Plan Simple with Mia Moran

You don’t have to be June Cleaver preparing every little thing from scratch. You don’t have to be perfect. – Denise Costello

On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m really excited to talk with Denise Costello, the founder of The Energized Body and co-founder of Chrysalis Center for Meditation and Wellness. Denise’s journey started with food, but moved into movement. We’re going to talk about both, plus an amazing experience she’s offering this spring.

Denise lived a very healthy lifestyle. She integrated exercise, movement, cooked and ate healthy. But when her twins were babies, she heard radio report on cancer, saying that by the time her children turned 18, one of six people would have cancer. She got really serious about protecting her family and trying to lower their risks. So she dug into integrated medicine and tried recipes and meditation—and she gathered other moms to share what she knew. Then she turned helping moms and families into a business.

Two important things about Denise were that she realized a healthy lifestyle was doable—even with twins and an adopted daughter. Even when her husband was in the Navy Reserves and gone for long stretches. Even while running a business. She approached situations like making dinner with joy — and without a need to do it perfectly. We’ll talk about specific tips for make it easier.

We talk about:

Getting your kids involved with food prep and cooking

Setting your own standards of normal instead of worrying about what other people think

Using a Crock Pot (I think I’m finally convinced to try)

Kitchen hacks to make  prepping dinner easier

Making cooking more enjoyable—Denise describes her kitchen “sitch” and why music matters

Fitting in movement, being forgiving of yourself, and Denises 80% rule

BIO

Denise Costello is the sometimes called the Fit Foodie. She’s the founder of The Energized Body and co-founder of Chrysalis Center Meditation and Wellness. She started out as a nurse and got excited about empowering individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle, thereby keeping them out of the hospital. Her interest in health and wellness increased and got personal with the birth of her twins. Her mission is to help you eat your way happy & healthy so you can feel your best, be your best & give your best.

LINKS

The Energized Body

Chrysalis Center for Meditation & Wellness

Soulopreneur Spring Pop-up

MENTIONED LINK

Vanilla Bean Cake from The Spunky Coconut

The Journey Dance

Doable Changes from this episode:

TAKE SHORTCUTS IN THE KITCHEN. Chop and freeze onions so you have them ready when you need them—or buy them pre-chopped. Look for basil, garlic, and ginger pre-chopped and frozen. What other prep could be done for you? How else could you set yourself up for ease another day? These kinds of shortcuts lead to healthier meals, instead of unhealthy choices.

MAKE MEAL PREP ENJOYABLE. Create an enjoyable situation before you start cooking. Turn on music, light a candle, pour yourself a cup of tea — create the right mood.

PLAN MOVEMENT. Denise says, “First you have to make movement a priority in your head, and you plan it.” Getting movement in first thing in the morning is great. You get it done before you get distracted or pulled in other directions. Getting up early can be tough for some people, but Denise suggests that when you exercise, you sleep really well, which might make getting up early easier.

REALLY getting healthy as a family can be a big lifestyle change. But no matter how insurmountable it may feel, focusing on one doable change at a time can help you take small steps toward your big goal.

A healthy lifestyle is really made of lots of little things that when repeated regularly and added together over time make a huge impact on your life.

Choose one Doable Change every Sunday night — one thing that you are willing to play with for the week. The key is to keep it doable and fun! Write that thing on a sticky note or your phone so you remember it. Then put 3 things on your calendar that support it.

Choose from the changes above or download a list of 101 Doable Changes we made for you.

This episode of the Plan Simple Podcast is part of a seven tools in seven days series. I’ve shared my ideas on finding your why and your family brand. Today, I’m so excited to talk about the simplest meal planning tool. I call it The Post-it Strategy. It’s so simple, and yet so powerful, whether you plan out your meals in great detail or not.

The Post-it Strategy = In the morning write on a Post-it what’s for dinner.

It’s that simple. Here’s why it’s powerful:

You are making a choice and getting clarity.

You know what you need to do to make dinner happen. (Do you need to turn on the slow cooker? pick up an onion at the store? Can you chop an onion right now?)

You cut out time lost to wondering and thinking about dinner.

You cut down stress later in the day because you aren’t trying to make a decision and figure out how to make it happen when everyone is already stressed.

You cut down on drama about what kids will eat.

Doable Changes from this episode:

WRITE WHAT’S FOR DINNER ON A POST-IT. Decide what’s for dinner and write it on a post-it. When you do that, check to see if you need anything and create a plan to get it—will you stop at the market or will your spouse be near the store? Do you need to pull something out of the freezer now or prep something? You don’t have to do it all now, but part of deciding is helping you know enough to make sure you can make it happen later.

MOVE FOOD FORWARD. I love the idea of moving food forward. It’s one more way to add ease into eating well. So when you decide what’s for dinner, notice if there is anything you can do—put in some meat to marinate, chop an onion. Another way to do this is to prep for one meal while you are prepping another. Are you making a salad for lunch? Chop some extra carrots for dinner. Think of something, and it can be little, that puts you one step closer to the next meal.

MAKE MEALS MATCH YOUR DAY. Before you decide what’s for dinner, think about your day. Do you have one kid with an appointment at 3:30 and another getting out of play practice at 5 and another who needs to get to basketball by 6:30? This is not the day to make a meal that takes a lot of prep and cook time. With a plan you can still eat healthy, real food on busy days, but make it easy on yourself by batching or prepping ahead on a less busy day.

REALLY getting healthy as a family can be a big lifestyle change. But no matter how insurmountable it may feel, focusing on one doable change at a time can help you take small steps toward your big goal.

A healthy lifestyle is really made of lots of little things that when repeated regularly and added together over time make a huge impact on your life.

Choose one Doable Change every Sunday night — one thing that you are willing to play with for the week. The key is to keep it doable and fun! Write that thing on a sticky note or your phone so you remember it. Then put 3 things on your calendar that support it.

Choose from the changes above or download a list of 101 Doable Changes we made for you.

http://plansimplemeals.com/101-doable-changes/