Anita: 0:00

It's going to make all the difference. This is such a huge strategy to keep you eating healthy, feeling your best, and optimally powering your body, which, apart from God, is your number one asset. So as we all start feeling better and learning these strategies and you can put them into place, it is going to make all the difference in how quickly and effectively you can grow your God-given mission to the next level. Hey sister, welcome to the Power on Plants podcast. Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what to eat so you can just feel better? Do you want to avoid spending hours in the kitchen making complicated meals in the name of health? Would you love to leave fatigue behind and finally have the energy to do all the things you want to do? Hi, we're Sheridan and Eda Resell, Christfollowers, healthcare professionals, parents of four, and big fans of great tasting food. We too tried exercising more, eating natural and clean foods, but we still found ourselves struggling with what we thought were changes that come with age or bad genes. And we weren't finding answers the traditional route, so we dug into the research and created our secret nutritional weapon, sustainable plant-based living. The truth is you can eat more whole plant foods, and it's not hard. You just need the way that's realistic and delicious so you never feel deprived. If you're ready to enjoy your meals, no longer be held back by your health struggles and actively live your life, then you're in the right place. So grab your favorite plant-based cup of happy, pop in those earbuds, and let's get started. Now maybe you're thinking, Anita, I've reached a point with my health that I just don't know what to do. I'm exhausted. I know I need to eat healthier. I know I need to eat more whole plant foods, but I just can't seem to get beyond the dieting mentality. And I can't even fathom how I'd make healthy eating last when all I've known is counting calories and keeping up with portions and all those things that make me miserable. And we get it. We know what a struggle that can be. Welcome to Power on Plants. We are so happy to have you joining us today. I'm Anita Roussel and I'm a nurse and certified integrative nutrition health coach.

Jarrod: 2:09

And I'm Jared Roussel, a certified physician assistant and lifestyle medicine professional.

Anita: 2:14

And we help purpose-driven Christian leaders and entrepreneurs turn your body into your biggest business advantage using whole plant foods. Because here's the thing: you know your calling and you see the opportunities God's bringing your way. You even have the business strategies and your vision is clear. But not feeling good keeps forcing your God-sized vision into a box. And that is exhausting. As healthcare professionals, Christian leaders, and entrepreneurs who've successfully journeyed from fatigue to abundant energy, Jared and I are excited each week to share with you the breakthrough strategies that help you maximize energy and productivity so you can fully step into your God-given mission. This is our heart for you. Now maybe you're thinking, Anita, I've reached a point with my health that I just don't know what to do. I'm exhausted. I know I need to eat healthier. I know I need to eat more whole plant foods, but I just can't seem to get beyond the dieting mentality. And I can't even fathom how I'd make healthy eating last when all I've known is counting calories and keeping up with portions and all those things that make me miserable. And we get it. We know what a struggle that can be. And not only that, you need your meals to be quick, simple, and delicious because you are a busy leader. So if you're wondering where should I even start, go right now to poweronplants.com forward slash cookbook, where you can grab our cookbook bundles that are not only quick, simple, and easy for you, but also taste amazing so that you never feel deprived. And because these are the lowest calorie feeds on the planet, you're not gonna have to count calories either. And that is one sweet deal. And today we're sharing five powerful whole food plant-based strategies that help you achieve optimal health while saving valuable time.

Jarrod: 3:56

Strategy number one, the emergency essentials kit. You want to assemble a portable kit with a variety of healthy, non-perishable items that you can grab at a moment's notice.

Anita: 4:08

So, what are some of your favorite snacks, Jared, to take when you have to be on the go? I know we keep different things in the car. So, what are some of your favorite things that we keep?

Jarrod: 4:17

I absolutely love edamame. It keeps well, it's always there, ready. And you get kind of snacky, kind of hungry. I can grab a handful and then pop them down while I'm driving, while we're at the beach, wherever.

Anita: 4:31

That is a good one. I know we always keep dried nuts. That's such a good thing. And pick your favorites. You don't have to use exactly the same ones that we do, but we love having the dry roasted cashews. Just make sure you check the back and it's just cashews or cashews and a little salt because a lot of times they add oil and sugar and all kinds of crazy things you would not even believe were in nuts. Same thing with dried fruits. We love having those as well. Dried apricots, mangoes, pineapple. There's so many different things you can get today, even freeze-dried pineapple and things like that. They're wonderful, but always check the back. Don't just assume because it's dried fruit that it's going to be healthy for you or power you well for your mission. You want those things that are not going to slow you down and cause inflammation, like oil and sugars and all of those things that are often added to snacks. You want to choose the options that omit those items. Other things we enjoy are whole food bars. Think power bites. You could even make homemade power bites and keep those. They're going to be more perishable than the things you buy in the store, but you can still get those as well. And then there's sweet potato sticks from Costco. If you have a Costco nearby, by all means, we're letting the cat out of the bag. This is one of our big secrets. Don't buy the whole stash because we might cry. Buy some of these sweet potato sticks. They are wonderful. One ingredient, just sweet potato. And they're in little individual pouches. You can take them to the beach on the airplane, I believe. You have to look at the weight for those, though. They may be a little too big for the airplane. But when you're doing car trips and things like that, they're perfect for that.

