Meal Prep Like a Pro with These Cookbooks

Everyone knows that success in the kitchen starts with meal prep. That said, it can be hard to know how to perfectly organize your kitchen and shopping list in a way that leads to smoothly making meals throughout the week. We’ve rounded up some cookbooks that focus on making your week more efficient by showing off methods that will help you meal prep like a total pro.

Related Reading: 7 Instant Pot Meal Prep Tips to Put in Regular Rotation

“Healthy Meal Prep” by Stephanie Tornatore, $12.59 on Amazon

Amazon

Stephanie Tornatore focuses on showing home cooks that their busy lives can still be conducive to making nutritious meals. She features step-by-step plans for each week, convenient shopping lists, and even tips on the perfect ways to store your items. She also shares 50 recipes that are as simple as they are delicious, like Chicken Fajita Bowls and Date and Nut Granola Bars.Buy Now

“Damn Delicious Meal Prep” by Chungah Rhee, $24.73 on Amazon

Amazon

This book features 115 low-calorie recipes that are simple and tasty. Chungah Rhee believes that meal prep is the secret to eating and living healthfully, and has plenty of tips to help you stay on track while forming habits that will last. And how can you not be intrigued by the sound of Mason Jar Lasagna?Buy Now

Related Reading: Meal Prep Containers That Will Get You Excited to Make Lunch

“Smart Meal Prep for Beginners” by Toby Amidor, $10.39 on Amazon

Amazon

Tony Amidor focuses on teaching people how to transform their lives through meal prep. He provides six weekly meal prep plans that cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and also provides shopping lists, storage tips, and information about using leftovers so you never have to wonder what to eat.Buy Now

“Meal Prep Instant Pot Cookbook” by Scarlett Walker, $9.85 on Amazon

Amazon

If your favorite way to cook is with your Instant Pot, look no further! Scarlett Walker lays out more than 200 recipes that are easy to prep and toss into your favorite multicooker (or slow cooker). Walker also lays out the best option for storing and freezing leftovers for later so nothing goes to waste.Buy Now

“Cook Once, Eat All Week” by Cassy Joy Garcia, $21.32 on Amazon

Amazon

Batch cooking is the name of the game in this cookbook by Cassy Joy Garcia. She focuses on gluten-free options and provides 26 weeks’ worth of meal prep options that will relieve the stress that can often come with cooking at the last minute—and are also affordable. You’ll learn how to turn basic ingredients into multiple meals (i.e., shredded pork, potatoes, and cabbage form the basis for Honey Mustard Pork Sheet Pan Dinner, Enchiladas Verde Casserole, and Sloppy Joe Stuffed Potatoes).Buy Now

“Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep” by Brandon Hearn, $10.99 on Amazon

Amazon

If you subscribe to the Mediterranean Diet or have been curious to try it, this is the book for you. It features 21 days of recipes that are low in both sodium and carbs. The book is organized into breakfast, lunch, and dinner and features dozens of healthy recipes for each meal that you can prep ahead of time.Buy Now

“Food That Works” by Malia Dell, $22.99 on Amazon

Amazon

It can be hard to avoid eating out—especially during the workday. In this book, Malia Dell focuses on meal prep to get you through a busy work week so that you don’t have to rely on less-than-healthy takeout when you come home. It walks readers through ways to prep realistically, and keep food they love in rotation throughout their week.Buy Now

“Meal Prep” by David R. Burton, $14.22 on Amazon

Amazon

Meal prep for a full 30 days at once with over 27 easy, healthy recipes. David R. Burton focuses on how prepping meals in advance is the first step in building a healthier diet overall. In addition to general meal prep, Burton debunks weight loss myths and provides tips to aid in your weight loss journey, but even if you’re not looking to shed pounds, you’ll appreciate streamlining your routine.Buy Now

“Keto Meal Prep by FlavCity” by Bobby Parrish and Dessi Parrish, $24.29 on Amazon

Amazon

Keto meal prep is in a league of its own, but this book aims to show you how to maximize flavor while sticking to your low-carb diet, and how to maximize time too. Each recipe can be at least partially prepped in advance, and you’ll see how to prep a full week’s worth of meals in one evening. With recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner (and even keto desserts), you’ll never need to wonder what to eat.Buy Now

