How to cook Healthy Meals and never run out of ideas.

don't let anyone tell you otherwise but there actually are countless reasons why it is really freaking hard to consistently cook and eat healthy meals but learning how can change your life at least it changed mine so in today's video I want to share a cooking framework that will help you create cheap and healthy meals without ever running out of ideas or inspiration then we'll put that framework to practice by making three different meals and I'll have the macronutrient breakdown for each one but first a quick story time to prove that this stuff really can change your life this is me at 17 years old and 240 pounds and it was the heaviest I ever weighed and I'd love to say it was a quick turnaround but that was not the case at all in fact it took me the better part of 10 years for me to lose 80 pounds and get in the best shape of my life at 160 pounds now there's a lot more to that story but most of this success is due to me learning how to cook a variety of meals that meet my nutrition National needs now in the past 10 to 12 months I've not been prioritizing my health and fitness nearly as much I've been traveling I moved three times I've just been a little bit stressed and have struggled to get into a routine so right now I'm kind of sitting in the mid to high 170s but I'm still miles ahead of where I was at 17 and that's just how life goes sometimes but over the next three months my plan is to lose 10 to 15 pounds using the framework that I'm going to teach you today so let's break it down the four steps of this framework are simple one learn a seasoning technique two apply it to a lean protein Source three serve it in a form factor and fourth add condiments and toppings now when you dive into these simple steps it transforms into an entire network of recipes all stemming from learning a single seasoning technique and this framework solves the big problem that I have with how we are taught to learn cooking and that is we get overly focused on singular recipes for example we get caught up in needing the exact ingredients listed following the steps exactly without any regard for the bigger picture of how this recipe works and the premise for this framework is that you learn a single seasoning technique from a recipe but then that seasoning technique can be applied with several different flavor profiles those flavor profiles can be applied to several different lean proteins those flavored proteins can be served in many different form factors and finally those form factors can have several different condiment garnish and topping combinations and you end up with this entire tree of meals all from learning a single seasoning technique now in this video I've got three seasoning techniques that I've been loving lately so let's walk through meal number one which is a blackened chicken Snack Wrap so the top of the tree starts with the seasoning technique and the goal with this is to learn the basic cooking components this is not about making a traditional or authentic version or anything it's much more General and every time I look at a recipe I ask myself from a cooking perspective what is the basic premise of this seasoning technique for example if you look at blackened chicken or blackened fish the basic premise is to create a crust on a protein with a spice mix but for purposes of this video really what makes it special is that spice mix can be changed to any spice mix that you happen to have bought or want to make for this one I made a simple version with 12 grams of smoked paprika three grams of cayenne pepper two grams of thyme and 5 grams of onion powder now that I have this spice mix I can use it multiple times frames per week on a variety of different lean proteins but again there are no rules here so maybe you start with a more traditional blackening spice but then maybe you just use a store-bought sometimes maybe you take spices that are typically used in tikka masala recipe and make a little spice mix out of it for your chicken shrimp or fish now you can use any type of lean protein tofu or plant-based alternative I just used a pack of chicken breasts for all three recipes in this video for the blackened chicken I first thinned out the breast with a knife so it Cooks a little bit more evenly and quickly once thinned out I added a Sprinkle of salt to both sides and optionally you can let this rest in the fridge overnight once ready to Blacken and cook liberally sprinkle that spice mix over both sides and really do not hold back here now when ready to cook set a frying pan over medium-high heat with 6 grams of oil and I like to get it to about 385 degrees Fahrenheit and then drop in that chicken and again the goal with blackening is to get that spice mix to form into a crust on the chicken and basically you want to take this right on the edge to this kind of looks burnt but it's actually not and many recipes will sear and then throw the whole thing in the oven but for ease of use I like to finish this right in the pan now while the chicken continues to cook let me tell you about the pan I'm using from today's sponsor made in so this is the carbon steel frying pan from made in and I think what I like most about this pan is its unmatched versatility for example once you build up that seasoning it creates an almost non-stick surface that can be used for eggs or other delicate proteins but it also holds heat extremely well for a hard sear on a steak or making your favorite pan sauce not to mention you can throw this pan into the oven so if you're running into the issue where the inside of the chicken is not done but the crust is getting too dark you could just toss the whole thing into the oven so if you want to pick up this pan or any of maiden's amazing cookware you can head to the link below to get 10 off your order and you'll actually see me using maiden's carbon steel Wok in recipe number two and the carbon steel griddle in recipe number three and thank you again to made in for sponsoring this video but now let's finish the chicken and talk about those last two steps of the framework so when flipping the chicken over I do like to add three more grams of oil to help this year and in total I only use nine grams of oil here you definitely do not need to go crazy to get a nice crust and make juicy chicken lastly I like to pull the chicken breast off when it hits 155 degrees Fahrenheit so it doesn't dry out and then let it rest for a minute or two on The Cutting Board before slicing it up and this stuff is absolutely beautifully juicy and so flavorful and now that we have this chicken steps three and four are really simple so expanding on step three there are countless ways that this blackened chicken can be served and some shortlisted ones are a salad a sandwich Taco Burrito over rice or with a pasta and this time around I decided to make a snack wrap with some flour tortillas now expanding on the toppings and condiments in step four I made a high protein yogurt sauce which was 100 grams of non-fat Greek yogurt 100 grams of low-fat sour cream the juice from 1 4 of 11 a big spoonful of dried dill a spoonful of fresh Cracked Pepper and salt before mixing that up then I just assembled the wrap with the chicken pickled onions lettuce and tomatoes and some of that sauce and you have a delicious meal that all was started from learning about the