How I Cook 20 Healthy Meals in 1 HOUR

Summary

The video demonstrates an efficient system for preparing healthy, delicious meals to last 4-5 days for two people. It involves prepping 'meal building blocks' of cooked proteins, vegetables and carbs that can be quickly mixed and matched into simple, craveable dishes like rice bowls, salads, and tacos. The key is using a variety of cooking methods to produce large batches of chicken, salmon, rice, potatoes, and blanched vegetables in under an hour. The meals are then elevated with flavorful store-bought sauces. This approach balances eating for fun and fuel without spending excessive time cooking.

Takeaways

• 😊 The goal is to meal prep protein, veggies and carbs that can be mixed and matched into simple but delicious meals
• 👨‍🍳 Cooks 3 lbs of chicken and salmon using the simple method of baking in the oven
• 🥦 Cuts broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots and kale into bite-sized pieces to be blanched
• 🍚 Cooks white rice in a rice cooker for fluffiness and less staling
• 🥔 Roasts baby potatoes and sweet potatoes to add variety
• 🥣 Uses store-bought sauces like gochujang, teriyaki, salad dressing and pesto to make meals tastier
• 🥗 Shows examples of healthy salads containing arugula, chicken, veggies and dressing
• 😋 Gives examples of rice bowls with kimchi, salmon, broccoli and sauce
• 🍽 Classic entrées like pesto chicken with broccoli and potatoes or kale salmon with sweet potatoes
• 🌮 Builds tacos with corn tortillas, chicken, salsa, feta and lettuce in just 3 minutes

Q & A

What are the two types of protein that are cooked in the video?

The two proteins cooked are boneless, skinless chicken breasts and skin-on Norwegian salmon.

Why is baking chicken breast normally not a good cooking method?

Baking chicken breast normally leads to dried out, overcooked meat if cooked to temperatures around 190°F. This video recommends pulling it from the oven at 150-160°F for a juicier texture.

What are the four vegetables that are chopped and blanched?

The four vegetables chopped and blanched are broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and curly kale.

Why is cooking the vegetables in seasoned boiling water preferred over roasting or sauteing?

Cooking the vegetables in boiling water is faster and uses fewer dishes than roasting or sauteing each vegetable separately in batches.

What are some of the store-bought sauces used to make the meals more craveable?

Some of the store-bought sauces used are: gochujang sauce, low-sugar teriyaki sauce, sesame ginger dressing, pesto, chili crisp, and fresh salsa.

What are some of the meal ideas presented using the cooked ingredients?

Some of the meal ideas are: Mediterranean salad, sushi salad, rice bowls with chicken or salmon, pesto chicken with vegetables, kale salmon and sweet potatoes, and chicken or fish tacos.

Why is medium grain rice used instead of basmati or jasmine?

Medium grain rice is used because it tends to stale slower and reheats better than basmati or jasmine rice.

How long does the meal prep process take?

The entire meal prep process from start to finish takes about 1 hour to make 4-5 days worth of meals for 2 people.

What is the purpose of using paper towels when storing the cooked vegetables?

The paper towels help absorb excess moisture so the vegetables don't get soggy when stored.

What are some benefits of this style of semi home-cooked meal prep?

Benefits include: tasty and nutritious meals without complex recipes or many dishes to wash, a compromise between eating for fun and just fuel, and convenience for weeknight dinners.

Outlines

00:00

🍽Overview of meal prep plan and key ingredients

The first paragraph provides an overview of the speaker's meal prep plan after returning from a cruise. The goal is to prepare healthy, tasty meals for two people that can be mixed and matched. The key steps are prepping storage containers, cooking proteins and vegetables using both wet and dry heat, and preparing carbs like rice and potatoes.

05:01

🥣Sponsorship from healthy cereal brand Catalina Crunch

The second paragraph contains a sponsorship message for the cereal brand Catalina Crunch. Key points are that the cereal is crunchy, tasty, and guilt-free with zero sugar, high protein/fiber, and no artificial ingredients. There is a discount code provided for purchases.

