strategically placed where you would actually need the tip if you were making all the recipes at once. 

17. No need to make a grocery list.

Along with the recipes and “Efficiently Pro Tips,” a complete grocery list is included as well! Blank spots are even included in case you want to add snacks, paper products, or other misc. items to your grocery list. 

18. You want your kids to eat healthier, and these are kid-friendly make-ahead meal. 

19. You want more energy.

Healthy foods and less stress equal more energy. Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals provides both.

 20.You like good tasting real food.

Sometimes convenient food is not as tasty as the good ole’ home cooked stuff. Well, this is real home cooked food! But it is still convenient because you fixed it all in one day!

21. You want to eat at home more.

Before I started this freezer meal routine in my home, there just wasn’t enough time in the day to do it all AND cook. We would often find ourselves grabbing take-out, going to a restaurant, going through a drive through, or eating random less healthy stuff for dinner, and yet as a dietitian, I knew needed to figure something out. This make-ahead freezer meal routine was the solution I needed. 

 22. Meal planning is not only time consuming, it is mentally draining.

We often have such a huge mental load along with our physical load. Our brains have to organize and remember soo much information. After a long day, opening up that fridge, and trying to make yet another decision, is just too much. The meal planning is done when you do it all in one day! Seriously, many times I just grab the first freezer meal I see. They are all yummy so I know dinner is going to be good regardless of what I grab.  

23. You get to have one mindful day to yourself every month.

Mindfulness gives your brain a chance to rest. You rest your brain by centering or focusing your thoughts on one thing. Often times that one thing is breathing. Another component to mindfulness is focusing on the present moment. I use my cooking day as a chance to center my brain on one thing- cooking the food from God’s earth.

When I cook, it is just me and God in the kitchen. I say a prayer and thank God for this food, and for all the people who will be nourished by the food.

When I am stirring, I focus on stirring. I notice how the spoon feels in my hand, and how the food moves in the bowl.

You can also practice a little self-care during your cooking day. Turn on the music, or drink a glass of wine. The point is to slow down and be in the moment. Don’t focus on finishing fast. Remember, I provide efficiency tips so you don’t have to worry about that. In fact, frantically rushing often actually slows us down because we make mistakes.

24. You don’t want to keep buying healthy stuff, only for it to spoil before you get to eat it.

This was a huge problem for me before Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals. I would buy, say, healthy fruits and vegetables to make a salad, and I would really enjoy that salad. And I would even eat the salad again for lunch the next day, but then I didn’t want to eat the same vegetables for a third day. I wanted variety, but if I ate variety, my food would spoil. Now I have all these amazing vegetables and whole grains safely frozen so that I can change up what I eat. Now my food doesn’t spoil and…

25. I get to eat a variety of foods. With freezer meals, I can mix-and-match and change up what I am eating everyday.

26. You want to lose weight. 

I don’t want to focus too much on this because all sizes can be healthy. Some people are naturally smaller and some naturally weigh more. We have different builds and genetics. Plus, other things like medications, medical conditions, and even uncontrollable seasons in life can affect weight. 

But I also don’t want you to feel that wanting to lose weight is somehow wrong. You may want to see if weight loss will help you have more energy or help with a medical condition. Maybe you feel like you could keep up with your children more if you carried less weight, or maybe you want to see if weight loss can help with joint pain.

There are reasons you may desire weight loss, and fortunately mindful eating can help with weight loss while also helping you stop that food obsessing often associated with dieting.   The Mindful eating techniques, recipes, and nutrition tips provided in this book will help you feel full and notice your hunger/satiety cues. Moreover, the desire to binge decreases because you are actually enjoying your food ALL THE TIME.

In a nutshell, with Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals, you don’t need to focus on weight; you can just know that you are eating well by developing a routine using recipes and tips in the book. 

27. You want to maintain your weight.

Maybe you don’t want to lose weight, but you do want to maintain a healthy weight. The techniques, tips, and recipes in this book can help you maintain your weight as well. 

28. So we have established that this book shows you how to efficiently make all your breakfast, lunches, and dinners in one day, but what of you just want to make a month of dinners?

You can! The recipes and a complete grocery list for just dinners are also included.

29. And guess what. A complete grocery list for just the breakfast recipes is included too.

So if you have your dinners covered but want more breakfast meals ready to go, your can just make a month of breakfast meals if you prefer.

30. A complete grocery list for just the lunch recipes is included as well so you can also just make the lunches. 

31. You are about to have a baby, and you know you are going to be sleep-deprived and time-crunched soon.

I have had so many people report that these meals have been lifesavers when they were in the newborn phase of parenting. I even had a couple of moms tell me that they ended up having to be on bed restat the end of their pregnancy, and these meals were everything! 

32. When you are ready to eat breakfast or lunch (or even dinner if you want), all your need to do is microwave.

The breakfast and lunch recipes are pre-portioned because many of us eat our breakfast or lunches on our own. When it is time to eat, you can just put one of your meals in the microwave for 2 minutes, and it is ready!!!

33. Dinners are perfect of family meals.

In the ebook, I recommend packaging your dinners family style. That way you just simply throw your meal in the crockpot or oven, and your meal for the whole family is done!

34. You have healthy food ready to take to work.

These pre-packaged home-cooked microwavable lunches are PERFECT for work!

35. Meal prepping is one of the keys to weight loss.

Most of us need to get a little organized and form some sort of easy to follow routine in order to make real lasting changes. Well, Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals IS the ultimate meal prep book because the ebook shows you how to prep ALL your meals for a month at once!!! 

36. Another cool thing about having these freezer meals on hand is that you can host guests anytime.

Lots of these recipes work great for parties and socials! Having the girls over for a brunch? Just heat up some crustless quiches. Did you decide last minute to have people over to watch a football game? Throw the burrito dip into the crockpot, and you are ready to host! 

37. Enjoy more family time.

I am free to play with my children or help them with homework in the afternoons because I’m not cooking!

We are now consistently having family dinnertime together!  I get to have even more quality family time while sitting at the dinner table. 

The Perks to Mindful Nutrition and Mindful Eating

70 ways Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals Transformed my Life through Faith-based mindfulness and nutrition: mindful eating techniques and healthy make-ahead recipes included.
70 ways Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals Transformed my Life through Faith-based mindfulness and nutrition: mindful eating techniques and healthy make-ahead recipes included.

38. Learn mindful eating techniques as well as… 

39. Learn about the one prayer before a meal that stopped me (a dietitian) from overeating.

40. The Meals are family-friendly.

So for the recipes in Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals, I picked ingredients that are family-friendly, but still nourishing to the body.

41. It’s fun!

There is something about turning on the music and just spending some uninterrupted time in the kitchen one day each month (My meals last 3 months for my family, so I only cook these freezer meals once every three months!)

42. Sneak in more vegetables.

Having vegetables mixed in as part of your main meal, definitely can up your vegetable intake for the day!

43. You want to enjoy your food.

Many times, dieting and food rules, take the joy out of eating. Mindful eating brings the joy back tenfold.

44. You want to stop binge eating.

With mindful eating, you are always mindfully enjoying your food; thus, you never feel deprived. Therefore, your desires to binge eat decreases. 

45. You are tired of mustering up enough willpower to diet.

Remember if you are always enjoying your food, then you don’t need willpower.

46. You just want healthy, delicious recipes, but you don’t want to cook all your foods in one day.

You can still make these recipes one at a time whenever you want. There is no rule that says you have to cook them all at once if you don’t want to.

47. Healthy Snack Ideas are included.

Chapter 22 provides a list of healthy and EASY snacks!

48. A registered dietitian wrote the eBook. 

A registered dietitian, by definition, is considered the expert in the field of nutrition science. The term Registered Dietitian is actually different than a nutritionist. In fact, the term nutritionist is not a regulated term and has a more general meaning. The term, registered dietitian, however, is regulated much like the terms doctor or lawyer. In other words, you are not allowed to call yourself a doctor unless you are a doctor, and you cannot call yourself a registered dietitian unless you have completed all the academic and professional requirements.

