Motel Meals: Easy Recipes for a Tired Planter
Tree planting is tiring work, and sometimes, finding the grit to wake up every morning to keep going can be challenging. Even if you manage to get out to work every day with no problem, maintaining a consistently high output can be a challenge as your muscle fatigue sets in throughout the days, weeks, and months. On top of implementing a training regimen using our free guide, a huge component to keeping high energy levels throughout the day is through your diet. As the old adage says, “Garbage in, garbage out!” - If you aren’t eating enough food or aren’t eating the right foods, your energy levels could peak and valley with your blood sugar levels which could reduce your work output (and with that, your paycheque!). Contrastly, if you eat a well-balanced diet with enough high-quality nutrients to fuel you for the whole day, then you give yourself a better shot at maintaining the highest possible output that you can, and maximizing what you bring home each week. That said, we understand that preparing meals every day can be time-consuming, and ensuring a healthy diet can be hard. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of tips for eating well as a planter, as well as some delicious and healthy recipes for you to make and eat like royalty from the comfort of your motel room:
Tips:
1: Learn to Meal Prep
One of the reasons that eating well as a planter is difficult is the time and effort it takes to cook healthy meals each day. We get it… You don’t always have time after work to plan your meals, go grocery shopping, and cook each day. Even if you do, you may only have the energy to cook something that is quick and easy but could be unhealthy. That’s what makes meal prep so important; it allows you to eat healthy meals at the ready, with way less prep time each day. The concept is simple: Rather than just cooking enough for your dinner for that night, try making enough for dinner, as well as a few more meals over the next few days. That way, if you wanted, you could reduce your time spent cooking from seven days/week to three, four, or even fewer if that’s what you’re going for. Consider yourself warned, though - Some meals will stay fresh better than others, so make sure that you are able to eat all of what you make within the time that you plan. Some meals will still be fine to eat after a week, but some will spoil in a couple of days, so make sure you know what time commitments you’re signing up for before you cook up your month supply of Spaghetti with cream sauce!
Stove-Top Chicken Breasts
Ovens can be hard to find in a motel. This chicken recipe has all of the flavour and juciness of an oven-baked chicken breast, without actually needing an oven. Bulk-cook these bad boys and pair it with a side and you’re set!
One Pan Mexican Quinoa (Vegetarian)
This easy meal is filling yet light and has all of the components of a healthy meal all in one. It’s full of protein, fibre, and vitamins, and will leave you feeling surprisingly full. Plus, the entire thing can be made in one pan in about 30 min, making it perfect for motel settings!
2: Not All Calories are Created Equal
Calories are a unit of measurement, not an end-all-be-all of making food decisions. Depending on what a calorie is comprised of, it will behave differently when fueling your body throughout the day. If that still doesn’t make sense, picture this: Imagine how much easier it is to run a kilometer on asphalt compared to running a kilometer on the sand. Although you’re running the same distance in both cases, you’re probably going to be way more tired after your run on sand. The exact same thing applies to calories. Although a calorie’s worth of frosted flakes is the same as a calorie’s worth of chickpeas, the two foods will leave you feeling full for different amounts of time. As a (general) rule of thumb, foods with more simple or refined sugars will leave you feeling less full over time than more complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. That’s why you may feel hungry 30 minutes after eating 2000 calories of gummy worms, but will feel full for hours after eating 650 calories of avocado toast and poached eggs. Refined sugars are easier for your body to break down, making them great for short bursts of energy, but worse for feeling full for a long time (sugar rush/sugar crash). Instead, the top foods for feeling full are ones where the ingredients are more complex to break down, such as proteins, fiber, or healthy fats. Even swapping white bread for whole wheat or 12 grain will provide more complex carbohydrates that break down slower, which can make a pretty significant difference over the course of a day, especially with the exertion that planters have to do on a daily basis.
Tip 3: Your Slow Cooker is Your New Best Friend
You may know slow cookers by their brand name, Crock-Pot. These fantastic cook pots work by heating a sealed container, which produces steam and builds slight pressure, cooking the food at a low heat for an extended period of time. The resulting meal will be incredibly juicy and tender since no water can evaporate out. This is not to be confused with a pressure cooker, however - Pressure cookers work by building high pressure and heat in the container, which helps to cook the food far quicker than a slow cooker (hence the name). Although the slow cooking speed may seem like a curse, when used strategically, it can be more of a blessing. The slow cooking speeds mean that all you have to do is load it up with whatever you want and turn it on. After than, you can then leave it and go about your day until it is finished (with some exceptions that involve sturring or adding foods, etc.). Some recipes will call for 1-3 hours of cook time, however you can easily find some that are for 6-8+ hours. That means that you could load it up in the morning and turn it on before work, then come back to a fully cooked meal. Some slow cookers even have self-timers that allow you to program start and stop times for a meal, in case that’s something you’re looking for. Many of you may have alarm bells blaring in your head screaming “FIRE HAZARD FIRE HAZARD FIRE HAZARD!” While we would typically agree that you shouldn’t leave appliances unattended when in use, according to Crock-Pot itself, as long as the device is used properly and safely, it can be left unattended. The device draws very little power and delivers little heat, making it safe to use when you aren’t around. With that said, exercise healthy caution and don’t do anything that you personally feel is unsafe. Make sure that your slow cooker is working properly and that you’re using it safely. Some tips that Crock-Pot provides are to avoid water near the electrical cord, and ensure that the cord isn’t able to touch the hot sidewalls of the cooker. If you are able to do those things, then according to Crock-Pot, you should be fine!
Avocado & Tomato Salad
Chili is a delicious and easy way to get the nourishment you need after a long day. This particular recipe takes roughly 6.5 hours to cook, making it perfect for busy weekends. Plus if you grab one with a timer, you could even do it on a weekday, and come back from work to a fully cooked meal.
Not all of these tips will be 100% right for everyone, and we recommend that you do your own research, consult your doctor for tips if necessary, and ultimately do what feels right for your body. If there is one takeaway that can be made from this article, it should be that although maintaining a healthy diet as a planter can be slightly more complicated than other jobs, with some proper planning, eating right shouldn’t be too hard. Pair that with some of the tips that we outlined here, and you’ll be the best-fed planter on the block!