10:02

🥗Building mixed salad meals with various toppings

The third paragraph demonstrates putting the prepped ingredients together into salad meals. Examples include a Mediterranean salad with arugula, chicken, feta, and balsamic dressing; and a sushi-inspired salad with salmon, ginger, and sesame dressing.

Keywords

💡meal prep

Meal prep refers to preparing multiple meals in advance to have ready to eat later. In the video, the narrator meal preps protein, vegetables, and carbs to have healthy food ready for the next 4-5 days without spending a lot of time cooking each day. Meal prepping helps enable healthy eating when you're busy.

💡protein

Protein foods like chicken and salmon are core components of the meals. Having prepped proteins on hand makes it easy to build quick, balanced meals. The video focuses on cooking large batches of a couple proteins at once.

💡veggies

Veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and kale are prepped in batches by cutting and blanching. Having prepped veggies allows throwing together meals with protein and carbs without extra chopping each day.

💡carbs

Grains like rice and potatoes are cooked in batches as the carb components for meals. Pairing veggies, protein, and carbs makes balanced, nutritious meals.

💡storage

An important part of meal prep is proper storage. The video emphasizes cooling and storing proteins, veggies, and carbs in containers in the fridge to prevent spoilage and sogginess.

💡mixing and matching

The purpose of having prepped ingredients is to allow mixing and matching to assemble different meal types. Versatile building blocks enable meal variety from the same ingredients.

💡sauces

The video highlights the importance of sauces in bringing flavors and making meals more craveable. Sauces like pesto and teriyaki build on top of simple ingredients.

💡weeknight meals

The meal prep system enables balanced nutrient-dense meals even on busy weeknights without complex recipes or much cleanup. It fits a healthy diet into everyday life.

💡salads

Using the prepped ingredients, the video demonstrates building hearty main-dish salads for lunch with veggies, protein, and other toppings and dressing.

💡tacos

Assembling tacos is another fast meal idea, combining warmed tortillas, protein, salsa, and garnishes. Meal prepping empowers tacos without extra chopping daily.