To become an RD you must complete a bachelors degree at a college accredited by the Commission of Accreditation of Dietetic Education; complete 1200 hours of a competitive internship; pass the CDR Exam; and by 2024, all register dietitian will be required to have a master’s degree as well. Many RD’s already do. Registered dietitians are required to complete Continuing Education Units throughout their career to keep their registered dietitian credentials.

You can find amazing nutrition books by non-dietitians, but you can see why seeing that RD or RDN beside an author’s name in a nutrition book is a plus.

49. Mindful eating demo video is provided.

You don’t have to just read about mindful eating. The ebook also provides a link to an actual mindful eating demo video so you can actually SEE what mindful eating looks like. 

50. Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals not only discusses mindful eating, but also discussed how to mindfully plate your foods to prevent over-filling your plate.

51. A collection of over 300 dietitian-approved healthy eating and fitness tips and tricks are included like…

52. Snacking Tips (Chapter 6)

53. Dining Out Tips (Chapter 7)

54. Portion Control Tips (Chapter 8)

55. “How to Make Your Own Recipes Healthier” (Chapter 9)

56. “Health and Fitness Tips for Vacationers and Frequent Travelers” (Chapter 10)

57. “When my Work Environment Causes Weight Gain” (Chapter 12)

58. “Eating Healthy at Social Gatherings” (Chapter 12)

59. “Developing an Exercise Routine” (Part 1, Chapter 13)

60. “How to Exercise when Your Kids Are Always Around” (Part 3, Chapter 13)

61. “But What if I am Too Busy to Exercise” (Part 4, Chapter 13)

62. “Ways to Sneak Exercise into your Day” (Part 5, Chapter 13)

63. You can use your results from the included interactive quiz, to determine which tips and tricks you think would make the biggest impact in your life.

64. A “Putting it All Together: Routine Planning Worksheet,” is also included in the book.

You can use this worksheet to figure the habits you would like to implement into your routine. 

65. Learn how to organize your kitchen to promote lasting changes  

66. Feel satisfied and full after eating these freezer meals.

These meals are hearty, delicious, comfort classics done in a healthier way. They are also abundant in fiber, which helps you feel full. 

67. Along with fiber, these meals are full of essential vitamins and minerals. 

68. Mindful eating can aid in digestion.

How? Although most digestive enzymes are released in the stomach. Digestion actually starts in the mouth. In fact, one enzyme, called Salivary Amylase, is released in the mouth. This enzyme starts breaking down carbohydrates. Cool fact, if you let a piece of bread sit in your mouth for a moment, you may notice a sweeter taste. That taste occurs because the more complex carbohydrate breaks down into a simpler sugar. Also chewing thoroughly gives those other enzymes in your stomach more surface area to do their work, which again promotes healthy digestion and absorption. 

69. Mindful eating can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases.

We established in #68 that Mindful eating aids in digestion. Healthy digestion promotes gut health. Poor gut health is related to inflammation and reduced immune function. Gut health, inflammation and immunity are all linked to many condition including IBS, Crohn’s, Autoimmune Disease, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, stroke, brain function and focus, mood and even depression and anxiety, to name a few. So anything that promotes a healthy gut is something worth looking into in my book. (Fortunately, a mindful eating guide IS included in my book!)

70. What does Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals do as a whole?

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals is designed to help you live YOUR healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and nutrition. 

What Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals is NOT

This Freezer meal plan is NOT a rigid “you must eat these freezer meals” plan. This isn’t about strict rules or dieting. Not eating these meals is NOT wrong. In other words, you have not messed up if you go out to eat one night or if you decide to fix something other than your freezer meals one night. If your routine changes sometimes, you have NOT broken a rule or failed. In fact, I provide eating out tips as well as other helpful tips about portion control, snacking, and more.

You can use these provided tips along with your freezer meals to customize a routine that works for your family. I have also provided a chapter on mindful eating. You can incorporate mindful eating everywhere and anytime. You will see how mindfully eating, in my opinion, is one of the number one ways to maintain and lose weight if this is one of your desires.

So read the step-by-step mindful eating guide and incorporate it even when your routine is out of whack. You can mindfully eat at home, at work, at restaurants, and on vacation. Mindful eating techniques travel well, so to speak. This meal plan is meant to make life and eating healthier and easier for you and your family. This plan just makes it easy to eat healthy meals when you are too busy and overwhelmed. This is for families who just want a simple routine to relieve the stress of meal planning and cooking.

How has Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals Helped You?

Has the Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals ebook changed your life in some way? Email me your transformation story by using the Contact Me form on mindfulnessinfaithandfood.com. Maybe you have even experienced another benefit from Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals that I haven’t even thought of. Please email me any of your stories and experiences. I would be so thankful that you took the time to tell me. 🙂

Related Posts

Cook Once a Month, Eat Healthy Everyday

How to Live Your Healthiest, Happiets, Most Meaningful Life

The Top Keys to Weight Loss According to a Dietitian

Top-Notch Meal Prep and Meal Planning Books Written by Registered Dietitians

The Best Healthy Cookbooks Written by Registered Dietitians

The Best Healthy Living Books Written by Registered Dietitians

COPYRIGHT © 2019 MINDFULNESS IN FAITH AND FOOD.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

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The Top Meal Prep & Meal Planning Books by Registered Dietitians

Top healthy meal prep adn meal planning books written by registered dietitians; healthy family meal planning, organize your meal planning, make ahead meal prep with freezer meals
Top Meal Prep and Meal Planning books written by registered dietitians

Nutrition Books for Specific Conditions Written by Registered Dietitians

 I hope you have found this series an invaluable resource of nutriton information. 

This is the fifth post in the series…

Best Books Written by Registered Dietitians

(Note: At the top of each post in this series, I have provided a description of what a dietitian is; therefore, if you have read any of the other posts in the series, you may want to skip down to the list portion.)

You may be asking…

So what exactly IS a Registered Dietitian, and why do I want to take note when a health and wellness book is written by a Registered Dietitian?

This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)

A registered dietitian, by definition, is considered the expert in the field of nutrition science. The term Registered Dietitian is actually different than a nutritionist. In fact, the term nutritionist is not a regulated term and has a more general meaning. The term registered dietitian, however, is regulated much like the terms doctor or lawyer. In other words, you are not allowed to call yourself a doctor unless you are a doctor, and you cannot call yourself a registered dietitian unless you have completed all the academic and professional requirements.

Requirements for Registered Dietitians

So what are the requirements? Is there some kind of certification you need to be a registered dietitians?

Actually, you cannot just get a certification to become a registered dietitian. Whereas there might be certifications available for nutritionists.

To become an RD you must:

  1. Complete a Bachelors Degree at a college accredited by the Commission of Accreditation of Dietetic Education. Some of the required courses generally included are:

  • Microbiology
  • Medical Nutrition Therapy
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Evidence Base Nutrition
  • Human Nutrition and Metabolism
  • Nutrition Counseling
  • and more

2. Complete 1200 hours of a competitive internship (The internship is usually completed in hospitals, community service agencies, medical clinics, etc)

3. Pass the CDR Exam

Just like a lawyer can’t practice law without passing an exam, an RD cannot become a registered dietitian without pasing the CDR.

4. By 2024, all register dietitian will be required to have a master’s degree as well. Many RD’s already do.

5. Complete Continuing Education Units throughout their career to keep their registered dietitian credentials.

So you can see why it is a plus when a health and nutrition book is written by a registered dieitian. I want to preface here that just because an RD is considered the expert, doesn’t mean you can’t get great nutrition information and advice from non-dietitians. People who have a passion for nutrition or people who have discovered something that works for them can write insightful nutrition books.

Many health and wellness enthusiasts have done extensive research on their own and have valuable information,  but if you are getting advice from non-dietitians, I would recommend looking for the following:

  1. Are they getting their information from a Registered Dietitian? Are they seeing what multiple registered dieitians have to say about the topic before giving advice?
  2. Do they know when it is time to refer their clients to a registered dietitian? Many informed people have general nutrition knowledge, but when a client or customer needs medical nutrition therapy; then, a dietitian may be needed. Dietitians are trained in nutrition as it relates to diseases, drug-food interactions, tube feeding, enteral nutrition (nutrients through the veins), and various other medical conditions. These topics can get complicated and even be dangerous if incorrect information is given.

