Listen and subscribe to LILA on iTunes or Stitcher (Search for 3D LILA).
What LILA has been up to [00:57]
As part of her weight loss journey, LILA examines what she eats in a day. She admits that she is not on a specific diet but rather does what she thinks works best for her. Sometimes she skips breakfast. Seriously! She knows this goes against what all the experts say. Instead, LILA tries to pay attention to her hunger cues—if she isn’t hungry, then she’s not going to eat.
During the day, LILA makes every effort to eat “clean” and healthy. She eats lots of veggies, lean proteins, and experiments with vegan dishes. However, she confesses that afternoons bring the dreaded munchies and she tends to graze. LILA makes a conscious effort to choose foods that will both fuel and satiate her. She knows that a big part of weight loss to have a plan.
Conversation with Christopher from Plan to Eat [08:45]
This week, LILA chats with Christopher from Plan to Eat, an online menu planner that takes the hassle out of meal planning. Christopher says that the idea for his company came from its founders, Clint and Lisa. They were frustrated by the tedious task of making weekly meal plans on paper. Like many engineers, Clint thought there had to be an easier way. He created a software program to help them and Plan to Eat was born.
LILA is curious as to how the program works. Christopher explains that you can import a recipe that you like from a website or add in favorite family recipe. Once you’ve chosen your recipes, the app generates a shopping list. No more wasted money on purchasing unnecessary ingredients or unhealthy impulse items!
Program Features: scaling recipes and nutritional tools [18:23]
LILA’s concerned that as she’s not a family of four, she’d constantly be doing math to change the amount needed. Christopher explains that the app automatically changes the amount of ingredients as well as adjusts your shopping list as you change the servings needed.
LILA asks how Plan to Eat tabulates the nutritional content of the recipes. Christopher explains that as long as the recipe includes the nutritional information, the Plan to Eat app keeps a running total of all nutritional components.
Freezer Cooking [23:15]
Plan to Eat works well with freezer cooking too. Christopher says that many of their customers enjoy this method of bulk cooking because it saves both time and money. One day is spent shopping and cooking and the meals are put in the freezer to be eaten later. The program will even help to remind you when to thaw a meal.
Suburban homesteading [25:38]
A fun part of Christopher’s job is to do research and read recipe and lifestyle blogs. His favorite is Erica Strauss’ blog, Northwest Edible Life. It discusses her journey into suburban homesteading—the movement to reconnect with how our food is grown. Christopher and LILA agree on how satisfying it is to grow your own food.
Fun questions for Christopher
Favorite food: homemade whole grain bread
Favorite technology: Romertopf Clay Baker
Lessons this week [32:56]
Big news this week! LILA is excited to announce that she is speaking at the TED2016
conference in Vancouver! She will be debuting 3DLILA and sharing her journey. What an honor—LILA feels as if it’s a dream come true. Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, LILA hopes that you are enjoying your own LILA journey.
Significant Quotes
Christopher:
“We’re trying to help people find a tool to become more intentional about their eating.” [11:13]
“For those of us who have a large family, we know how dreadful the question of ‘what’s for dinner’ is.” [17:51]
“One of the cool things about meal planning….is that once you get into it and find that rhythm, you can actually plan for a week or two weeks or a month at a time.” [23:20]
LILA:
“If I’m given access to other foods, this is where things go a bit sideways…breads, pastries, etc.” [7:25]
“So this can then solve the age old problem…of sending your husband out to buy milk and bread.” [15:49]
“One of your jobs…is to troll mommy blogs and recipe blogs.” [25:42]
“Oh my god, I’m going to stand up in front of everybody and tell that I have an eating problem.” [33:33]
Links
Plan to Eat: https://www.plantoeat.com
Plan to Eat Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plantoeat/
Northwest Edible Life by Erica Strauss
Whole Grain Baking by Tabitha Alterman
L.I.L.A. - the Late in Life Athlete 
I am in love with Plan to Eat! I recently started my year membership which is so reasonable from all the others. I tried a lot of the free sites that ‘help’ with meal planning and I did not understand the basics, so when I came across Plan to Eat, I took advantage of the free 30 day trial. According to the website I have spent 6.5 hours on the website and menu planned 40 recipes! That is a lot for me! I hope you enjoy your experience at the TED and I can’t wait to hear about it!
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