Jarrod: 6:02

And a nice little pro tip here is if it happens to be warmer, put it in the dashboard of your car and let it warm them up. They become a little bit softer and that flavor is just amazing.

Anita: 6:13

The kids love doing that with the food bars, the whole food bars, something like a Lara Bar. They love putting those in the dash. They're so good. I've even seen them do that with peanut butter sandwiches. That's another thing that you can just pack and take on the go. But these aren't really your emergency essentials kit. You want to keep things in there. The sandwich and homemade items might not be best for your emergency essentials kit. You want to keep things in there that will last for quite a while, maybe that are pre-wrapped. So we've talked about a lot of those things: the edamame, the fruits, the dried fruits, the freeze-dried fruits, the nuts. Trail mix also fits into that. Again, check the ingredients. Super important. Just because it's something like trail mix or granola, don't just assume it's healthy. You can make our spice pecans from the Thrive Cookbook. Those last really well. And it's such a simple recipe. As well as our checklist mix, that's something that also lasts really well. Both of those are in the Thrive Cookbook, and you can get that at powerimplants.com forward slash cookbook. Also, our granola lasts really well. And you can make that in the oven or in the dehydrator. Go to the same link that's powerimplants.com forward slash cookbook to get the original cookbook for that recipe. You want to keep this go bag, this emergency snack essentials kit in your workspace, in your car. Think about all the places you go. If you go to the beach a lot, keep it in your beach bag. So you could have several of these laying around for when you're traveling and on the go. It's going to make all the difference. This is such a huge strategy to keep you eating healthy, feeling your best, and optimally powering your body, which, apart from God, is your number one asset.

Jarrod: 7:49

I would also say look at what it is you normally do. Do you need typically just a quick snack or maybe you like going hiking? You might want something that's going to sustain you a little bit longer. So pack your essentials kit thoughtfully. Strategy number two, double duty cooking. When preparing a meal, make a double batch. You're already going through the effort. You've got the ingredients, you're using electricity. Make double the amount.

Anita: 8:13

This saves so much time. It reduces your stress around meals and what to eat because a lot of times you or your spouse or your other family members don't like eating the same thing over and over again. So you don't think about doubling or you've thought about it but just thought it wouldn't work for you. But what if you double it and then freeze a portion that you can eat later a different week so you don't get tired of it? You can also think of other ways to use that doubled portion. You don't always have to eat it the same way. For example, if you made a larger batch of chili, instead of just eating a bowl of chili, you could serve it on a sweet potato, which is absolutely delicious.

Jarrod: 8:52

Imagine it's a busy day, you come home, you think, what am I going to eat? I don't feel like cooking, don't have time. You go into your freezer, and there you find a meal that you had eaten a few weeks ago, but thoughtfully you planned ahead and made double and then froze it. Then all you have to do is defrost it and you've got your meal right there.

Anita: 9:13

And this strategy of double duty cooking fits perfectly with Proverbs 21:5, which says, the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance. And this is one of the best ways to be diligent about how you're preparing your days to gain an abundance of time and energy to set yourself up for big wins with your health. And strategy number three is the five in five meal prep strategy. This is where you spend five minutes preparing five staple ingredients, such as grains or beans, or roasted veggies, greens, and sauces. What we don't want you to do is feel like you can never eat whole food plant-based because it takes so long. It just absolutely doesn't. It's one of the quickest, simplest ways you can even imagine to eat and prepare your food. The truth is that preparing each one of these things, once you learn how, will only take you about five minutes, maybe 10 in the beginning. Seriously, it's grains into an instant pot with some water pressed start. It's beans into an instant pot with some water pressed start. I mean, it's so easy. Roasting vegetables, just pick a time you're gonna be home, slice that vegetables, get them on a silpat mat or parchment lined baking sheet, and roast them in your oven. Don't put a lot of oil on those. It's gonna cause you to be inflamed and not feel good. Get those into the oven and while you're doing other things, literally, it takes you five minutes to get those on a pan. You can be busy doing other things while they cook and it's done, and you have a whole sheet of roasted vegetables or a pot of grains and beans that you can use throughout the week. You can also do the same double duty cooking here and take each one of these staples and make extra freezing them for other meals to use at other times, not just that specific week. So we didn't finish the five grains, beans, roasted vegetables, greens. You can chop up, make sure they're prepared and ready to go if you're gonna eat them raw or if you're gonna saute them, just pre-saute them and have them ready to go on your bowls and into all the dishes you're going to make throughout that week. And then a sauce. This is one of the most important things. Our cookbooks are filled with sauce recipes for you that are literally gonna take you five minutes to whip up and you'll wonder where they've been all your life. They taste that amazing. Sauces are gonna make all the difference in your food. I mean, think about how you ate meat in the past. If you were a meat eater, would you ever eat a plain chicken breast or plain steak? No, you wouldn't. You would put some type of marinade or a sauce on that. You're going to do the same thing with your whole food plant-based dishes, and it's going to bring you so much joy. So, those are five things that you can make in five minutes that will set you up for big wins throughout the week.