For example, someone may tell a client to eat more bananas because bananas are healthy, after all, BUT if a person has kidney failure and is on dialysis, too many bananas could put someone in the hosptial or worse!

One Final Note..

So one final thought before we move on to the book lists. If a book is written by a non-RD, you may want to see if a registered dietitian has written a review about the book, recommended the book, or even written a forward for the book.

Nutrition books written by non-dietitians are not a deal breaker, by any means, but you can see why seeing that RD beside an author’s name in a nutrition book is a plus.

Okay now for the good stuff…

The fifth post in this series is…

Meal Planning & Meal Prep Books by Registered Dietitians

52-Week Meal Planner: The Complete Guide to Planning Menus, Groceries, Recipes, and More

I LOVE to feel organized. Getting organized takes the weight off your shoulders, doesn’t it?!?! That is why I love this book! The goal of this book is to help you organized your meals for a whole year! This meal planner includes:

  • One year’s worth of weekly templates to plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
  • Grocery lists and price comparison sheets
  • Recipe pages

This wonderful origination tool is written by registered dietitian, Jessica Levinson, MS, RDN, CDN.

Your 6-Week Guide to LiveBest: Simple Solutions for Fresh Food & Well-Being

This book also made an appearance in my “Healthy Living Books Written by Registered Dietitians,” but I thought this book fit well in this list as well. This 6-week guide includes more than 100 breakfast, lunch, and dinner solutions. In this book, you will find simple, realistic solutions as wells as assessments, food tips and meal ideas to help you live a happier, healthier, and stronger life. 

Plant-Powered for Life: 52 Weeks of Simple, Whole Recipes and Habits to Achieve Your Health Goals―Starting Today

If you want your meal plan to be full of flavorful, nutritious plant-based foods; then, this is the book for you. This guide, which is broken down into 52 weeks, provides 125 A-MAZING plant-based recipes!

 

The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook: Easy and Wholesome Meals to Cook, Prep, Grab, and Go

Our lives are so busy that we often don’t have much time to plan and cook our foods. This is why meal prepping is soooo beneficial! Toby Smithson provides so many meal prepping tips and solutions in her book. This book is perfect for busy families who want to find a way to eat healthy on a busy schedule.

This book includes:

  • Helpful tips,
  • Meal plans,
  • Shopping lists,
  • Storage solutions
  • Healthy recipes
  • Healthy Grab and Go Snacks
  • And More…

The Nourishing Meal Builder

The Meal Builder Cards included in The Nourishing Meal Builder takes the stress out of meal planning. In fact, you don’t have to do much meal planning ahead at all!

In this ebook, you get a list of anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory nutrients and foods that support the immune system; boost mood; reduce the risk of chronic disease; and promote cognitive function, focus, attention, and memory. You simply use these list to grocery shop! Then when you are ready to cook a meal, you use the meal builder cards to create a nourishing meal on the spot! It’s so easy and the meal possibilities are endless!

The Nourishing Meal Builder
Create anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, mood boosting, immune supportive meals that reduce the risk of chronic disease and promote cognitive function, focus, attention, and memory.

Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition For Dummies

As soon as I discovered this book, I knew I had to include it here. Deciding what to eat on a diabetic diet, can feel overwhelming. This books takes out the guesswork by helping you easily plan your meals. Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition for Dummies includes tons of helpful information like healthy eating tips for diabetes, food swap ideas, and of course, yummy recipes!


Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals by (yours truly) Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN

This IS the ultimate meal prep book! Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals shows you how to prep ALL your meals for a month in ONE DAY!!! I developed this book because, although I LOVE to cook, I couldn’t find the time to cook healthy meals everyday. Life. Gets. Soooo. Busy, and figuring out what to eat everyday can sometimes be one more mentally draining decision you have to make.

That is why I began prepping and freezing a month of meals in one day. Over time I became extremely efficient at making all of these meals at once. I can now get all my breakfast, lunch and dinners for a whole month prepped and frozen in only 6 hours!!! This book teaches you the tricks and the steps to take in order to prep and freeze your meals efficiently too. When it’s actually time to eat breakfast and lunch, you simply throw one of these meals in the microwave for 2 minutes and IT. IS. DONE!!!! For dinner, I usually put the family-style meals in the crockpot while I am making my kids lunches in the morning. It’s so simple! With Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals, you have one less thing to think about each day. Now you can enjoy healthy meals and focus on your family instead of trying to figure out what to cook!

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals includes the some of the most popular family recipes. From Pizza Bites and Southwest burrito dip, to Asian Chicken and rice; there is something for just about everyone.

Meal Prep and Meal planning, weight loss, freezer meals ebook, mindful eating, healthy freezer meals, healthy meal planning for busy families
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook

Related Posts

Top Cookbooks Written by Registered Dietitians

Top Healthy Living Books written by Registered Dietitians

Nutrition Books on Specific Conditions written by Registered Dietitians

Childhood Nutrition Books Written by Registered Dietitians

Cook Once a Month, Eat Healthy Everyday

Holistic Health: Mind, Body, Spirit Books by Registered Dietitians

Books for Registered Dietitians by Registered Dietitians

Sports Nutrition Books written by Registered Dietitians

Weight Loss Books Written by Registered Dietitians

Copyright © 2019 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

Bluehost site.

Healthy Living Books by Registered Dietitians

 

 I hope you have found this series an invaluable resource of nutriton information.

This is the third post in the series…

Best Books Written by Registered Dietitians

(Note: At the top of each post in this series, I have provided a description of what a dietitian is; therefore, if you have read any of the other posts in the series, you may want to skip down to the list portion.)

You may be asking…

So what exactly IS a Registered Dietitian, and why do I want to take note when a health and wellness book is written by a Registered Dietitian?

This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)

A registered dietitian, by definition, is considered the expert in the field of nutrition science. The term Registered Dietitian is actually different than a nutritionist. In fact, the term nutritionist is not a regulated term and has a more general meaning. The term registered dietitian, however, is regulated much like the terms doctor or lawyer. In other words, you are not allowed to call yourself a doctor unless you are a doctor, and you cannot call yourself a registered dietitian unless you have completed all the academic and professional requirements.

Requirements for Registered Dietitians

So what are the requirements? Is there some kind of certification you need to be a registered dietitians?

Actually, you cannot just get a certification to become a registered dietitian. Whereas there might be certifications available for nutritionists.

To become an RD you must:

  1. Complete a Bachelors Degree at a college accredited by the Commission of Accreditation of Dietetic Education. Some of the required courses generally included are:

  • Microbiology
  • Medical Nutrition Therapy
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Evidence Base Nutrition
  • Human Nutrition and Metabolism
  • Nutrition Counseling
  • and more

2. Complete 1200 hours of a competitive internship (The internship is usually completed in hospitals, community service agencies, medical clinics, etc)

3. Pass the CDR Exam

Just like a lawyer can’t practice law without passing an exam, an RD cannot become a registered dietitian without pasing the CDR.

4. By 2024, all register dietitian will be required to have a master’s degree as well. Many RD’s already do.

5. Complete Continuing Education Units throughout their career to keep their registered dietitian credentials.

So you can see why it is a plus when a health and nutrition book is written by a registered dieitian. I want to preface here that just because an RD is considered the expert, doesn’t mean you can’t get great nutrition information and advice from non-dietitians. People who have a passion for nutrition or people who have discovered something that works for them can write insightful nutrition books.

Many health and wellness enthusiasts have done extensive research on their own and have valuable information,  but if you are getting advice from non-dietitians, I would recommend looking for the following:

  1. Are they getting their information from a Registered Dietitian? Are they seeing what multiple registered dieitians have to say about the topic before giving advice?
  2. Do they know when it is time to refer their clients to a registered dietitian? Many informed people have general nutrition knowledge, but when a client or customer needs medical nutrition therapy; then, a dietitian may be needed. Dietitians are trained in nutrition as it relates to diseases, drug-food interactions, tube feeding, enteral nutrition (nutrients through the veins), and various other medical conditions. These topics can get complicated and even be dangerous if incorrect information is given.

