Healthy Eating in the New Year

It is the new year, and that means it’s time for new year’s resolutions. For many, those resolutions are to lose weight, exercise more, and eat healthier. In this latest edition of our Prepare to Care Podcast, Robin Owens of Meal Prep With Me says getting fit is easy and fun to do.

Eddie Orum, AARP Prepare to Care podcast host:  Tell us about your fitness journey.

Robin Owens: I started about four years ago. I’ve never picked up a weight, had never entered a gym, and I decided that it was finally time to take control over my fitness journey. Over the course of about five to eight years, I probably gained 25 or 30 pounds more than I would never normally carry on my body. I decided that it was finally time to make a change. When I started working out, I saw myself get stronger and healthier. It wasn’t until I really listened to my trainers and made the change to what I was eating where I really saw the weight come off. I saw my muscles get stronger, and I really saw the changes I was looking for, and it really came down to what I was eating every day.

Eddie Orum: So, it’s 2021, and many of us have made resolutions to be healthy. What is the first thing we should do to stay on track?

Robin Ownes: The first thing I think that everybody should do to stay on track is just to do something every day. Sometimes we’ll make a huge goal, and it doesn’t become sustainable. So I would encourage everyone that even if you can just get out and walk for five minutes on day one, six minutes on day 2, and 7 minutes on day 3, then you have made positive steps towards your goal and your resolution. The biggest key is don’t give up. Even when you don’t feel like it, even when you feel like you’re not seeing any kind of progress, keep going. That’s the biggest encouragement that I would give and the biggest advice that I would share with anybody who is starting all over again.

Remember to take it easy on yourself, don’t beat yourself up when you fall or when you get off track; just get back in the game. And keep doing it every single day, and I promise you when you do that, you’ll begin to see the results that you want.       

Eddie Orum: I’ve read where you have said meal preps can help us reach our health goals and save money too.  Can you explain how that can happen?

Robin Owens: I know that most of us who live busy lives, whether you’re parenting, whether you’re working full-time, whether you’re working and an entrepreneur, or whatever it is that you might be doing. A lot of times, we don’t think about what we are going to eat until we are starving. When we get to that point, we’re going to grab the first thing that is available to us.

If instead, you will take the time to plan your meals out and prepare them in advance, when the hunger strikes, you can immediately go and grab something that’s already healthy that you know has the right amount of protein, the right amount of carbohydrates, and the right amount of fat to give your body the fuel it needs to keep this high charged lifestyle you might be engaged in. I would also add that when you look at what it costs to prepare your meals, you can prepare a healthy meal with three or four dollars compared to fast food or a dine-in restaurant where you will spend at least $20.  

Eddie Orum: Regarding meal prep, can you give us some examples of how to do this?

Robin Ownes: I am going to show you a very simple recipe. Egg Cups! One of my favorite kitchen tools to use is muffin tins. I use this tool on a weekly basis, and it’s going to allow us to portion our meals exactly the way we need it to and makes clean up a breeze.

Once again, we are going to prepare our breakfast meals, which is an ‘egg cup, and you can really do this at any time of the day. I personally can eat eggs any time of day. So, I have a couple of simple ingredients. I have with me some smoked turkey, freshly chopped spinach, and a little bit of pico de gallo. So this is what I am going to use to make an egg cup. I’m going to simply take four eggs and whisk my eggs. I’m going to add a little bit of ground pepper, and then I am going to take my muffin tin and spray it with some non-stick spray. Then we are going to fill it with the ingredients I mentioned earlier first. You don’t have to add my exact ingredients; you can add cheese or broccoli. Then I’m going to add the egg in the muffin tin with my ingredients in there. Have them cook in your oven at 375 for 20 minutes. That’s a perfectly balanced breakfast!

Eddie Orum: Any last piece of advice for our listeners?

Robin Owens: My last piece of advice would be, the small changes that you make are going to make the biggest difference. Starting by substituting water for soda or water for juice can be one thing that you can do that will start you on that journey of changing your body. If there is anybody in Houston, please follow us on social media at ‘@mealprepwithme_hou’ and on Facebook ‘Meal Prep with Me HOU.’   

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