Highlights

Cooks a large volume of protein and veggies to mix and match into meals

Uses both wet and dry heat to quickly cook a lot of food

Bakes salmon and chicken at once for efficiency

Cuts veggies into bite-sized pieces for easy eating

Blanches veggies in seasoned water instead of roasting or sautéing to save time

Uses paper towels and wire racks for fast cooling and draining

Adds sauces to make meals tastier and more craveable

Uses pre-made sauces for convenience

Makes a Mediterranean salad with feta, olives, chicken and dressing

Assembles a sushi-inspired salad with salmon, ginger and seaweed

Tops rice bowls with gochujang or teriyaki and veggies

Makes pesto chicken, salmon and veggies for a fresh, light dinner

Whips up fast fish and chicken tacos with simple homemade toppings

Eats this way when focusing on tasty nutrition without lengthy cooking

Great compromise between eating for fun and just for fuel

Transcripts

hey what's up I am not ashamed to admit

to you guys that I just spent the last

week on a cruise ship and it was fun

but after eight days of eating what felt

like only steak cake and escargot I need

to get back to some form of what I would

consider to be healthy eating when I'm

in this eat healthy mode my goal is to

have a fridge full of cooked protein

veggies and carbs that can be mixed and

matched at will to create simple but

delicious meals so today I'm going to

show you guys the surprisingly easy way

that I prepare four to five days worth

of healthy tasty meals for two people in

just about an hour so I'll start by

prepping the meal building box then

later on I'll show you how to mix and

match those blocks into a wide variety

of meal types that you'll always look

forward to eating to get started I'll

drop a large pot of very salty water on

the stove to bring up to a boil then

I'll preheat my oven to 425 F to cook a

lot of food in just about an hour we'll

need to use both wet and dry heat next

I'll grab my protein I usually cook off

three pounds of two different Meats I've

got boneless skinless chicken breast

here and skin on Norway Legion Atlantic

salmon I chose these two Meats

specifically because I can cook a huge

volume of them at once with the simplest

dumbest method available a hot oven to

prep the chicken I'll lay it out onto a

sheet tray lined with parchment paper

and then I'll hit the top side with salt

and black pepper I do this right on the

sheet tray and not in a bowl to minimize

the dishes that I'm using as much as

possible next I'll salt and pepper the

top side of the salmon as well I'm not

going to spend any time cutting off the

skin before I bake it because it's

actually super easy to peel off once

it's cooked and cooled down once my

proteins are all salted up I'll load

both sheet trays into the oven and bake

them at 425f for about 20 minutes while

those cook let's talk about the veggies

this week I've got two heads of broccoli

those are always in the mix then I've

got a sack of Brussels sprouts or about

a pound's worth I've got a pound and a

half of thick cut carrots and then two

large Bunches of curly kale or swiss

chard would also work this should be

enough veggies for about two cups per

person per day split between lunch and

dinner now to prep these veggies I'll

just cut all four of them into

bite-sized chunks there's no Art and

Science to this just cut them into

pieces that you would enjoy eating I

will mention though the curly kale does

need to get kind of sliced once you get

towards the stem end the stems are

fibrous and if they're not cut thin they

won't get tender when we blanch them in

Total Cleaning and cutting these veggies

down should have taken about 10 to 15

minutes so once we've got them cut up

it'll be just about time to check back

on my baking Meats I'm looking to cook

this salmon to a lower temperature than

the chicken so I'll check that one first

as you can see these are looking pretty

tasty and the temperature is somewhere

between 130 and 140. that's the textural

sweet spot for farmed salmon in my

opinion you can go higher but definitely

don't go lower the salmon will be pretty

mushy below 130. the temp is all good

here so I'll set those aside and then

grab my chicken about five minutes later

the temp that I'm looking for here is

over 150 below 160. normally baking

chicken breast is a horrible way to cook

it but that's because people cook it to

like 190 F and the meat just can't deal

with that pulling it out of the oven at

150f leads to a much juicier result and

yes it is food safe so long as it stays

at 150 for at least two minutes next

I'll just scoop these meats over into

some storage containers then I'll load

them into the fridge lid off so that

they can cool down back of the stove my

salty water is up to a ripping boil and

time wise I'm somewhere around the 28

minute Mark so we'll move on to cooking

the veggies first thing down is all of

my chopped up broccoli and if you're

wondering why I'm cooking this with

water instead of say roasting or

sauteing it the answer is simple you can

cook a lot of food quickly with hot

water to get this volume of vegetables

roasted or sauteed I need to cook it in

batches on a sheet tray or in a saute

pan and that would take a very long time

like over an hour cooking food with