For example, someone may tell a client to eat more bananas because bananas are healthy, after all, BUT if a person has kidney failure and is on dialysis, too many bananas could put someone in the hosptial or worse!

One Final Note..

So one final thought before we move on to the book lists. If a book is written by a non-RD, you may want to see if a registered dietitian has written a review about the book, recommended the book, or even written a forward for the book.

Nutrition books written by non-dietitians are not a deal breaker, by any means, but you can see why seeing that RD beside an author’s name in a nutrition book is a plus.

Okay now for the good stuff…

The third post in this series is…

Healthy Living Books by Registered Dietitians

Healthy living and healthy eating books by registered dietitians: From mindful eating and meal planning, to recipes nutrition tips, these health and wellness books have you covered
Healthy living and healthy eating books by registered dietitians: From mindful eating and meal planning, to recipes nutrition tips, these health and wellness books have you covered

We have talked about the some of the Best Childhood Nutrition Books and listed some of the Top Healthy Cookbooks by Dietitians, now let’s talk about books that are not cookbooks, but help you live the healthy life you want to live!

How to Change your Life in 28 Days

This guide book by Katey Davidson, MSCFN, RD will help you set goals that naturally fit into your actual life so that you get lasting results. This guide will help you transform the “Core Seven” aspects of health, which are Beauty (Nutrition, Empowerment, Social life, Stress, Exercise, Sleep, and Beauty (inside and out).

Nourish Your Namaste

Just like the subtitle says, this ebook walks you through how nutrition and yoga can support digestion, immunity, energy, and relaxation! This book includes a list of 40 functional foods you should include in your diet to help improve digestion, immune function, energy, and relaxation!  Plant-based recipes and snack ideas are also included.

nourish_cover

 

 

 Eat to Sleep: What to Eat and When to Eat It for a Good Night’s Sleep―Every Night

Many of us forget how important sleep is, but when you go a few nights without sleeping you are quickly reminded! This book is perfect for someone who suffers from insomnia or chronic sleeplessness. Eat to Sleep explains which “sleepy” foods to eat and when to eat them in order to get the best night’s rest possible.


Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition

“What an awesome and inspiring book!!!! This book is full of inspirational stories that integrate health, faith, and mindfulness. The “goose-bump God moment” stories will give you chills! I love this book!” -Mary

Learn how to live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. Faith, Mindfulness, and Nutrition takes you on an inspiring and uplifting journey with dietitian, Lacy Ngo. Thanks to faith-based mindfulness and nutrition, Ngo went from being weight obsessed to feeling healthy and happy in her own body. Ironically, during the process, Ngo ended up, not only losing weight, but also strengthening her walk with God. Now she feels healthier than ever AND she truly enjoys eating! She is able to feed her mind, body, and soul nourishing foods and feel good in her own body without weight obsessing. Get ready to get goose-bumps as you read this amazing true story.

*A Bonus Mindful Planner is Included!!!

The Nourishing Meal Builder

The Nourishing Meal Builder
Create anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, mood boosting, immune supportive meals that reduce the risk of chronic disease and promote cognitive function, focus, attention, and memory.

Created by a registered dietitian, The Nourishing Meal Builder and the included Nourishing Meal Builder Cards take the stress out of cooking nourishing, healing meals! Motivated by her son’s illnesses and her own symptoms, Lacy Ngo (that’s me!) became passionate about providing an easy strategy that busy families could use to implement research-based nutrition into their daily lives.

After incorporating these strategies into my own life, I was even more convinced that nutrition can change lives:
-My mood improved
-My seasonal allergies stopped showing up in the fall and spring
-My energy improved
-My acne resolved
-My son’s behavior and anxiety improved

What’s included in The Nourishing Meal Builder?
-Lists of nutrients and foods that boost mood; promote cognitive function, focus, attention, alertness, and memory; support the immune system; aid in weight loss; and reduce the risk of chronic diseases, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, joint pain, and even seasonal allergy symptoms
-A simple Meal Plan Checklist
-A faith-based mindfulness and mindful eating guide
-Printable Meal Builder cards

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals

I’m kind of extra fond of this book because it’s mine. : ) This ebook does have a cookbook component, but it includes so much more. In the cookbook component, I show you how to make a month of meals in one day so that you can easily eat healthy, homecooked meals at home everyday (or at least most days). You can also just use the recipes individually each day if you prefer. I also give you pro tips on how to efficiently cook all these meals in a timely manner. (I just finished cooking 110 freezer meal this week, and I used the efficiency tips that I share with you in this ebook to get all 110 meals done in 5 hours!)

This book includes much more than recipes though.

What is included:

  • Mindful Eating Techniques
  • Mindful Eating Demo Video
  • An interactive Nutrition Quiz to help you develop your own healthy living routine
  • 100s of healthy living tips from a registered dietitian
  • Healthy and easy family-friendly breakfast, lunch, dinner freezer meal recipes that last most families a month or more!
  • A Complete Grocery List so that shopping for a month of meals is simple.
  • Pro Tips on how to efficiently cook a month of meals in a day. 
  • Because I believe God is a part of everything; this book also discusses faith and how faith relates to our health.
Meal planning, weight loss, freezer meals ebook
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook

You can learn more or purchase “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” here.

The Mom’s Guide to a Nourishing Garden

This is such a unique book! According to dietitian, Jen Haugen, gardening nourishes the soul and having a family vegetable garden is a great way to grow healthy, nutritious foods! This book includes everything you need to know to plant more than 35 different garden fruits and vegetables, as well as 30 garden fresh recipes!

Plant-Based Nutrition, 2E (Idiot’s Guides)

“Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore, getting your nutrition from plant-based foods is one of the best things you can do for your health—and it’s easier than you might think!” 

I love this quote from the description of this book. “Plant-Based Nutrition” gives you everything you need to start a delicious and nutritious plant-based diet! This book provides ample tips and recipes to help you incorporate more plants into your life! 

The Vegiterranean Diet: The New and Improved Mediterranean Eating Plan–with Deliciously Satisfying Vegan Recipes for Optimal Health

The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the best and has been linked to a lower risk in cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s! “The Vegiterranean Diet” focuses on the whole-plant foods of the Mediterranean diet. From meal plans, recipes, and tips, this book has the Vegiterranean diet covered!

The Attitude Antidote: A Whole Life Overhaul 21-Day Devotional

Health is about so much more than the foods we eat and how much we exercise. Health is about the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. “The Attitude Antidote” was a delight to read! This devotional, written by a dietitian, covers the mind and spirit aspect of our health. Jessa Nowak believes there is nothing more defining than your attitude. When we learn to have a grateful and positive attitude and approach to our daily life, then we will be happier and healthier. 

Body Kindness: Transform Your Health from the Inside Out–and Never Say Diet Again

This book is so popular that it was on backorder when I first tried to order it! This book shows you how to have a happier and healthier life by treating yourself with compassion. This anti-dieting book focuses on mindfulness, self-compassion, self-acceptance, gratitude, and affirmations. In other words, this book is about listening to your body and being kind to yourself and your body.

Food and Fitness After 50: Eat Well, Move Well, Be Well

I am 38 years old as I write this post, and I have definitely noticed my health and fitness needs have changed from when I was in my 20s. That is why I am so glad the book, “Food and Fitness after 50” is available. Christine Rosenbloom, PhD, RDN, FAND, and Bob Murray, PhD, FACSM, share steps and tips on how to start a healthy fitness routine and eating plans. “Food and Fitness After 50 also includes weight management techniques as well as tips for better sleep.