“Plant-Based Meal Prep” by Stephanie Tornatore, $17.29 on Amazon

Amazon

Whether you’re fully vegan or simply want to eat less meat in the new year, plant-based meal prep is a breeze with this cookbook, which also emphasizes gluten-free recipes. You’ll find plenty of comfort food faves made healthier with whole ingredients, meal plans that take the guesswork out of the equation, and flexible build-a-meal strategies to help you tailor everything to your taste.Buy Now

“Meal Prep for Two: 8 Weekly Plans and 7 Recipes to Get Healthier Together” by Casey Seiden, $12.77 on Amazon

Amazon

Eating healthier (and sticking to any new habit, like meal prepping), is often easier when you enlist the help of a friend or loved one, but this meal prep cookbook for two is also handy if you simply need to cook smaller batches of food than larger families might. The weekly plans have fun themes like Mediterranean Staycation and Better Than Takeout, but you can also mix and match recipes as you like.Buy Now

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Not Just for Sandwiches: 11 Things That are Even Better With Mayo

There’s a well-known moment in the film “Pulp Fiction” where Vincent says to Jules, “You know what they put on French fries in Holland instead of ketchup? Mayonnaise.” Hearing that line, mayo suddenly becomes strange, giving Americans reason to ask why the rest of the world is obsessed with the gloopy, white goop in ways that we simply can’t understand.

Mayonnaise is acceptable as a light schmear on sandwiches or as the backbone to an egg or potato salad. But mayo on pizzas? Hot dogs? Fried chicken? Now that’s just crazy…

Related Reading: 9 Recipes Where Sriracha Mayonnaise Is the Star

…unless it’s not. Mayo is mostly eggs and oil, after all. In other words, it’s delicious, spreadable fat, just like butter. Plus, mayo’s ability to liven up dry ingredients, add a blast of creaminess, or provide a counterpoint to sour and spice is nearly unmatched.

So perhaps it’s time find out what all the fuss over mayo is about. Here are 11 creative ways to use mayo that will take you out of your condiment comfort zone and make you love mayo even more.

1. Tatsutage Fried Chicken with Spicy Yuzu Mayonnaise

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Japan is pretty obsessed with mayo. Of course, their take on the stuff is a notch above the rest. Japanese kewpie mayo is known for its ultra-smooth creaminess and hint of sweetness. It makes for a fitting counterpoint to the citrusy tang of yuzu in this recipe. Get our Tatsutage Fried Chicken with Spicy Yuzu Mayonnaise recipe.

Kewpie Mayonnaise, $5.98 at Walmart

This beloved Japanese mayo is a must (and comes in a fun squishy bottle).

Buy Now

2. Grilled Corn with Cayenne, Lime, and Cotija

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Move over, butter. Mayo just one-upped you as the premiere topper for corn on the cob. Not only does the sauce taste great with the kernels, it’s stickiness allows you to dredge on other killer additions, like cheese. Get our Grilled Corn with Cayenne, Lime, and Cotija recipe. (Or if you’re a bit bored of Mexican-style street corn by now—is that possible?—try our Corn with Roasted Garlic Aioli, Lime, and Smoked Paprika recipe, pictured at the top of this page.)

3. Smoky Grilled Shrimp with Marie Rose Sauce

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Plain old shrimp cocktail is nice and all, but grilled shrimp with Marie Rose sauce is where it’s really at. The smoky flavors from the grill are matched by the dip’s turbo-charged combination of mayo, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Get our Smoky Grilled Shrimp with Marie Rose Sauce recipe.

4. White Barbecue Sauce

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Alabama-style white BBQ sauce is perhaps one of the South’s best kept culinary secrets. The mayonnaise-based condiment brings all the creamy, finger-licking fun you never knew you wanted in barbecued chicken, giving all those tomato-y sauces a very good run for their money. Get our White Barbecue Sauce recipe.

5. BLT Pizza with Garlic-Mayo Pizza Sauce

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Mayo on pizza could probably make any hardened Neapolitan or Sicilian scream. In Japan, however, it’s par for the course. Pair it up with other Japanese ingredients, like shishito peppers and wasabi, for an east-meets-west sort of slice. Or try this BLT Pizza with Garlic-Mayo Pizza Sauce recipe for a fabulous twist on your favorite sandwich.