well-seasoned water is pretty underrated

as long as you do it properly speaking

of that after about 90 seconds of cook

time I'll taste one of these florets it

should be tender but still Snappy and

that's perfect I'd say air on the side

of slightly less cooked here because

these are going to continue to carry

over as they cool and snappy is always

better than mushy next I'll drop in my

carrots and boil those for three to four

minutes or until they're tender and

snappy just like the broccoli while

those cook I'm going to quickly scoot my

broccoli into containers lined with

paper towel and then move them over to

the fridge to finish cooling down the

paper towel helps keep these veggies

from being sogged up with water that's

no good and after three to four minutes

these carrots are crossing over into

that textural sweet spot so I'll just

give them a taste to confirm and they're

great so I'll move them over to a wire

rack so they can drain from here I'll

just cook my other two vegetables real

quick I'll give the kale two minutes and

the Brussels three to four those are

kind of thick and once all my vegetables

are cooked and out of the water I'll

just pack them up into Tupper Wares and

then throw them into the fridge with my

meat and my broccoli next let's do the

carbs but first i'm going to quickly

thank Catalina crunch for sponsoring

this video before I could film this ad

though I needed to go to the store to

restock because I ate all of the cereal

that Catalina crunch sent me to the

footage of me purchasing more cereal at

the store without my discount code

lagerstrom and with my own money this

isn't a fun skit for the sake of the ad

I actually can't have this cereal in the

house without eating all of it it's

crunchy as the name suggests but it also

tastes really good they make nostalgic

flavors like dark chocolate fruity honey

Graham and then my personal favorites

cinnamon toast and chocolate peanut

butter but maybe the best part about

this cereal is that I can eat it

guilt-free Catalina crunch has zero

sugar it's high in protein and fiber and

it's made with clean ingredients so they

use monk fruit and Stevia instead of

fake sweeteners and artificial colors or

flavors so to get 15 off when you buy

your Catalina crunch click the link

below and use my code lagerstrom you get

the 15 off that I mentioned plus free

shipping site-wide with a bigger

discount if you subscribe now to make

these carbs I'll just grab my rice

cooker and into the bowl of that combine

800 grams of water 600 grams of rice and

a big old grip of salt my preferred rice

for a meal prep is a starchy medium

grain rice because I find that it stales

slower than Basmati or Jasmine and it

reheats really well now I'll just hit

the white rice button here and then grab

a sack or about a pound and a half of

baby potatoes I'll give those a quick

cut in half then to save on dishes yet

again I'll grab my dirty chicken sheet

tray from before rip off the used

parchment then drop on a fresh parchment

with my cut baby potatoes to dress these

for the oven I'll give them a generous

squiggle of olive oil and then a strong

pinch of salt and then I'll just toss

those together and arrange them on the

sheet tray cut side down next I'll grab

two medium sweet potatoes and repeat the

potato process for these though I'll

peel off the thick outer skin and then

cut them into bite-sized cubes like this

then off with the dirty salmon paper and

onto the same sheet tray with some fresh

paper and sweet potatoes some oil some

salt and a quick toss and then both

trays go into the oven for about 20

minutes but this time at 475 F this is

going to speed things up and give us

some more Browning and after 25 minutes

of cook time my rice is done see how

fluffy and beautiful it is medium grain

rice is so dope next I'll just scoop

that into a large storage vessel then

move it over to the fridge to cool down

lid off back in my potatoes it's been

about 25 minutes as well and things are

looking pretty roasty in here these baby

potatoes are crispy and browned on the

bottom and the cubed up sweeties are

roasty tender and charred around the

corners I'll just scoot these into paper

towel wine tupperwares then load them

into the fridge at around the 65 to 70

minute Mark now that's a lot of food for

not really that much time this Dash

usually covers Lauren and I for lunch

and dinner for four days but sometimes

five now before we take this cooked food

and build it into finished meals we'll

need to talk about something very

important sauces sauces play an integral

role in this overall healthy eating

system that's because broccoli chicken

and rice by itself tastes pretty good

but it's not hyper palatable like

brownies french fries or pizza and we're

a lot more used to tasting that stuff so

to bring these simple dishes to the next

level and to make them a little bit more

cravable I use a small arsenal of

store-bought pre-made sauces here's a

couple that I like a Korean inspired

gochujang sauce a low sugar teriyaki

sauce some kind of flavorful

store-bought salad dressing the brand

Primal kitchens dressings are generally

pretty good and make eating craveable

salads a lot easier and faster this

sesame Ginger is like a 7.5 out of 10. I

usually also keep some store-bought