Health Takes Guts

I devoured this book in two days! What a fascinating read! This book is a detailed explanation of nutrition as it relates to gut health, mental fatigue, IBS, Diarrhea, Constipation, Alzheimer’s, Autoimmune diseases, inflammation, mood, fatigue, immunity, and many other medical conditions. This is definitely worth the purchase!

ebook: Health Takes Guts® Your Comprehensive Guide to Eliminating Digestive Issues, Anxiety, and Fatigue

 

The Mindful Diet: How to Transform Your Relationship with Food for Lasting Weight Loss and Vibrant Health

If you have read some of my past posts, you know that I have had a history of weight gain. In fact, being called a “two ton whale” in middle school was the negative motivator that started me on a weight loss journey. I kept the weight off for years, but then gained weight right after I got married. It was when I stopped focusing on weight and focused on mindful eating that I naturally lost 55 pounds without needing willpower, without counting calories, without dieting, or getting on the scale. I only know how much weight I lost because I saw the weight at the doctors office. This books is about the power of mindfulness and mindful eating. “The Mindful Diet” discusses how mindfulness and mindful eat can help with with lasting weight loss!

Lean Body Smart Life: 12-Fix Plan to a Leaner, Healthier, Happier Life

I am an organizer and list maker so I love how organized this book is. In Judith Scharman Draughon’s book, Judith narrows down the science into what she considers the 12 most important things you can do for your health and wellness- all without being on a diet!

The Overworked Person’s Guide to Better Nutrition: Simple Steps YOU Can Take to Eat Well, Reduce Stress, and Improve Your Health

Many of us are overworked and overly busy today. We don’t have time to incorporate big changes into our lives. This is where this book comes in. “The Overworked Person’s Guide to Better Nutrition” provides tiny, easy to implement tips that bring big results. Tiny tips that equal big results! Yes please!

Your 6-Week Guide to LiveBest: Simple Solutions for Fresh Food & Well-Being

In this book, you will find more than 100 simple, realistic solutions as wells as assessments, food tips and meal ideas to help you live a happier, healthier, and stronger life. The 6-week guide is a great start to making lasting changes.

Too Busy to Diet: A Guide To Smart Nutrition When You’re On The Move

Quick and easy to read, this book is perfect for busy people. This book provides easy solutions to meal planning, shopping, and eating out. In the book, dietitian’s Jacqueline King and Monica Joyce answers questions patients have been asking them for years such as How can I get more calcium, what foods are high in fiber, and how do I lower my sodium intake with our sacrificing taste?



The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life

I was standing in my kitchen soon after finishing this post when I realized I had not included a Flexitarian book! I ran back to add this “must have on this list” book. Like the Mediterranean and the Vegiterranean diet, the Flexitarian diet is one of the healthiest! This book has so much information and 140 recipes as well!

Healthy for Your Life

Health is so much more than the number on a scale. Health is about mind, body, and soul! With this book, you get to decide what healthy means to you! This is a non-diet book, that provides inspiration and tips to help you nourish your mind, body and soul.

hfyl_bookcover

The Mindful Eating Workbook

The Mindful Eating Workbook: Simple Mindfulness Practices to Nurture a Healthy Relationship with Food

You can probably guess that I am super excited about this workbook! This workbook includes mindful eating 101, as well as mindful cooking and mindful eating strategies and reflective exercises.

Other Posts in the “Books by Dietitians” Series

Childhood Nutrition Books by Registered Dietitians

Top Healthy Cookbooks by Registered Dietitians

Nutrition Books for Specific Conditions Written by Registered Dietitians

Meal Prep & Meal Planning Books Written by Registered Dietitians

The Best Faith-Based Weight Loss Books and Courses

Cook Once a Month, Eat Healthy Everyday

Holistic Health: Mind, Body, Spirit Books by Registered Dietitians

Books for Registered Dietitians by Registered Dietitians

Sports Nutrition Books written by Registered Dietitians

Weight Loss Books Written by Registered DietitiansN

Copyright © 2019 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

This site is hosted by Bluehost.

How Does the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” Plan Work?

Healthy Freezer Meals, Healthy cooking, bulk cooking, meal planning
A Freezer Meal Healthy Eating Plan

Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals: How it All Started

I love to cook, but I found that I didn’t have the time to cook everyday. Trying to juggle cooking, soccer practice, dance class, volunteer meetings, work, cleaning the house, and all the other “mom duties” was just causing too much stress. There just wasn’t enough time in the day to do it all AND cook. We would often find ourselves grabbing take-out, going to a restaurant, going through a drive through, or eating random less healthy stuff for dinner, and yet as a dietitian, I knew needed to figure something out.

Why This Is Life Changing

Eating healthy family meals together was important to me, and the chaotic meals were stressing me out. So I decided to cook it ALL AT ONCE. More specifically, I decided to cook enough breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to last my family a whole month, and I decided to cook it ALL in ONE DAY! Let me tell you, THIS WAS LIFE CHANGING!

My family now has more energy, more family time, less stress, and our bodies have even started changing. My family is eating dinners together, and we now have so much more free time in the afternoon. I am no longer spending my afternoons in the kitchen; instead I am now present with my children. And because I am less stressed, I am a happier, more relaxed, and more patient mom. In other words, I am now mindfully living in the moment during the afternoons instead of running around trying to frantically figure out what to feed my family for dinner. So I do not exaggerate when I say these meals have been LIFE CHANGING.

Because I have been making them for my family and friends for so long, I have learned the tricks and tips on how to efficiently and quickly make all my meals at once. Making freezer meals has become one of my passions and joys in my life. I wanted to share that passion with others, which is why I decided to write the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals “eBook.

Mindfulness…

In this ebook, I not only show you how to cook your freezer meals, but I also discuss how to plate and eat your food using mindfulness techniques.

In Faith…

Health is not just about our body; it is about the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. In “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals,” I talk about how my faith journey has helped me live a healthier life.

And Freezer Meals…

For this plan, you spend one day out of the whole month cooking all your freezer meal… then your are DONE COOKING FOR THE WHOLE MONTH! So you cook 14 breakfast, 14 lunch, and 16 dinner freezer meals. Most of the breakfast and lunch meals are divided into serving sizes so all you have to do is grab one and pop it in the microwave! Yep! Homemade…easy…microwavable freezer meals! The dinner freezer meals are packaged family style. Meaning you make all of it at once so that your whole family can enjoy the meal together. Of course, you can always cook it and then eat the leftovers for lunches too. Each meal lasts my family for 2 meals or more, so these meals EASILY lasts us 30 days (a whole month)!

The goals of cooking all of your meals in ONE Day are:

  • More daily free time,
  • A decreased grocery bill,
  • Healthier meals for the whole family,
  • Less daily stress, and
  • Weight Loss/Weight Maintenance

No more worrying about what to cook or when am I going to cook each night. Since doing these freezer meals, our family is eating at home more because we are less likely to say, “There’s nothing to eat so lets just go out.”

As you can imagine, planning and prepping a months worth of freezer meals in one day is also a fantastic weight loss technique for ALL of the above reasons! Plus enjoying your food is probably one of the most important tips for lasting weight loss. These freezer meals are delicious, nutritious, easy, home-cooked meals that you can mindfully enjoy.

Meal planning, weight loss, freezer meals ebook
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook

More Perks

Bonus 1: Many of these meals make fantastic appetizers or party foods so if you suddenly realize you are suppose to bring something to a Super Bowl Party (think Protein Blends Burrito Dip) or a ladies luncheon (think Crustless Omelet Muffins), you can grab one of your already done meals!

Bonus 2: You have food ready to go when a friend is in need. In my town, giving food is one way we show our love to one another. So whether your friend just had a baby or your aunt just had surgery, you can provide some food for them ASAP. These meals are perfect! Just grab one of your comfort food freezer meals and add a gallon of love and a pound of prayers, and go!

One more thing…

Because I am a registered dietitian, I wanted to include more to help you organize your kitchen and your life to promote a healthy lifestyle for the whole family. So along with the Freezer Meals I have included the “What is Preventing You From Living Your Healthiest Life?” interactive quiz as well as results and solutions based on your results.