6. Gabrielle Hamilton’s Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

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Want to make a better grilled cheese sandwich? Slather the outsides of the bread with mayo before putting it in the pan. Not only will the slices toast to a perfect golden, you’ll get a hint of tanginess that plays well with the cheese inside. Try the same trick with our Patty Melt recipe, or this Umami Grilled Cheese.

7. Banh Mi Hot Dogs

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The Sonoran hot dog, which is something of a cult favorite in the Southwest and Northern Mexico, is all about excess. Between the pinto beans, avocado, jalapeño, and bacon, there’s so much going on that the squiggle of mayo on top almost seems like an afterthought. By comparison, our banh mi-inspired hot dog with cilantro, pickled veggies, and Sriracha with a mayo finish seems almost restrained. Get our Banh Mi Hot Dog recipe.

8. Fresh Spinach Dip

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Most of us would rather not think about all the mayonnaise that goes into crudité dips, but it’s the reason they’re so incredibly delicious. This version with fresh spinach, scallion, carrot, garlic, and onion only contains 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, plus sour cream for extra richness and is healthier than most, but still tastes indulgent. Get our Fresh Spinach Dip recipe.

9. Baked Chicken Breast

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A dip in mayo and fresh thyme plus a coating of panko and shredded cheese makes for the best baked chicken breasts you’ll ever eat. They’re simultaneously crisp and juicy, and perfect for weeknight dinner. Get our Baked Chicken Breast recipe.

10. Chocolate Mayo Snacking Cake

Jessie Sheehan

Mayonnaise is so versatile, it even does dessert. Before you call foul, consider (as previously mentioned) that mayonnaise is really just oil and eggs, and those are in lots of baked goods. This secret-ingredient chocolate cake is rich and moist and perfect with peppermint buttercream, or any other frosting recipe you want to swap in. Get the Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake recipe.

11. Potato Tots Bravas

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Patatas bravas, the Spanish tapas dish of potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce, just isn’t the same without some garlicky aioli to temper the heat. Our Americanized version swaps in some crispy homemade tots, making the case that fried spuds and mayo do belong together, after all. Get our Potato Tots Bravas recipe.

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5 Plant-Based Swaps for the Carbs You Crave

Trying to cut carbohydrates? There are plenty of great plant-based substitutes for your favorite carbs. And you know you have a fave.

It’s a scientific fact that carbs are everyone’s favorite food.

No really, it is.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, carbohydrates—especially fast-digesting ones—stimulate brain regions that are also associated with pleasure, reward, and addiction. Fast-digesting carbs are those that lead to a sharp spike in blood sugar and include foods like potatoes, white bread, white rice, soda, fruit juice, and corn-based products.

Related Reading: The Case Against Carbs: Valid Or Not? An Expert Weighs In

The bad news is that that eating too many of these fast-digesting carbs can put your health at risk. The good news is that you can easily swap them out in favor of whole, plant-based alternatives.

Here are five swaps you can make right now.

Carb You’re Craving: Potatoes

Replace It With: Cauliflower

Chowhound’s Mashed Cauliflower

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of Trader Joe’s famous Cauliflower Gnocchi, which is probably the best example of this swap done right. Instead of potatoes and white flour, this gnocchi is made with 75 percent cauliflower as well as cassava flour, potato starch, and sea salt and extra-virgin olive oil.

Cauliflower is both lower in carbs than a potato (with just 5 grams per cup of chopped, raw cauliflower, compared to 26 grams for the same amount of potato) and higher in nutrients. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention placed it 24th on its list of the “powerhouse fruits and vegetables” by ranking of nutrient-density.

If you can swap potatoes for cauliflower, like in our Mashed Cauliflower recipe, you can easily turn one of the world’s greatest comfort foods into a certified health food.

Related Reading: All the Ways Cauliflower Can Make Your Dishes Healthier

Carb You’re Craving: White Flour

Replace It With: Almond Flour

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When it comes to “unhealthy carbs,” white flour is probably the number one offender. You can find this ingredient in packaged and processed foods, baked goods like cookies and cakes, and breads. And while it is delicious, it’s not very nutrient-dense. As Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D. explained in an article on the Mayo Clinic healthy lifestyle site, “Regular white bread is made with refined grains, which go through a process that strips out certain parts of the grain—along with some of the nutrients and fiber.”

