18: Implementation Strategies for Meal Prepping, Planning, and Eating Out with Andrea Daigle

On this week's episode of Soaring Child, we spoke with returning guest, Andrea Daigle. Andrea is part of my amazing team at ADHD Thrive Institute, a board-certified holistic health practitioner, and also a FDN-P. She is truly an expert when it comes to working with kids with ADHD and other similar disorders. On this episode, we dive into the topic of meal prepping and how one can save an abundant amount of time in the kitchen by preparing bags of stew and freezing them, making a large amount of dinner to have leftovers for the next day, preparing a list of meals along with the list of ingredients at hand, and much more. We also talk about sneaking healthy fats and nutrient-dense foods into fruit smoothie bags to have a hearty and quick breakfast, lunch, or afternoon snack.    Key Takeaways: [4:29] Ways to save time in the kitchen [5:42] How to effectively meal plan [10:49] Fast, easy, and delicious meal prep options [19:09] How to prepare for school lunches [22:34] How to deal with days when you don't feel like cooking   Connect with Andrea: https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/our-approach/   Memorable Quotes: "My number one tip for saving time in the kitchen is definitely meal planning… you're getting a really good all-around healthy variety… you're going to be saving money on the grocery bill and you're just going to have more free time."  "There are lots of different ways you can meal plan, but I really think fine-tuning it based on what works best for your family is going to be helpful." "The next step that I always suggest is to check your calendar. Look ahead. What does your calendar look like for the next week? If you know you have a busy day coming, you really want to plan for that day to be something quick, easy, or even leftover." "After you have all that ready, you have your plan, get a grocery list going. You create that list with everything you need. And block out some time to head to the store so that you can get all of those ingredients that you need for the week."  "I find the best and fastest things to meal plan would be things for breakfast, overnight oats. Overnight oats are so nutritious. You can make a big batch on the weekends, and they don't have to be the same everyday." "We have this wonderful plan and we think it's great and then we get home and say, 'I don't feel like it'. I don't feel like it, my husband doesn't feel like it, so what do we do? I think it's very important to have some go-to options in your freezer." "Every Friday, my family goes to our local pizza parlor and they have gluten/dairy-free pizza which is phenomenal. And I'm sure in your area, you can find a place that offers those options, and if they don't, you can omit the cheese… or bring your own cheese."   Dana Kay Resources:  Website - https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/adhdthriveinstitute  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adhdthriveinstitute/  YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ADHDThriveInstitute  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/74302454/  Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/adhdthriveinstitute/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@adhd_thriveinstitute     International Best Selling Book, Thriving with ADHD - https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/book/    Free Reduce ADHD Symptoms Naturally Masterclass – https://bit.ly/3GAbFQl     ADHD Parenting Course – https://info.adhdthriveinstitute.com/parentingadhd   ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids Program - https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/packages/