- Okay, we all know food is a struggle in life, right?
Eating healthy things, but yet not busting the budget,
and it's just like, the tug and war constantly.
So I brought in dietician, registered dietician,
Jenna Waters to help us out.
So thanks, Jenna, for being here.
- Yeah, thanks for having me.
- We're actually friends from college.
College friends.
- College friends.
- Go Vols.
- Okay, so you've been doing this for how long now?
- So I've been a registered dietician for about five years
and my background is in sports nutrition.
Then I became a mom.
We have three little ones,
and I just couldn't help but think,
"We are professional athletes."
Moms are athletes.
- Yes we are, all the time. - Okay.
- All day, every day, right.
So, but at the same time, we have so many demands
and need to find a way to balance all the variables.
- Yes, and want to feed our kids well, right?
- Yes, want to feed them well, but not go crazy
in the process.
- Yes, that's right, that's right.
So you have two words that I love.
Source and systemize.
- That's right.
I feel like every family has to find their sweet spot of,
let's source things well, in terms of ingredients.
What ingredients are we using?
So, essentially, we could use the same recipes
that we've always been using, - Yep.
- But by having better ingredients
automatically you're changing it.
- Changing the source.
Which is over here. - Yep.
- So a few things that you're like, you know what?
Look and see and you can switch out a few ingredients
- Absolutely.
- for the better ones.
- Absolutely.
No high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils
like canola oil, no soybean oil.
Instead, we're gonna choose things like olive oil
or avocado oil.
- Okay, and I'm guilty of this,
I'm not gonna lie. - Me too,
- I probably have like, terrible stuff in my refrigerator,
but I love that you say, it's just like a baby step.
Like, one thing at a time, instead of buying
that type of ketchup, switch to buy something else, right?
- Exactly.
- And look on the label and see.
And I love this.
- Yes.
The snack basket.
- The snack basket.
- Brilliant.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
- Well, and it was born out of the fact
that my kids ask for snacks like, 20,000 times a day.
- All the time.
- So these are healthy granola bars.
These are called Perfect bars.
Unsweetened apple sauces.
At the beginning of the week, I'll just chop up some veggies
and put them in here.
So, hummus packets, just individual makes it easy.
Guacamole packets.
A bunch of fruit.
Our policy at home is, when this is gone for the week,
it's gone.
Y'all are snacked out.
We're not buying anymore.
- Yes, 'cause it can get expensive.
- It can get expensive.
It's so crazy.
Okay, so sourcing and then systemizing.
- Systemizing for a week.
This is gonna look different for every single family.
- Yep.
- So, taking a look at your week.
What are, maybe, the nights that you can spend a little bit
more time in the kitchen?
What are some nights that we have to do leftovers?
Or maybe a night that would have been a drive-through night,
maybe let's just do a quick Insta-Pot meal.
So here's an example.
On Monday nights I have a little bit more time,
so I always choose a recipe that I can make in bulk,
or double or triple, and then use in different ways
throughout the week.
- Okay, so where do you buy something like this?
- Really this would just be at
any conventional grocery store.
So we just bought chicken breasts, organic chicken breasts,
and then cut them into three pieces each,
and then just dipped it into egg wash
and then into a almond flour, flax seed mixture.
I make a big batch at night,
and then, like I said, with the leftovers,
we'll use them in different ways throughout the week.
So this is a honey mustard dipping sauce.
- [Rachel] Okay.
- [Jenna] So then, on Tuesday, here's what I do.
I just do a easy sheet pan meal.
Tuesdays are really busy nights for us,
and so whatever night might be busy for you,
you can just, I do a honey mustard salmon.
So we're using the leftover sauce and putting it
on top of the salmon, just some veggies.
It's all one sheet, really easy.
- Pop it in, cook it.
- Pop it in, bake it, roast it, whatever you need to do.
- [Rachel] It's so good.
- [Jenna] Yes.
- [Rachel] So this, these look familiar.
- [Jenna] Chicken tenders, yes.
These are the chicken tenders.
And so we're gonna make chicken parm.
So we're just gonna take the chicken tenders and literally
put the sauce over it.
- [Rachel] All over it?
- [Jenna] Yep.
If you wanna do the cheese.
- [Rachel] Yes.
- [Jenna] The provolone cheese.
- [Rachel] Hum, hum.
- [Jenna] That was literally a five minute dinner.
And then taco bowls,
this is cauliflower rice.
- [Rachel] Yes.
I actually bought that for the first time this week.
- It's good.
- The first time,
I'm feelin healthy.
- Good. (laughs)
That's awesome!
I love it! A plus! That's awesome!
And little transitions like that,
can make such a big difference.
- Yes, yes. - In terms of nutrition,
but doesn't taste a whole lot different.
- [Rachel] Yep. These beef peppers and guacamole.
- [Jenna] Exactly.
- Cilantro.
- These are the individual guacamole packets from
that basket right there.
- Okay.
- So using ingredients in different ways,
can really go a long way.
- Love it.
- Yes.
- I'm feelin' a pizza.
- Feelin' a pizza.
- The spirit is moving. - Friday is pizza night.
Yeah. - The spirit is moving here.
(laughs)
- That's right.
So instead of take out pizza which
kinda of use to be our go to,
- Yes. - We're like alright,
we need to save some money
and we're gonna actually try and make little bit healthy.
So this, again I cubed up the left over chicken.
- Yep, yep.
- And we're gonna to make a chicken pesto pizza.
- Oh, yum.
- I'm gonna do this, the pesto, if you wanna.
- [Rachel] The cheese.
- [Jenna] And this is the cauliflower crust.
- Okay and get what? - Just bought frozen.
- In the freeze section. - Exactly.
- Okay.
- Freezer section,
at pretty much any grocery store.
- How does it taste?
- It's great. It's like a flatbread,
Basically. - [Rachel] Okay.
Which I do love flatbreads.
- [Jenna] Some chicken.
Then some slice roma tomatoes.
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- How does your kids like it?
- They, honestly, they love it.
I think sometimes, we have a you have to try it rule
in our house because,
- That's good.
- We're just not, you know,
getting ready for pickiness. - 18 things.
- Yes, exactly. - That's how I grew up.
You make what mom cooks, - You try.
- And that's it.
- Amen, Amen.
So they try it,
Interestingly, studies show it takes 20 times for a kid
to try something before they start to like it.
If they don't like it at first.
- Interestingly. - I give up at like two.
(laughs)
- Easily, easily.
- So we just - keep given it to them, yes.
- Keep trying.
- That's so great.
- Keep trying.
- And so big thing again,
plan, think ahead, so you're not last minute running
through the drive-through and
spending extra money you don't need to.
- Totally.
- Think ahead and you can do stuff so quickly.
- Yes
- We just literally made these meals so fast.
- So love it, so great. - So fast, yes,
just a little kinda forethought.
- So great.
- If you want all these recipes in detail
make sure you click the link in the description
and enjoy, enjoy the good food.
Thanks Jenna.
- Thanks for having me Rachel. - So fun, so fun.
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