Learn how to efficiently cook healthy make ahead freezer meals once a month; the ultimate bulk cooking and meal prep guide for families; developed by a registered dietitian
Learn how to efficiently cook healthy make ahead freezer meals once a month; the ultimate bulk cooking and meal prep guide for families; developed by a registered dietitian

What Others are Saying about the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meal” ebook

“I have lost 17 pounds since I started eating these freezer meals. They are healthy AND taste great!!! We are now eating at home more, which has made a huge difference!” Chad

“As I read this book, I kept thinking, ‘this is so much more than a freezer meal cookbook! Lacy needs to be a life coach! She has such a positive outlook on life!’ “The Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook is so uplifting and encouraging!” Wendy

“I can actually see a decrease in my grocery bill since I started eating these freezer meals, and my kids love them! We are eating healthier now. Plus, we are eating more meals together as a family!” Nicole

The Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals ebook becomes available a few times a year. If you want to recieve an email when Mindfulness in Faith and Feezer Meals is open for sales again click here.

Cook all of your healthy meals in one day, learn mindfulness and mindful eating techniques, and learn how faith and nutrition are important for healthy and wellness
Cook all of your healthy freezer meals in one day, learn mindfulness and mindful eating techniques, and learn how faith and nutrition are important for healthy and wellness;

Copyright © 2018 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

This site is hosted by Bluehost.

Make A Month’s Worth of Freezer Meals in Under 3 Hours: Recipes and Grocery List Included

I am not exaggerating when I say making a month’s worth of healthy freezer meals in one day has changed my life!

(Keep reading for a month’s worth of healthy dinner recipes, but if you want to learn how to make a month of healthy breakfast, lunch, AND dinner recipes in one day, you may want to look into the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals,” ebook. The recipes and grocery lists are included. Plus the ebook is much more than just recipes. The “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook also includes strategies and “pro tips” on how to efficiently cook all your meals in ONE Day!)

Meal planning, weight loss, freezer meals ebook
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook

I mean who wouldn’t love cooking for one day each month and then being done for the whole month! The benefits are endless.

  • I have more daily free time;
  • My grocery bill has decreased,
  • My family is eating healthier, and
  • I am less stressed about what to cook and when am I going to cook each night.

We are also eating at home more because we are less likely to say, “There’s nothing to eat so lets just go out.” As you can imagine, planning and prepping a months worth of freezer meals in one day is also a fantastic weight loss technique for ALL of the above reasons! Plus enjoying your food is probably one of the most important tips for lasting weight loss. These freezer meals are delicious, nutritious, easy homecooked meals that you can enjoy. Also remember to practice mindfulness to further enjoy your meals.

This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)

*One of the perks to cooking a month’s worth of freezer meals ahead of time is you can save money by buying in bulk. You also save by sticking to a grocery list. Another way I save a huge amount of money is by using ibotta whether I grocery shop in a grocery store or online. I have saved so much money ever since I downloaded the free ibotta app to my phone.

Make a Month’s Worth of Freezer Meals in One Day

After I grocery shop, I spend a few hours one day making these meals, and boom I have finished cooking my dinners for a month!

So for this post I wanted to provide you with 15 of my favorite freezer meals. One freezer meal last our family of four for 2 meals so 15 meals provides our family 30 dinners, i.e. a months worth of dinners. When you take into account that we will eat out occasionally, these 15 meals will often last our family for MORE than a month! You can always double the recipes for larger families.  The recipes and grocery list are included in this post.

How to make a Healthy Plate with your Freezer Meals

When I am ready to eat a meal, I usually add a quick and easy microwavable vegetable side. After all, the whole point of making freezer meals ahead is so that I don’t have to do a bunch of cooking every day. My absolute favorites are the SteamFresh Vegetables from Birdseye and the Green Giant Steamers. You don’t even have to put these vegetables in a bowl!!! You literally put the bag in the microwave and press a button!

When I eat the slow cooker meals,  I usually eat them with a healthy whole grain carbohydrate or carbohydrate substitute, I simply add the already-cooked healthy carbohydrate to the meal after the meal is finished cooking in the slow cooker. Some meals already have the starch in the recipe like the Mexican pasta for example, and for some you will add the carb or carb substitute to your meal after cooking. Again, I don’t want to do any extra cooking so I use “easy to prepare” type products like minute brown rice, whole wheat pasta, SteamFresh or Green Giant microwavable cauliflower rice, SteamFresh microwavable zucchini pasta, or Green Giant Spirals. Green Giant Steamers and Birdseye SteamFresh Vegetables seriously make eating healthy sooo easy.  Again, you literally put the  bag in the microwave. That is it! Then combine the cauliflower rice, zucchini pasta, or spirals with your already-cooked slow cooker meal and you have an amazing meal, and your kids are eating more vegetables.

The Infograph below explains how to make a healthy plate with your freezer meals including the suggested sides. Again, basically add one of the suggested whole grains/starch substitutes and a vegetable side and you have a nutrtious low calorie meal:

Freezer Meal Plating Steps

Sooo quick and easy!

And Here They Are: 15 Freezer Meal Recipes (Do you Want Breakfast and Lunch too? Check out the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook. Make all your breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes for the whole month in one day!)

* Updated on September 11, 2018

This one is so versatile. It is a slow cooker, pressure cooker, saute and steamer all in one!

To find a list of all the  cookware you will need to start your freezer meal routine click here.

 

1. Cheesy Cauliflower Tot
2. Chicken Cacciatore
3.  Chicken Masala
4. Chicken Chili
5.  Crockpot Mushroom Chicken
6. Sour Cream and Onion Chicken Potatoes
7. Asian Chicken
8. Chili Con Carne
9. Mexican Chili
10. Is it Really Healthy? Lasagna
11. Mexican Pasta
12. Crockpot Broccoli Tot Casserole
13. Sweat and Sour Meatballs 14. Italian Wedding Soup
15. Turkey Meatball Vegetable Soup
16. Meatball Minestrone Soup

Making Freezer Meals Ahead of Time is a Great Weight Loss Technique

  1. Cauliflower Cheesy Tot

4 servings

Materials
1 gallon-sized freezer bag

Ingredients

• 1  pound ground turkey
• 1 cup of your favorite cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
• Frozen Cauliflower of Broccoli tots

To Freeze
 1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to 3 months.

To Cook

1. Add to crockpot.
2. Cook on “low” setting for 8 hours.

Serve with a Vegetable side (I prefer the quick microwavable SteamFresh vegetables)

  1. Chicken Cacciatore

Servings 4

Materials
1 gallon-sized freezer bag

 Ingredients
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts- Cut into bite-size pieces
• 24 oz jar of Pasta sauce
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion

To Freeze

1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag except chicken broth.
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.

To Cook

1. The morning of cooking, pour contents into your crockpot.
2. Cook on “low” setting for 6-8

Serve with whole-wheat spaghetti and salad.

  1. Chicken Masala

Servings 6

Materials
* 1 gallon-sized freezer bag

Ingredients

• 1 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup Onion
• 24 oz of Pasta sauce
• 1 Tbs Garlic Powder
• 2 tablespoons Honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 oz light cream cheese

To Freeze

1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date.
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.

To Cook

1. Add contents of freezer bag to crockpot and cook on “low” setting for 6-8 hours or until the chicken is fully cooked through

Serve over naan, brown rice, or steam fresh cauliflower rice with a vegetable side (I prefer the quick and easy microwavable SteamFresh vegetables)

4. Chicken Chili

Servings 6

Materials
1 gallon-sized freezer bag

 Ingredients
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small bite-sized pieces• 1 medium yellow onion (one cup), chopped
• 8 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 oz cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
• ½ cup chopped green peppers
• ½ cup chopped red peppers
• 4 oz cream cheese-light
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 12 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 packet chili powder
• 4 cups canned chicken broth (Not needed until the day you eat)

To Freeze
1.Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date.
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.

To Cook
1. Add contents of the freezer bag and 16 oz. of chicken broth to crockpot and cook on “low” setting for 6-8 hours or until the chicken is fully cooked 2. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.

Top with sour cream, light cheese, and tortilla chips

  1. Slow Cooker Mushroom Chicken

Serves 4-6 

Materials 
1 gallon-sized  freezer bag

 Ingredients 
• 1 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tablespoons honey
* 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
*1 Teaspoon Onion Powder Mix
• 8 oz cam mushroom
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cups chicken broth (*add to Crockpot when cooking)

To Freeze  
1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date.
2. Add all ingredients except chicken broth to your freezer bag
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months. 