Jarrod: 11:58

Strategy number four, smoothie packs for nutrient boosting. Take your smoothie ingredients and pre-package them ahead of time. So instead of having to take all the ingredients out each and every time you make a smoothie, you can do a little prep ahead of time, get yourself a few bags, and then put all the individual ingredients for each day so that way you have them prepared ahead of time. So maybe Sunday evening, you could make a smoothie bag for each day of the week, Monday through Friday. Then that morning, all you have to do is pull out the bag, dump it in the blender, and you're ready to go.

Anita: 12:30

So you choose things like fruits and a lot of leafy greens and seeds. And you don't have to load each bag the same way. If that's simpler for you when you first start, go ahead. But you can also vary up your ingredients so you're getting a variety of nutrients throughout the week, which is also a great way to go. This also helps you to get more raw into your diet, including leafy greens, which is one of the best things you can be eating more of. But if you're looking at weight loss, if that's one of your goals, you don't want to drink a full smoothie and then eat a meal on top of it. Think about the amount of food that is going into that smoothie so it can actually replace a meal for you if weight loss is one of your goals. And strategy number five is sheet pan dinner. So this is very similar to one of the things we mentioned in the five and five strategy, which is making a pan of roast vegetables. However, we want you to think of this more as a meal instead of something you would put on a meal. So you might roast all the ingredients that you would blend up later to make a roasted vegetable soup. Let's say you made roasted red pepper and tomato soup. So you would roast red peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, all on one sheet pan ahead of time. And then you have it ready in a storage container so that when you want to make your soup, it's ready. Or you could go ahead and make your soup if you have time that day. And that soup is gonna keep for several days in the refrigerator. Again, going back to making extra, this is a place you might want to think about making extra. But the shocking thing is these things are so fast to do. I mean, literally all it takes you is a time to cut up the vegetables and put them on the tray. And once you learn the fast ways to do that, it is gonna blow your mind that this is the simplest, easiest, most awesome way to eat. As a high-performing leader, it is going to make all the difference for you. And the big thing is this is not just about learning to eat whole food plant-based. This is about advancing the kingdom. You are a believer on assignment. So as we all start feeling better and learning these strategies and you can put them into place, it is going to make all the difference in how quickly and effectively you can grow your God-given mission to the next level. I know you probably already had some success in business. Most of our clients have, but the thing is you want to go next level. And nine times out of 10, you know the business strategies, but your body ends up being the bottleneck. And we don't want that for you. So this is all about you feeling better so we can advance the kingdom on earth together, one delicious bite at a time, fueling ourselves optimally so that we can max out our life. So, to recap, strategy number one, keep an emergency whole food plant-based essentials kit with you at all times.

Jarrod: 15:23

Strategy number two, double duty cooking. When you're making food, make extra and save it for later.

Anita: 15:29

Strategy number three is the five in five meal prep strategy. That's where you prepare five staple ingredients at the beginning of the week, such as grains, beans, roasted vegetables, greens, and sauces.

Jarrod: 15:42

Strategy number four, smoothie packs for nutrient boosting. Make your smoothie packs ahead of time so that you make sure you get those greens and all those good foods and even boost your raw food intake each day of the week.

Anita: 15:54

And strategy number five is sheet pan dinners. Think of this as roasted veggies next level. So, how could you use all these veggies in one meal that you're going to want to eat? You want to think about the meal ahead of time, and that's going to help you determine which vegetables you're going to put on the pan. These five strategies are going to change everything for you when you seamlessly integrate them into your schedule, helping you to boost your energy, 10x your productivity, and live your life to the fullest. If you'd like to join other purpose-driven Christian leaders, go right now to poweronplants.com forward slash PPN. That's for Peak Performance Network, our amazing community of like-minded leaders just like you. Once you're inside, share which strategy you tried first and gain even more ideas from others who share their time-saving tips on the inside. Again, that's poweronplants.com forward slash PPN. Remember we have loved spending time with you again today. Always remember that you are loved, you are prayed for, and we will see you again very soon.