You’ve seen her on Orange Is the New Black and That 70s Show, but now actress Laura Prepon is making a name for herself in a whole new arena — nutrition. With the release of her book The Stash Plan, Prepon and co-author Elizabeth Troy, R.D., aim to make healthy eating and meal prep accessible to everyone. “The first thing I teach my friends is kitchen confidence,” Prepon says. “Anybody can cook. If you can boil water and you have a pot, you can cook.”
Healthy eating didn’t always come so easy to Prepon, who spent much of her 20s struggling with weight gain, digestive issues and fatigue. “I was the queen of crash diets,” says Prepon, a recent guest on Daily Burn 365 (catch the complete show here). She’d tried everything from veganism to the cabbage soup cleanse — and before her first day shooting Orange Is the New Black, she writes, “I think I starved myself for a full 40 hours.”
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Laura Prepon’s Meal Prep Plan
Long days on TV sets meant Prepon mastered the art of meal prepping early in her career. But it wasn’t until she met Troy — a nutritionist, yoga instructor and practitioner of Chinese Meridian Theory — that she found a way of eating that worked for her. Troy’s philosophy focused on the idea of eating and exercising in a way that support your liver and gallbladder. “The two organs responsible for burning fat and detoxing the body are the liver and gallbladder,” Prepon says. “…Once you go on The Stash Plan, you start healing and you start getting these organs to functioning properly.”
The gist of the plan: Meal prep so that you can eat minimally processed, organic, non-GMO foods 80 percent of the time. “We teach you to stash at home and bring your food with you so you’re in control of what you’re eating and how it’s going to make you feel,” Prepon says. “Eighty percent of the time you should be on your stash and know that you’re going to feel good and be healing yourself from the inside out.”
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You won’t be stuck in the kitchen all day, every day, with Prepon’s method, either. You’ll meal prep two days a week — on Sundays and Wednesdays — and have enough food to, yup, stash, for the rest of the time. Meal plans focus on a well-rounded mix of protein, carbohydrates (like brown rice and sweet potatoes) and vegetables. The Stash Plan contains complete meal plans and recipes for savory dishes like “No-Bull” Bison Patties, Garlic-Roasted Beets, Herb roasted Sweet Potato Home Fries.
Another important component of the plan: Consuming bone broth on the regular. Prepon says if she could only bring one food with her to prison, it would be, “Bone broth, hands down.”
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You won’t find any hardcore HIIT workouts associated with this diet, either. For exercise, Prepon and Troy advocate 20 minutes of Troy’s Stretching Muscle Meridian Method per day (detailed in the book), combined with light cardio like running, biking or walking. Stick with the plan and 21-days later, Prepon says, “You actually have energy and you’ll [feel] healthy and vibrant.”
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The post The Stash Plan: How to Meal Prep Like Laura Prepon appeared first on Life by Daily Burn.