To Cook
1. Add contents of freezer bag and chicken broth to the crockpot and cook on “low” setting for 6-8 hours or until chicken is fully cooked
Serve over Brown rice, SteamFresh cauliflower rice, whole-wheat pasta, or SteamFresg Zucchini pasta with a vegetable side (I prefer SteamFresh)

  1.  Cream Cheese and Onion Chicken Potatoes

Serves 4-6

Materials
* 1 gallon-sized freezer bag

Ingredients

• 1 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1 cup chopped Onion
• 1 Pound of Red Potatoes
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chicken broth (not needed until day of cooking)

To Freeze

1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag except chicken broth.
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.

To Cook
1. The morning of cooking, pour contents into your crockpot; add chicken broth.
2. Cook on “low” setting for 6-8

Serve over whole-wheat pasta or the SteamFresh Zucchini Pasta with a Vegetable Side.

  1. Asian Chicken

Serves 4

Materials
1 gallon-sized freezer bag

 Ingredients
• 1 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast- cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 4 Tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

To Freeze

1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to 3 months.

To Cook
1. Add to crockpot.
2. Cook on “low” setting for 8 hours or until chicken is fully cooked.

Serve over brown rice or cauliflower rice with a Vegetable side (I prefer the quick microwavable SteamFresh vegetables)

  1. Chili Con Carne

Serves 6

Materials
1 gallon-sized freezer bag

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped (1 cup)
• 8 oz can mushrooms
• ½ cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 24 oz pasta sauce
• 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 package chili powder

To Freeze

1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date.
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag.
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.

To Cook

Add contents of freezer bag to crockpot and cook on “low” setting for 6-10 hours or high for 4 hours. Cook until the chicken is done all the way through.

Serve with brown rice or SteamFresh Cauliflower rice; top with shredded cheese, sour cream.

  1. Mexican Chili

Serves 4-6

Materials
1 gallon-sized freezer bag

 Ingredients
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped (1 cup)
• 1 medium-sized green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 8 oz. can black beans
• 24 oz can pasta sauce
• 1 taco seasoning packet

To Freeze
1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date.
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag.
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.

To Cook
Add contents of freezer bag to crockpot and cook on “low” setting for 6-10 hours or high for 4 hours.

Serve over brown rice or over a whole-wheat roll topped with provolone cheese Serve with a Vegetable side (I like the Microwavable SteamFresh Vegetables)

Top with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

  1. Is this Really Healthy? Lasagna

Serves 6Materials

• 9”x13” pans (Glass, aluminum, or disposable)
• Plastic wrap
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey- cooked
• 2 large eggs
• 15 oz of ricotta cheese
• 1 cups shredded parmesan cheese
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded and divided in half
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 24 oz jars of pasta sauce
• 2 cup Frozen spinach, chopped (about 3 cups)
• 9 oz box of “oven ready” lasagna noodles with no boiling required

To Freeze

1. In a large bowl, create cheese filling by combining eggs ,ricotta, parmesan, half of the mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.
2. Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce at the bottom of each pan.
3. Next Layer: 3 Lasagna Noodles
4. Next layer: ½ the Cheese filling
5. Next Layer: 1 cup the Frozen spinach
6. Next Layer: Sprinkle with Cooked Ground Turkey
7. Next layer: Pasta sauce

8. Repeat each layer one more time

9. Add Mozzarella cheese on top. Make sure the noodles are covered entirely with sauce and cheese so they don‘t get crunchy when they bake 10. Cover each pan with layers of plastic wrap and foil
11. Label the tin foil with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date
12. Freeze for up to three months.

To Cook

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and replace foil. Bake frozen lasagna 60 minutes or until center is hot. Remove foil and bake for additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese on top is melted

 11. Mexican Pasta

Serves 6

Materials
• 9”x13” pans (aluminum, or disposable)
• Plastic wrap
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• One 12 oz box of Whole-Wheat Pasta
• 8 oz jar of salsa
• 8 oz jar of taco sauce (2 cups)
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated

To Freeze

1. Brown the ground beef and ground turkey
2. Add taco seasoning and cream cheese to the pan
3. Stir until cream cheese is melted.
4. Cook Pasta separately per directions on the package
5. Add meat mixture, salsa, cheddar, mozzarella, taco sauce, and pasta to the 9” X 13” pan; Blend all ingredients together
6. Cover each pan with layers of plastic wrap and foil,
7. Label the tin foil with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date.

8. Freeze for up to three months.

To Cook
Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap and replace foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

12. Crockpot Broccoli Tot Casserole

Serves 4

Materials
• 1 gallon-sized freezer bag

 Ingredients
• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup of your favorite cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
• Frozen Cauliflower of Broccoli tots

To Freeze

1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag 8. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to 3 months.

To Cook

1. Add to crockpot.
2. Cook on “low” setting for 8 hours.

Serve with a Vegetable side (I prefer the quick microwavable SteamFresh vegetables)

  1. Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Serves 6

Materials
*1 gallon-sized freezer bag
Parchment Paper

To Cook the Meatballs (skip this part if you are using frozen meatballs)

Ingredients for Homemade Meatballs
• 1 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 package onion soup mix
• 4 oz. Frozen Spinach
• ½ cup Uncooked Old Fashioned oats
• 1 tsp. Montreal seasoning
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium-mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except tomato sauce. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Mold your meat into balls using either your hands or a meat baller.
4. Bake on 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until internal meatball temperature registers 160 degrees.

Ingredients for the Rest of the Recipe
• 1 pounds of frozen turkey meatballs or fully cooked homemade meatballs • 1 onion, cut into slices
• 1 green pepper, cut into slices
• 1 red pepper, cut into slices
• 1 yellow pepper, cut into slices
• 2.5 cups of spicy BBQ sauce

To Freeze

1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to 3 months.

To Cook

1.Add to crockpot.
2.Cook on “low” setting for 8 hours.

Serve over brown rice or Cauliflower rice with a vegetable side

  1. Easy Cheesy Italian Meatballs

Serves 6

Materials
*1 gallon-sized freezer bag
Parchment Paper

To Cook the Meatballs (skip this part if you are using frozen meatballs)

Ingredients for Homemade Meatballs
• 1 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 package onion soup mix
• 4 oz. Frozen Spinach
• ½ cup Uncooked Old Fashioned oats
• 1 tsp. Montreal seasoning
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium-mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except tomato sauce. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Mold your meat into balls using either your hands or a meat baller.
4. Bake on 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until internal meatball temperature registers 160 degrees.

Ingredients for the Rest of the Recipe
• 1 pound frozen turkey meatballs or fully cooked homemade meatballs
• 1 small onion, diced (one cup)
• 1 cup carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 cups frozen spinach
• 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning
• 4 cups chicken broth *not needed until day of cooking
• 1 cup uncooked whole-wheat pasta or SteamFresh Zucchini pasta *not needed until day of cooking.

To Freeze
1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date
2. To your freezer bag, add all ingredients except pasta and broth.
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to 3 months.

To Cook

1. Add to crockpot with chicken broth.
2. Cook on “low” setting for 8 hours.
3. Cook Pasta per package direction and add to the crockpot when the sauce is finished cooking.

  1. Turkey Meatball Vegetable Soup

Serves 6

Materials
*1 gallon-sized freezer bag
Parchment Paper

To Cook the Meatballs (skip this part if you are using frozen meatballs)

Ingredients for Homemade Meatballs
• 1 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 package onion soup mix
• 4 oz. Frozen Spinach
• ½ cup Uncooked Old Fashioned oats
• 1 tsp. Montreal seasoning
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium-mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except tomato sauce. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Mold your meat into balls using either your hands or a meat baller.
4. Bake on 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until internal meatball temperature registers 160 degrees.

Ingredients for the Rest of the Recipe
• 1 pound frozen turkey meatballs or fully cooked homemade meatballs
• 24 oz jar of pasta sauce
• 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cups Frozen green beans, ends cut off and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 large zucchini, ends cut off and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small yellow onion, diced (1 cup)
• 4 cups chicken broth *not needed until day of cooking

To Freeze  

1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date.
2. Add all ingredients except broth to your freezer bag.
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.