blackening technique these right here hit the spot I've calculated the macros for you on the screen but if I had to guess somewhere between 200 250ish um so no you could make a bunch of these and have them as like snacks in the fridge or use it as like a full meal and just have a couple of them but for this one the seasoning technique and I heard he ate the rest of the chicken because I was I was really hungry um is that blackening technique which again you can do with any type of spice mix you want to you know you can do like a classic Cajun one I kind of just did one randomly today um I'll mix it up all the time but use this technique quite a lot during the week and then if you can pair it with you know we made like kind of an Herby Dill yogurt sauce this works really well and then this can instantly be turned into sandwiches salads um I could have put the chicken over rice over pasta so many different things but really the key is learning the seasoning technique applying it to a leaner type protein and there you go but with that being said I'm gonna finish this and let's move on to seasoning technique number two seasoning technique number two is the stir fry sauce which again let's start with the basic cooking premise which for stir-fry sauce all you're trying to do is coat stir-fry proteins and vegetables in a salty spicy sweet and Umami sauce now you could just buy a Teriyaki or pad thai sauce at the store or you can create a custom one like I did before again choosing your Leaf protein your form factor and maybe add a little chili crisp as a condiment and I will say if you aren't using shishito peppers in your stir-fry this recipe is going to want to make you it's one of my favorite vegetables I've been using lately pour the stir-fry sauce I chopped up a bunch of leftover lemongrass that I had bought a week ago and then did the same with a knob of Ginger I set a pan over medium heat and added 10 grams of oil once that's hot I toss in the ginger and lemongrass and let that saute for about two minutes during which those flavor molecules will be released into the oil allowing it to spread throughout the sauce once sauteed I added 100 grams of hoisin sauce 100 grams of Chinese black vinegar and 30 grams of soy sauce and a pro tip for quick measuring without dirty and extra discs is just to use your scale while you pour it into the pan I let this mixture simmer for seven minutes until it thickens slightly lastly set a strainer over a jar and just pour in the sauce and you could keep the ginger and lemongrass in if you want but it will store longer in the fridge without and we've already infused a ton of those fresh flavors into the sauce then once you have this guy in your fridge all that's left to do is just prep some Vegetables and protein first I got about a third pound of shishito peppers and removed the tops before slicing them in half diagonally for more manageable pieces next I thinly slice one large clove of garlic and lastly grabbed out some chicken for this I cut the breast into strips before cutting them into smaller size pieces roughly the same size as the peppers and then once those were cut up I added a Sprinkle of salt and that's all you need so let's head to the stove [Music] set a wok over high heat and add 7 grams of oil and once that is ripping hot add The Salted chicken and let that cook for about three to four minutes once the chicken is just cooked through add seven more grams of oil and toss in the sliced garlic as well as those peppers then stir fry everything for four to six more minutes until some nice Browning has developed and then lastly just add the stir-fry sauce I found 15 grams was plenty to make it flavorful but of course you can add more if you like now to serve this I added a half cup of cooked rice to a bowl then tossed on the chicken and peppers followed by a Sprinkle of sesame seeds and the chilies from chili crisp for Just a Touch of Spice absolutely delicious again make a stir fry sauce or just buy a stir-fry sauce there's a bunch out there now Teriyaki you can do spicy ones sweet ones I happen to have some lemongrass that I bought like a week ago so decided to use that and this is really really good and now I can use this for the rest of the week I want to it'll last a long time in the fridge in addition to that blackening spice as well so that's kind of how you stack everything together and you can start turning this into tons and tons of meals and also shishito Peppers highly recommend for a stir fry option but anyway let's move on to seasoning technique number three which might be one of my favorites so marinating a protein before you cook works well but for weeknights I think you'll have a lot more fun marinating your protein after it's done cooking and again the basic premise here is to apply a fatty and acidic liquid flavored with herbs and spices to a cooked protein for this I made a very simple marinade with 50 grams of olive oil 50 grams of vinegar and then added the spices which were a big spoonful of zatar mix a spoonful of oregano and a spoonful of red pepper flake before mixing that up and that's all it takes to create a really flavorful sauce to spoon over a cooked protein and again by thinking in simple cooking terms of flavoring a fatty and acidic liquid you can make a roasted garlic base marinated or maybe you take the flavors from a recipe like Dan Dan noodles or a jerk chicken seasoning Now to create this into a meal I made a warm chicken pasta salad which I find truly addictive for this I chopped up a bunch of vegetables like red onion tomato some arugula and pickled peppers and then just toss them into a big salad bowl next I added half of that marinated chicken some cooked pasta and some garbanzo beans for tossing everything together with some Parmesan shavings and this is another super delicious meal that really all stems from that base technique that can be turned into a variety of dishes depending on what you have on hand this marinade absolutely delicious first time I've ever made it again that's the beauty of learning these seasoning techniques we have a new stir fry sauce we have a new marinade that we can use on all sorts of things we have blackening spice and you could try one of these out like one per week and then once you get tired of it then you can shift to a different protein shift to a different form factor do pasta salad sandwiches whatever you want and hopefully you guys have enjoyed the video um macros are included for all these recipes and then these will be up on my website as well if you do want to follow like these exact versions but like I said pay attention to the framework use it to best make healthy foods that work for you and your lifestyle but that will wrap it up for me in this one I will catch you all in the next one peace y'all

Channel: Ethan Chlebowski

Views: 1,384,461

Keywords: Ethan Chlebowski, healthy meals, meal prep, how to cook healthy, weight loss, how to eat healthy, healthy meals ideas, healthy recipes, ethan chlebowski burrito, healthy lunch ideas, what i eat in a day, healthy meal plan, healthy meal ideas, healthy recipes for weight loss, healthy meals for dinner, healthy meals for college students, healthy meals recipes, healthy lunch ideas easy, meal prep manual, meal prep chicken

Id: c1EpTfvPc84

Length: 14min 27sec (867 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 15 2023