Related Reading: A Beginner’s Guide to Gluten-Free Flour

In contrast, almond flour is made from nothing but blanched almonds, which means all the nutritional value of the nuts is intact. To get started, try making our Gluten-Free Cranberry-Pecan Muffins for breakfast for a boost of plant-based energy. If baked goods aren’t your thing, try journalist and cookbook author Liz Moody’s Everything Bagel Grain-Free Crackers, which are made with almond flour and ground flax seeds instead of white flour.

Carb You’re Craving: Pasta

Replace It With: Veggie Noodles

Chowhound’s Romesco Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles

Pasta lovers, there’s great news! You can still enjoy your favorite pasta dishes without the carbs. By swapping regular noodles made from white flour for those made from vegetables like yellow squash, beets, and zucchini noodles, you can lower the carbohydrate load of your meal and add a ton of extra nutritional benefits.

There are a couple ways to go about this; you can buy premade veggie noodles or make your own with a Spiralizer. From a classic Bolognese over yellow squash noodles to Romesco Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles, there are endless possibilities. In fact, there are entire cookbooks dedicated to cooking with veggie noodles that you can refer to for inspiration.

Spiralizer Ultimate 7 Vegetable Slicer, $29.97 on Amazon

Make any veggie noodles you please.

Buy Now

Related Reading: What You Need to Know About Low-Carb Palmini Noodles

Carb You’re Craving: Corn

Replace It With: Cassava

Getty Images / Rodrigo Ruiz Ciancia

From Siete’s Cassava Flour Tortillas to integrative nutritionist Marie Marlow’s Coconut Cassava Tortilla Chips, this substitution is becoming more common by the day.

Despite the fact that it is, in fact, a vegetable, corn can spike your blood sugar and contribute to weight gain. In fact, a Harvard study published in 2015 found that while many vegetables were inversely associated with weight change, “corn had the opposite association in which increased intake was associated with weight gain.”  This is important info to know, especially when you learn that corn is one of the most widely used cereal products in the world.

Meanwhile, cassava flour boasts an impressive nutritional profile. It’s gluten-free, paleo, and full of fiber. Cassava can be thickening due to its high fiber content, so if you’re making this swap in homemade recipes, be wary. To start experimenting with the ingredient, check out Chowhound’s 101 Guide to Cassava Flour.

Carb You’re Craving: White Rice

Replace It With: Broccoli Rice (or Cauliflower Again!)

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Rice is often touted as a great alternative to gluten-containing grains like wheat. But when it comes to glycemic index, white rice is on the list of common offenders. In fact, a study published in the British Medical Journal directly linked white rice consumption to a statistically significant risk of type 2 diabetes.

Luckily, plenty of grocery stores now have broccoli rice, which is made from broccoli that’s been chopped and then run through the food processor, on their shelves. You can also make it at home from scratch.

Related Reading: Vegan Cookbooks That Will Make You Love Plant-Based Cuisine

Broccoli is chock full of antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin and with the right spices, you can use broccoli rice for virtually any rice dish. If you’re not a fan of broccoli, you can whip up some cauliflower rice instead.

It may be a fact that we all love carbs, but that doesn’t mean we’re destined for a life filled with low-nutrient, high-glycemic index meals. By making these key swaps some of the time, most of the time (or all the time!), you can cut down on your daily intake of carbs and infuse your diet with a ton of extra nutrients.

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Chicken Donburi (Japanese Rice Bowl) With Spinach

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Pear-Ginger Shrub

Shrubs are a great non-alcoholic alternative to a cocktail! They're sweet and sour and have a ton of flavors that make them great on their own. This Pear-Ginger Shrub is particularly invigorating served with club soda or tonic water.

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The Friday Buzz: Marie Kondo, Relative Insanity, and Finding Fred

Here's our roundup of all good things, good advice, good feelings. It’s the happy hour of blog posts! Up this fine week: Marie Kondo, Relative Insanity, Finding Fred, and so much more!

Continue reading "The Friday Buzz: Marie Kondo, Relative Insanity, and Finding Fred" »

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5 Health Foods That Aren’t Actually Good for You

It’s beyond disappointing to discover that some of the “health” foods we buy are actually bad for us. No one likes to spin their wheels; and yet, many of us are spending our hard-earned time and money making healthy food choices that aren’t getting us anywhere.