To Cook

1. Add ingredients to the crockpot with chicken broth.
2. Cook on “low” setting for 8 hours.
3. Cook Pasta per package direction and add to the crockpot when the sauce is finished cooking.

Serve over whole-wheat pasta or Steamfresh Zucchini pasta Serve with a Vegetable side

16. * BONUS* Meatball Minestrone Soup

Serves 6-8

Materials
*1 gallon-sized freezer bag
Parchment Paper

To Cook the Meatballs (skip this part if you are using frozen meatballs)

Ingredients for Homemade Meatballs
• 1 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 package onion soup mix
• 4 oz. Frozen Spinach
• ½ cup Uncooked Old Fashioned oats
• 1 tsp. Montreal seasoning
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium-mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except tomato sauce. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Mold your meat into balls using either your hands or a meat baller.
4. Bake on 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until internal meatball temperature registers 160 degrees.

Ingredients for the Rest of the Recipe
• 1 pound frozen turkey meatballs or fully cooked homemade meatballs
• 1 cup pound of carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1.5 cups of frozen green beans, ends cut off and chopped
• 1 cup Frozen Chopped Spinach
• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped (1 cup)
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 8 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasonings
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth *not needed until day of cooking
• 1 cup uncooked whole wheat pasta *not needed until day of cooking

To Freeze

1. Label your freezer bag with the recipe name, cooking instructions, and the date
2. Add all ingredients except pasta and broth to your freezer bag.
 3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to 3 months.

To Cook
1. Add to crockpot with chicken broth.
2. Cook on “low” setting for 8 hours.
3. Cook Whole-wheat pasta or SteamFresh Zucchini pasta per package directions.
4. Add pasta to the crockpot when the meatballs have finished cooking

Grocery List for all 16 Crockpot Freezer Meals 

DRY GOODS (You can easily purchase all of these online if you prefer)

CANNED
• 16 oz Black Beans, canned (Recipe 4,9)
• 16 oz Cannellini Beans, canned (Recipe 4,16)
• 16 oz Kidney Beans, canned (Recipe 8,16)
• 16 oz Cream of Chicken (Recipe 1, 12)
• 15 Cups Chicken Broth (Recipe 4,5,6,14, 15, 16)
• 16 oz Canned mushrooms (Recipe 5,8)

SEASONINGS
• Black Pepper to taste
• Sea Salt to taste
• 2 Packet (4 tsp dry mix) Chili Powder (Recipe 4,8)
• 2 Packet (4 tsp dry mix) taco Seasoning (Recipe 9,11)
• 1 Tablespon Montreal Steak Seasoning (Recipe 14) or about 2.5 tbs total if you are making homemade meatloaf
*2 Tbs.  Italian Seasoning (Recipe 16)

MISC
• 2.5 cups BBQ Sauce (Recipes 13)-Annie’s Organic or TJ’s Bold and Smoky Kansas City are healthier BBQ sauces
• 2 Tbs. Worcestershire Source (recipes 14) or 3.5 total if you are making homemade meatballs
• 8 Tablespoons (1/2 cup) Honey (Recipe 3,5,7)

• 1/2 cup soy sauce (Recipe 7)
• 1/3 cup Ketchup (Recipe 7)
• 144 oz Pasta Sauce (Recipes 2,3,8,9,10,15)
• 4 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Recipe 5,7)
• 15 cups Chicken Broth (Recipe 4,5,6,8,14,15,16)
• 9 oz “Oven Ready” Lasagna Noodles (Recipe 10)
• 24 oz Whole Wheat Pasta (Recipe 11, 14)
• 8 oz jar salsa (Recipe 11)
• 8 oz jar Taco sauce (Recipe 11)
• 2, 9” x13” aluminum pans (Recipe 10,11)
• Cooking Spray (Recipe 10)
• 13 Gallon-size freezer bags
• 3 tablespoon cornstarch (Recipe 6)
* 1 Teaspoon Onion Soup Mix (Recipe 5) or 3 packets total if making homemade meatballs
*2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (Recipe 5)
*4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Recipe 5,7)
* 2 Cups Old Fashioned Oats (Only if you are making homemade meatballs)

PERISHABLES (Purchase these in a grocery store either a day or two before your cooking day or on your cooking day)

MEAT
• 7 Pounds Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast- Cut into Bite-size pieces (Recipes 2,3,4,5,6,7,12)
• 6 Pound Ground Turkey (Cook) (Recipe 1,8,9,10,11,12) or 10 pounds if making homemade meatballs
• 3 pounds of ground turkey to make meatballs OR 3 Pounds frozen Turkey Meatballs (Recipe 13,14,15

PRODUCE
• 9 chopped small onions (Recipe 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,13, 14, 15)-To Save time, you can by pre-chopped onion if you prefer
• 10 Cloves Garlic (Recipe 3,4,5,7,8,14)- To save time, you can buy garlic powder if you prefer
• 4 Green Pepper (Recipe 2,4,9,13)- or to save time, you can use the containers of sliced mixed peppers for all of the pepper recipes (The mixed peppers work fine in all pepper recipes even if the recipe calls for just one type of pepper)
• 2 Red Pepper (Recipe 4,13)
* 1 Yellow Pepper (Recipe 13)
• 2 large zucchini Sliced (Recipe 2, 15)
• 3 cup carrots, sliced (Recipe 13,14,15)
• 1 pound red potatoes (Recipe 6)

COLD FOOD
• 20 oz. light Cream Cheese (Recipes 3,4,6,11)
• 2 eggs (Recipe 10) or 12 total if you are making homemade meatballs
• 15 oz. light Ricotta Cheese (Recipe 10)
• 1 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese (Recipe 10)
• 8 oz. light Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded (Recipe 10)
• 12 oz. (3 cups) light shredded Cheddar cheese (Recipe 1,11,12)

FROZEN
• 2 cup Frozen Corn (Recipe 4, 9)
• 5 cup Frozen Spinach (Recipe 10,14,16) or 6.5 cups total if you are making homemade meatballs  
• 2.5 cup Frozen Green Beans (Recipe 15,16)

• 2- 16 oz Bags Green Giant Cauliflower or Broccoli Tots (Recipe 1, 12)

* Serve all with a vegetable side (I prefer quick and easy like the microwavable Frozen Birdseye SteamFresh Vegetables)

See Specific side recommendations below:

 Cauliflower Cheesy Tot- No added starch needed

Chicken Masala- Serve over one of the following: Naan bread, Brown rice, or Birdseye SteamFresh Cauliflower rice

Chili Con Carne- Serve over one of the following: Brown rice or Birdseye SteamFresh Cauliflower rice

Chicken Chili-Top with Sour Cream and Tortilla Chips

Chicken Cacciatore– Serve mixed with one of the following: Whole-wheat Pasta or Birdseye SteamFresh Zucchini Pasta pr Green Giant Spirals

Mexican Chili- Serve with Sour Cream and Tortillan Chips

Cheesy Turkey Italian Meatballs- Serve as a sandwich in a whole-wheat roll or with whole wheat pasta or Birdseye SteamFresh Zucchini Pasta or Green Giant Spirals

Spinach Lasagna– No added starch needed

Crockpot Broccoli Tot– No added starch needed

Slow Cooker Mushroom Chicken- Serve mixed with Brown rice, or Birdseye SteamFresh Cauliflower rice

Cream Cheese and Onion Chicken Potatoes- No added strch needed, you could serve over brown rice or Birdseye SteamFresh Cauliflower rice

Asian Chicken-Serve mixed with Brown rice, or Birdseye SteamFresh Cauliflower rice

Mexican Pasta- No Added Starch needed

Sweet and Sour Meatballs-Serve mixed with Brown rice, or Birdseye SteamFresh Cauliflower rice

Turkey Meatball Vegetable Soup-Serve mixed with one of the following: Whole-wheat Pasta or Birdseye SteamFresh Zucchini Pasta or Green Giant Spirals

And there you have it! 15 freezer meals ready to go!

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