Aaaahhhh. Summer days have a such a great vibe, don’t they? Long days, warm nights, getting together with friends and family for outdoor fun, and easy commuting (since so many take vacations in the summer and school is out). And that’s the short list!?

That said, a common phenomenon is that folks’ best intentions for healthy eating go off the rails in the summer. And then they feel sad in the fall: “OMG! I feel gross and none of my clothes fit.” One of the common barriers that my clients often voice is, “I just want to relax and enjoy the summer, without spending a lot of time in meal prep.” I hear you! Me too.

Drum roll…

Today I’m going to share with you a simple and easy plan that tees you up for the happy meeting place of healthy food, delicious food, and easy-peasy: Twenty That Makes Twenty and Plenty.

What does Twenty That Make Twenty and Plenty mean? Twenty foods that can be combined in various ways to create twenty-plus meals. All easy. All health-building. All tasty. A dream come true, I know. Let’s explore.

Twenty: Healthy foods procured

Create a list of what you need to have in the fridge and pantry to make meals easy. (Note: this is the one part that requires some effort – in making a list, and in doing some prep when you’re already in the kitchen.) For example…

Maybe in your pantry, you stock:

• Various varieties of raw nuts (like pecans, walnuts, macadamia, pistachios)
• Snack bars like KIND fruit and nut bars, or RX bars
• KIND granola (low in sugar, unlike most granola)
• Canned tuna
• Nut butter
• Bananas

Some bought go-to items for having in your fridge/freezer might be:

• Plain coconut yogurt in serving-size containers
• Grill-able foods like grass-fed ground beef, salmon, and veggies
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Fresh parsley
• Chevre
• Raw fermented sauerkraut
• Fresh olives from an olive bar
• Frozen blueberries

Some prepped go-to items for having in your fridge/freezer might be:

• Eggs, both uncoooked and hard-boiled
• Baked sweet potato
• Cooked brown rice
• A quadruple batch of a green smoothie, stored in glass jars, and filled to the brim with lid tightly capped
• Almond flour pancakes, pre-made and frozen

That’s 15 items you purchase and 5 items that you prep ahead of time, which is a pretty sweet ratio. I tend to do my food prep when I’m already in the kitchen doing something else – maximizing kitchen time. This buys you HEALTH and FREEDOM.

This buys you HEALTH because this is all fabulous Food Sass® that supports your body in being its best self. It buys you FREEDOM because there are so many meals that you can make in 12 minutes or less. At least twenty! Next..

Makes Twenty: Easy, healthy, tasty meals.

5 BREAKFAST ideas:

1. Almond flour pancakes, warmed up in the toaster, topped with pastured butter and organic jam
2. Yogurt with chopped nuts and some fruit (like 1/2 a banana or some frozen blueberries)
3. Granola
4. Egg scramble with brown rice, topped with chopped fresh parsley
5. Egg scramble with spinach and diced cooked sweet potato, topped with salt and cinnamon

5 LUNCH ideas:

1. Lettuces with sweet potato chunks, pecans, and chevre topped with EVOO and balsamic vinegar
2. Tuna salad on greens with a side of sauerkraut
3. Egg salad on greens with a side of olives
4. Brown rice/parsley/EVOO cold salad and a couple of hard-boiled eggs
5. Re-heated sweet potato topped with butter, cinnamon, and pecans

5 SNACK ideas:

1. Nuts and 1/2 banana
2. Snack bar (KIND, RX)
3. Olives
4. Green smoothie
5. Banana with nut butter

5 DINNER ideas:

1. Grilled salmon and sauted spinach
2. Grilled burgers on a bed of lettuce with a side of sauerkraut
3. Tuna salad on lettuce and grilled veggies
4. Deviled eggs, re-heated sweet potato, and spinach salad
5. Use an assortment of your 20 procured/prepped foods to create my Picnic at the Table idea

Twenty healthy foods make twenty-plus healthy meals – healthy, delicious food in a snap! The outline above is based on my personal Twenty That Make Twenty and Plenty mojo, along with favorites of clients. Maybe you don’t like salmon or you’re intolerant to eggs. Use this list as a starter and morph it to meet your and/or your family’s needs and likes.

There are some assumptions made in the 20 meal ideas – like that your kitchen already has mayonnaise, salt, pepper, EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), frozen blueberries, butter, jam and the like. And keep in mind that this is just an example list. And that the meal ideas can move around among meal types; meaning, I often have a green smoothie for breakfast and sometimes have an egg scramble for dinner!

Got some wisdom to share on other easy, health-building items? Do tell! I‘d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Remember, it’s the mojo that’s important, not the specific items. Mojo: stock healthy foods, and with a little prep time – when you’re already in the kitchen or doing laundry – you’re on your way to a fabulous, delicious, low-maintenance, and healthy summer.

Enjoy, and tune in next week for some book news, and for my newest favorite green smoothie recipe that you can use for the smoothie prep mentioned above.

Create Vibrant Health: BodyMindSpirit®

With love and Food Sass®,

Laurie