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Episode 076. Simplified Meal Prep for Every Mom with Kris Dovbniak

Episode 076

Today’s episode is a lot of fun! Kris Dovbniak is back to share new ideas with us about how meal prepping and planning can help save us time and money as busy moms.

You already knew that? From all your Pinterest searches? And the 9 million blog articles about it? Well, if you’re anything like me, you already know that meal prep and meal planning is meant to be helpful….and yet. I just don’t do it. It could be a personality type “thing” or me just not wanting to put in a bunch of work preparing freezer meals that I might not want to eat later when the calendar tells me I’m supposed to eat them.

It turns out that is NOT what meal prep is all about.

Kris convinced me to get out of my own way and see meal prep for what it really is: an empowering tool that can help me create more time for myself, not less. I always pictured meal prep as batch cooking only, but Kris has opened my eyes to the multiple possibilities of prepping (even for picky eaters like me).

I went into this episode wanting to learn more from Kris because she’s so awesome and knowledgeable…but not necessarily wanting to meal prep based on what I thought prepping involved. But Kris taught me there are strategies and skills for everyone…including my personality type and easy ways I can meet my family’s individual needs.

I’m so glad you’re here for this episode. Kris is going to help us stress less about food so we can enjoy our lives more by creating our own convenience around food to nourish ourselves and our families well without all the hassle.

Kris’s Bio: Kris Dovbniak is a certified holistic health coach, intuitive eating counselor, and trained chef. Her passion is to help women uncomplicate eating, stress less about meals, and bring joy back into eating again! Her secret sauce marries intuition and intention to help women ditch dieting, and create simplified routines, practices, and mindset shifts for balanced eating. She is the host of the Healthy Balanced Mama Podcast and the creator of several online courses including Uncomplicated Eating and Healthy Mama Meal Prep. She lives on an island off the coast of New England with her sailor husband and their two daughters.

In this episode, Kris & I talk about:

  • Why people don’t meal prep & plan
  • Why Kris is passionate about meal planning (& why I’m so glad she is!)
  • Breakfast to go (my motivation to meal prep)
  • Bringing in intention to prepping and planning
  • Nourishing & joyful (the goal of meal prep)
  • Is there room for unique needs in meal prep?
  • The challenges and joys of being a “feeling cook”
  • Kris’s 3 Categories: Flexible Foodies, Modern Moms, Busy Babes (Which one are you? Listen to find out!)
  • Batch cooking (what it is and isn’t)
  • Intuitive meal prep
  • How there is room for individual personalities in meal prep
  • Why some of us fight meal planning
  • The difference between ingredient prep and batch cooking
  • Finding a balance that works for you
  • Add more time to your life with meal prepping…don’t take more time away from it!
  • Why I need to organize my freezer ASAP
  • Making adjustments as needed
  • Kris’s 4-3-2-1 Method…
  • 4: Veggies
  • 3: Proteins
  • 2: Starches
  • 1: Flavor Boost
  • Starting with an idea of what you want to cook before prepping food
  • Overcoming fears and worries surrounding meal prep
  • Having a “just can’t even” meal list
  • Having a list of family favorite meals
  • Kids actually like lentils! (yes we talk about this…)
  • Keeping a “recipes to try” list
  • How to make meal time more empowering instead of a battle
  • Lemon water first thing in the morning
  • The power of getting out of your own way!
  • Making way for resources
  • How we can get to know our true selves while meal planning and prepping
  • How meal prepping can save you money
  • How Kris’s course differs from an online search for meal prep ideas
  • Online courses—how they can help & what to expect if you’re new to them
  • Kris’s new online course!

Kris has generously offered Elevating Motherhood listeners a discount code!

USE THE CODE: LORIBETH15 for 15% OFF Kris’s Meal Prep Course!

Kris’s Links: Website and Instagram

Lori Beth on The Healthy Mama Podcast: Growth Mindset as a mom and simple, stress-free homeschool with Lori Beth Auldridge

Kris First Interview on Elevating Motherhood: Episode 046. Intuitive Eating

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SPONSORS

MUTU System: Thanks to MUTU System for supporting today’s episode of Elevating Motherhood. MUTU is a medically recommended, online exercise program that is designed to support mothers postpartum. And it’s not just for moms who have new babies. I started using MUTU 2.5 years after my third baby was born. My hip issues and unresolved diastasis recti were continuing to get in the way of my exercise attempts and everyday comfort level. I decided to do something about it and MUTU was the support I was looking for. I started to experience relief after just a week of using the program. I highly recommend it as a way to boost your strength and confidence! It’s gentle, do-able, effective—and you can use it at home. Buy it once and it’s yours for life. There’s more information over at www.elevatingmotherhood.com/mutu And you can hear more from the founder and CEO Wendy Powell in Episode 41. Go check it out!

Ojai Energetics: We don’t shy away from topics here on Elevating Motherhood. Mostly because I believe it’s time we break through myths and assumptions with real conversations, resources, and perspective. Like we are today with Kris…and like we did in Episode 15, Intro to CBD when I interviewed Will Kleidon the CEO of Ojai Energetics, a B corp that produces high quality, organic, water soluable CBD. So many moms wanted to know more about CBD, so I went straight to a credible source. Ojai Energetics has extended a special offer for Elevating Motherhood listeners—free shipping on every order, plus a free tube of CBD sports gel if you order 3 bottles or more. Head to www.elevatingmotherhood.com/cbd for more info on CBD, links to the episode 15, and the special offer from Ojai Energetics.

LINKS

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