The first year of college is notoriously tricky, especially when it comes to healthy eating. For Lee's Summit native Dylan Watson, nutrition was essential as both a member of the University of Missouri's Golden Girls dance squad and due to her gluten intolerance. When her roommates started to notice her hauling her pots, pans, and groceries to the dorm kitchen every Sunday to prep meals for the week, they asked for the recipes. Then she started sharing her routine on Instagram, which drew even more attention.
Realizing there was a real need for guidance on staying healthy in college, Watson compiled her recipes and advice into "Dylan's Wellness Bible: The Guide to College Eating". The book includes more than 50 simple, tasty recipes that are protein-packed, gluten-free, and low in calories. There are also dorm-friendly meal prep hacks, printable grocery lists, weekly planners, and self-care tips.
Watson says, "The response was so positive, not just from students but from people of all ages—my grandma, aunts, and brothers all use it now. The recipes are fun, simple, and based on whole foods, making them adaptable for any lifestyle."
Since middle school, Watson has dealt with gluten intolerance. She tested negative for celiac disease, but the pain and discomfort she felt after eating gluten were enough to avoid it. In her senior year of high school, Watson started paying attention to her overall nutrition and fitness. Along with her dancing, she began lifting weights with a personal trainer and working with a nutritionist.
She says, "I've learned that how I fuel my body affects not just my physical health but also my mind and overall well-being."
Now a sophomore at MU majoring in textile and apparel management, Watson's schedule is packed with classes, dance practices, and activities with her sorority and church. She's also a social media manager for a local retail shop and for her own accounts. Add to that her fitness goals of 10,000 steps a day and a weight training routine, plus taking time out for her overall well-being by journaling every morning, meditating and centering herself, and nourishing her spirit.
With such a busy life, it's easy to understand why Watson's meal prep planning is so important. Sundays serve as her designated day for personal organization and preparation for the upcoming week. She begins by attending church services, followed by grocery shopping and meal preparation. She also handles household tasks, such as laundry, and plans her weekly schedule.
Watson's meal prep takes about two hours. Instead of making the same one or two meals to eat every day, she cooks up various ingredients, mixing and matching them into multiple dishes. For example, she cuts up veggies and roasts some, such as Brussels sprouts and green beans. For proteins, she makes mini turkey burgers, chicken meatballs, and shrimp. She also makes a tray of veggie egg white bites (recipe in the book).
Once finished, Watson portions the results into small plastic bags and then groups them into meals in larger zippered bags. Then everything goes into her mini refrigerator (or if she's home for the weekend, into a cooler for the drive to Columbia) and she's ready for the week.
Her grocery haul also includes yogurt, frozen fruit, protein bars, and a salad box of spring mix or spinach and arugula. She keeps some raw veggies and apples on hand for snacks. She also has protein snacks that are easy to grab and go, like her favorite protein powder to throw in a shaker bottle or a protein bar.
Watson wanted her book to go beyond food, recipes, and nutrition to include other key components of her lifestyle. She explains, "It's not just a cookbook. It's literally everything that I use daily to nourish my mind, body, and soul. Because one is nothing without the other. It's important not just to be feeding yourself the right foods, but to do the things you know make you feel whole and healthy throughout the week. If you have that firm foundation for yourself, it will lead you on the path to a sustainable lifestyle that you can fall in love with, versus just making sure you're hitting your calorie or protein goal for the day."
"Dylan's Wellness Bible" is available in spiral-bound hard copy and as a digital eBook. To order, go to stan.store/DylanOlivia. You can also order a 7-Day Glow-Up Meal Plan .pdf with a week's worth of high-protein, gluten-free, dorm-ready meals planned by day, with a grocery list included.