This is a mistake none of us wants to make, which is why it’s important to get familiar with the common junk foods masquerading as health foods.

Related Reading: The Healthiest Diet for 2020 Has Been Decided

Here are five important ones to know:

1. Granola

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Granola has long been marketed as a health food. And at first glance, it seems legit. (It’s made with oats, dried fruit, and nuts, right?)

Unfortunately, research has also shown that oats commonly contain unhealthy levels of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, which has been added to California’s list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer. And with the combination of dried fruit and added sources of sugar like honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar, granola can be a sugar bomb.

But it’s not all bad news. If you stick to organic products that have no added sugar—or make your own easy granola at home!—you can still enjoy your morning yogurt and granola parfait.

2. Salad (with Dressing)

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When you think of healthy meal choices, a salad is probably the first image that comes to mind. And most salads are, indeed, healthy. That said, you really want to watch out for the dressing you’re using, which can seriously sabotage the health of your meal. Salad dressings are a huge hidden source of sugar and less-than-healthy oils like soybean oil, corn oil, and canola oil.

Want to keep it simple and make sure you’re not topping your healthy meal with something unhealthy? Next time you’re at the salad bar, ask for olive oil, a lemon squeeze, and salt and pepper. If you’re eating at home, opt for homemade dressings—try one of these fresh and easy salad dressing recipes—instead of store-bought ones. They taste better and you’ll know exactly what’s going in them.

3. Sparkling Water

Getty Images / Norman Posselt

Pellegrino lovers, don’t panic. Not all sparking water falls under the “unhealthy” category. What you want to watch out for on the ingredients list of these products is the term “natural flavors,” which is found in many fan-favorite flavored sparkling water drinks.

So what are natural flavors, exactly? No one is really sure. The FDA does define the term, but there are loopholes in the definition that really blur the line between natural and artificial flavors. According to the Environmental Working Group, a review paper found that artificial and natural flavorings can be unspecified mixtures of as many as 100 flavoring substances and solvents, emulsifiers, and preservatives.

So basically, the term “natural flavor” doesn’t mean much at all; and it definitely doesn’t mean the product is healthy or free from artificial flavors.

Related Reading: 8 Stylish Water Bottles That’ll Make You Want to Hyrdate

To make sure you know exactly what’s in the beverage you’re drinking, buy from brands that are transparent about the flavoring agents they use. For example, Spindrift sparkling waters are made with a touch of real squeezed fruit.

4. Greek Yogurt

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“But it’s high in protein!” a chorus of Greek yogurt lovers cries out. Admittedly, Greek yogurt is high in protein—with about 19 grams of protein per serving—and also contains good bacteria that can be beneficial for the gastrointestinal tract.

But if you’re eating cow’s milk yogurt regularly, hormones are a concern. Studies have shown that the presence of hormones in dairy products has the potential to disrupt the endocrine system and unfortunately, yogurt is one of the most common sources of dairy in the United States. If you’re buying yogurt, look for products made from cows that were not treated with hormones or buy yogurt made from plant-based ingredients like almonds, oats, and cashews.

According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a five-ounce container of yogurt can also contain up to 25 grams of sugar—and most of that sugar is coming from added sweeteners. When you’re in the yogurt aisle, follow their advice and “if you see sugar or other forms of sugar among the top four ingredients in the Ingredients list, consider choosing a lower sugar yogurt or use plain yogurt with your own addition of fresh fruit or a drizzle of honey.”

5. Red Wine

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A quick internet search will reveal thousands of articles claiming that red wine is “healthy.” And while it does contain antioxidants like resveratrol, it’s far from a health food that you should consume with abandon. According to the Mayo Clinic, studies on resveratrol are mixed. “Some research shows that resveratrol could be linked to a lower risk of inflammation and blood clotting, which can lower your risk of heart disease. But other studies found no benefits from resveratrol in preventing heart disease,” they wrote. Plus, red wine contains a lot of sugar and of course, it contains alcohol, which can have extremely toxic effects.

Yes, studies have suggested that one or two drinks a day can benefit your health, but just as many have shown that no amount of alcohol is good for your health and that even one drink a day can increase your risk of certain diseases, such as breast cancer.

Finding foods that are actually healthy can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. But they do exist! The key is to become a discerning ingredients list reader and find brands that are going above and beyond to stick to real, simple ingredients.

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