pesto on hand this particular brand has

a surprisingly fresh tasting one that I

really like chili crisp is always in my

fridge and also a fresh salsa I usually

have a tomatillo in the fridge left over

from a recent taco or fajita Adventure

because it's fast easy to make and lasts

a long time also if you're thinking

store-bought sauces are an Abomination

against weeknight cookery go ahead and

make your own I'll link to my

well-tested recipes for every one of

these sauces Below in the description if

you want to go the extra mile now let's

put these together into proper meals

first up is salad here's a simple

Mediterranean salad that I eat for lunch

pretty much every single weekday I'll

throw down some arugula into a bowl then

I'll top that with some chopped roasted

red bell peppers some rings of pepper

and Chin doggies a mix of marinated

olives some salty crumbly sheep's milk

feta cheese a few pickled red onions

then about four ounces of chopped

chicken breast for dressing I usually go

with a very simple balsamic vinaigrette

that's literally just a scoop of grainy

mustard with a few tablespoons of

semi-sweet aged balsamic and then a

couple tablespoons of olive oil just

shake it up and you're good to go it

takes literally 25 seconds to make and

that's a Mediterranean salad with a lot

of textures a mix of salty things and a

little sweetness from the dressing and

the peppers to balance the acidity next

is a sushi inspired salad for that on

top of arugula I'll drop some raw

shredded cabbage by the way this is one

of those coleslaw mixes that they sell

at pretty much all grocery stores it's a

really useful shortcut in my opinion I

just usually throw away that dressing

packet and then throw it on top of salad

next I'll throw on some of my blanched

broccoli and then in some chopped sushi

ginger I just get this at the

International Grocery Store in the

refrigerated section next I'll flake out

about four ounces of my cooked salmon

right on top then I'll add on some

chopped avocado chunks some roasted

seaweed or furicake and then some of

that Sesame ginger dressing that I

showed you guys a second ago and there

we go Sushi salad next some rice bowls

I'll top some rice with about two or

three of my cooked veggies then four to

six ounces of chicken depending on how

hungry I am then I'll nuke it for two

minutes from there I'll top it with some

fresh funky kimchi then I'll hit it with

some of the gochujang sauce that I got

at the store to approximate this if you

can't find something similar I'd say mix

Sriracha with honey and sesame oil for

the next one I'll drop a couple of my

veggies on Rice yet again but this time

top it with some salmon I'll nuke it for

two minutes and then once it's hot I'll

finish it with some of that teriyaki

sauce from the store and some chili

crisp now I've got something spicy and

just a little bit sweet but very

cravable and nutritious now let's talk

about some classic entree setups how

about six ounces of chicken breast with

a cup and a half of broccoli and a cup

and a half of roasted baby potatoes once

it's hot I'll just top it with some

store-bought pesto and if yours is

looking a little thick and pasty out of

the jar just add some additional olive

oil to make it a little bit Saucier or

how about some kale salmon and sweet

potatoes with the same basil forward

pesto it's light it's fresh and very

delicious the pesto and sweet potato

combination by the way is very excellent

if you haven't had it before definitely

give it a try Okay lastly let's talk

tacos I'll start with some hot and

floppy corn tortillas then add on about

two ounces of microwave chopped up

chicken breast then I'll top that with

some of the crumbly feta that I used in

the first salad behind that I'll add on

some fresh tomatillo salsa or regular

salsa is also great then some pickled

jalapeno peppers and finally some

lettuce or arugula to bring some Crunch

and that's a Fresh Mex Chipotle like

taco that took about three minutes to

assemble perfect for a late Wednesday

night dinner the last Taco is fish taco

I'll drop some of what I call weekday

take walk down first that's just a

couple of avocados that I mashed up with

salt lime juice garlic powder onion

powder and a little bit of chili flake

not authentic but tastes pretty freaking

good and only takes about two minutes

then I'll throw on a few ounces of

heated flaked salmon then some of that

pre-chopped coleslaw mixture that I used

earlier but this time I added some salt

honey lime juice and olive oil now it's

a fish taco slaw on top of that I'll add

a little tomatillo salsa or taco sauce

and finally if you've got them some

pickled red onions so that's just the

simple blueprint of how I eat when I'm

trying to get some tasty nutrition in my

life without spending a ton of time meal

prepping on the weekend this way of

eating has helped me to realize that not

every single week night needs to have a

special multi-component recipe and a

full dishwasher it's a great compromise

between eating for fun and just for fuel

please let me know down below what you

guys think is this style of eating

something that you might adopt a few

weeks a month I gotta know now let's see

this thing

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