Food is information for all systems within our bodies. What we consume has an impact on our mood, energy levels, and overall health. Get creative with your assortment of dried, jarred, and frozen goods like beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and veggies. Having these items on hand can make meal-prep super fast. Reheating and seasoning frozen veggies and pairing them with a can of tuna and/or beans can be done in less than 30 minutes! Love your chef’s helpers like prepeeled, precut, preportioned, prewashed, pre-anything-you-want prepared vegetables! A quick steam, roast, pan-fry, or sauté with garlic, onion, herbs, and spices of your choice works as a meal or a snack, depending on the pairing. Embrace batch cooking and/or meal prep. Both can reduce the total time spent on meal and snack prep. Prepare a larger quantity of vegetables, grains, and beans, store them in the fridge or freezer, and take them out for reheating at a moment’s notice. Your prepped food can also be repurposed over multiple meals—a batch of roasted vegetables can be made into a savory breakfast with egg and seasoning of your choice or can be an excellent snack when served with a tangy tahini sauce. By utilizing different sauces, spices, and temperatures, we can elevate the simplest of dishes and provide a new tasting experience every time. Maya believes in providing nutrition education from an anti-bias patient-centered, culturally sensitive approach to help people make informed food choices. In her practice, Maya and her team provide medical nutrition therapy nutrition and nutrition coaching for the management of and risk reduction of non-communicable diseases from a lens of cultural humility. She is the author of Eating from Our Roots: 80 Healthy Home-Cooked Favorites from Cultures Around the World (goop Press), (January 24, 2023). Maya lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two children, two cats, and two dogs!
