Chungah Rhee - Damn delicious meal prep : 115 easy recipes for low-calorie, high-energy living

This cookbook started as a question: Could I live to eat and eat to live well?

Two years ago, I was 30 pounds overweight. I was exhaustedburned out, really. I was working too much, eating too much, stressing too much. I was every-thing too much. I had a booming and successful food blog that I was proud of, and I was cooking new recipes and posting five times per week. Every single day, I was surrounded by food, and I was surrounded by work, and I didnt know how to balance either of them.

I grew up in a traditional Korean household, where hard work is king. My parents immigrated to the U.S. before I was born, and like any other first-gen American kid, I grew up totally in love with all things American. The more all-American something was, the more I wanted it. (Yes, even if it was actually worse than the Korean version!) My mom would cook amazing Korean food every day, but Id get most excited when shed surprise us with her version of baked ziti. Shed use rotini noodles, jarred spaghetti sauce, and a big ball of mozzarella that shed slice into rounds to top the pasta. I remember watching her gently sawing through the soft cheese, eyes at countertop height, hoping desperately that shed shred off a little piece to give to me.

Food was always a big deal in our house, and we had no boundaries with it at all. One night wed have samgyetang, and the next wed pick up cheeseburgers and Animal Style fries from In-N-Out. But even though food was a big deal to us, there was something even more important: hard work. From an early age, my parents made it clear to me that I would be going to medical school as soon as I graduated from college, and so, after high school, I dutifully enrolled at UCLA and started my pre-med classes. Every night, Id come home exhausted from class and bake something, anything, to de-stress from the day. I was totally that person who wouldnt eat until theyd photographed the food and sent it around to everyone they knew. (And back then, that was definitely not a full-time job!)

Eventually, the nagging feeling that I didnt like medicine won out, and I realized I just couldnt go through with it. So I looked for something that would still lead to a secure job and that wouldnt disappoint my parents too much: thats how I ended up with a masters in public health.

Around that time a friend (who was most definitely tired of my endless food photo texts) suggested I start a blog to document what I was cooking. I didnt really have the time with my busy class schedule, but I figured if I worked just a little bit harder during the day, I could make some time at night to post a new recipe. I posted my first recipe in 2011, and today, Damn Delicious is a $1.5 million business.

I know that sounds shiny and easy, but in this book, I want to get realreally reallyand show my readers that behind every successful American Dream is a story of hard work and sacrifice. And I wont lie, it was hard. Food blogging isnt exactly an acceptable profession to your typical Korean mom. My parents thought I was nuts and that I was throwing away an opportunity to have a real job in public health. On top of that, I was working 80-hour weeks building the blog, usually working alone late into the night on weekends and holidays when everyone else was out having fun.

But I had really achieved the American DreamI was a successful entrepreneur; I was passionate about my work; I set my own hours and worked for myself; I bought my first home in 2016; and I began traveling as much as I could. Yet, along the way, Id also achieved something else: the American physique.

I was overweight, often sick, always exhausted, and worst of all, despairing that I could ever get control of my eating habits.

As the site grew, I hired my first employee, then another and another, and I finally felt like I was getting back some of my time and mental energy for my health. But after a grueling day of work, I was so wiped out and so set in bad habits that I didnt know what to do but order takeout. Or I would just graze all day until I had no idea what Id eaten and why.

But I wanted desperately to change my eating habits. Which, let me tell you, is not easy when youre surrounded by damn delicious food all day. Its literally my job to cook and eat all day. I knew I needed a game plan that would set me up for success, but I had zero ideas as to where to start. So what was really the best way to get me back on track?

Easy. Meal prep.

MASON JAR CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD ()

Welcome to
MEAL PREP

What Is
MEAL PREP?

Meal prep is the secret weapon of all those effortlessly fit celebrities who roam around LAits what many of the top private chefs do to keep their clients on track and happy.

Meal prep makes it easy to have a perfectly portioned, low-calorie, whole food meal at your fingertips anytime. By meal prepping on the weekends and dividing meals into just-right, calorie-controlled portions, its just as easy to grab your prepped Korean bibimbap bowl on a busy weeknight as it is to grab a store-bought, sodium-laden version or a take-out, high-calorie version.