So, in light of my consuming zero Girl Scout cookies today, I feel as though I've earned my place in the arena of healthy living. Why not take it one step further and talk about meal planning/prep?
That's right folks! I'm (sort of) back at it!
You may have noticed my subtle humblebragging in my pregnancy posts lately about eating healthier. While this definitely hasn't been the case for the majority of my pregnancy so far, I'm a little excited to no longer feel the urge to vomit at the sight of anything other than Taco Bell. I'd be lying if I said I haven't felt guilty for not eating healthier, but there were some days where the only thing I could get down was something greasy. Or, Girl Scout cookies. And when you're eating for two, I think any food is better than no food at all. I also have to say that, by no means, am I eating perfectly right now. [See previous post.] But again, I'm just happy to be eating healthier the majority of the time.
If you're like me, healthy eating begins with meal prep. Seriously, any week that doesn't begin with meal prep is a total shit show food-wise. When I first started, my goal was to keep it as simple as possible. So I planned [literally created a Google calendar called "Meals"] to have the same thing for breakfast, the same thing for lunches, and the same thing for dinners, with varying snacks in between. Umm. That didn't last at all. I know people that can have the exact same thing for lunch every day and never get tired of it. I am SO not one of those people. It took me about a year, but I think I finally have somewhat of a system down of using the same main ingredients for varying meals. HUGE shout out to my awesome Beachbody coach for all of her amazing recipe and meal prep ideas!
I should also mention that the meal plan I try to stick with is the 21 Day Fix meal plan. For my calorie bracket, I get three Greens (veggies), two Purples (fruits), four Reds (proteins), two Yellows (carbs), one Blue (nuts/dairy), one Orange (seeds/fats), and two oils. Also, I love the Shakeology drinks, but do not always use them. If I do, that counts as a Red, so if I don't, then I just have to have a fourth Red. Below are some examples of what I eat for my meals.
Breakfast
2 eggs, fruit (usually blueberries, a banana, or 2 Cuties)
Cut up (beef or turkey) sausage and mixed veggies (see below)
Sweet Potato Hash (I love this so much, so I usually eat this for both Yellows.)
Steel cut oats
Greek yogurt
Cottage cheese
Lunch
Burrito bowl (brown rice, shredded chicken, + whatever veggies I'm still allowed for the day)
Shredded chicken with hot sauce + a veggies (usually 3 small tomatoes)
3 pm snack
Celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins (My absolute fav & yes, I feel 5 when I eat it!)
Sargento snack packs
Dinner
Usually by this point I've used up my two Yellows, but if I haven't I'll have sweet potatoes or brown rice with whatever I'm having.
Steak bites + veggies (usually brussel sprouts, broccoli, or mixed veggies)
Chicken breast + veggies
Meatballs + veggies
Some of the recipes I use are below.
Some of the recipes I use are below.
One pan chicken dinner. Recipe found here.
This week I made buffalo shredded chicken that I took for lunch each day (Thank you, Allie Darr for this recipe!), but I alternated it between just eating the chicken and eating it on tortilla chips. SO. Good.
First I baked the chicken in the oven. Once it was done, I used two forks to shred it. A mixer would probably work too, but using two forks provides my arm workout for the day. I make one pound of chicken, so then I add one 5 oz. cup of plain Greek yogurt, mix it up. Then I add hot sauce to my liking. Mix it all up and put it in a container for the week. Each day when I take it for lunch, whether I eat it alone or on tortilla chips, I add a little more hot sauce on top. Mama likes it spicey! When I'm not pregnant, I also put a bit of Feta on top.
The mixed veggies that I make are probably my fav way to get my veggies in for the day! At the beginning of the week, I cut up all the onion, zucchini, and squash and put them in gallon-size Ziploc bags. Then, when I'm ready to make them, I just heat up a skillet with extra virgin olive oil in it and, once it's hot, I dump my veggies in. I usually put a tiny big of salt, pepper, and garlic salt in there, but sometimes I forget [imagine that] and it's just as tasty! Saute everything and it takes about 5 min tops! So yummy!
Target has these awesome packs of little steaks that are the perfect size for one Red container. They come in 4 or 8 packs, so I usually get an 8-pack for the week. I cut them into little strips, season, and saute in the skillet as well. Again, about 5 min tops (or until the steak is done)!
The last and most recent thing I've added into our rotation is meatballs (Another Allie Darr recipe!). I take a lb. of ground beef, a lb. of ground pork, a heaping teaspoon of minced garlic and put it in a bowl. I put some seasonings in there (salt, pepper, garlic salt, basil), and mix it with my hands. Once it's all mixed up, I shape out half-dollar-sized meatballs and put them on a cookie sheet. I cook them for ~25 minutes on 400. Once the meatballs are done, I pour a can of marinara sauce over them and mix. The hot balls [pun 100% intended] warm up the sauce. And they're done! I love these because I'll eat about 3 for my Red serving, but then I'll make some noodles too and Aurora will eat these with spaghetti. Another super easy, quick dinner! When you get home at ~6 pm, the last thing you want to do is take another hour to make a healthy dinner. If we have meals that will take a bit longer to make, I try to plan those on a Sunday night or a night that Jose has off and he usually has it ready by the time I get home. Teamwork!
Oh, and one recipe I cannot leave out is these delicious mini pizzas! It's the first recipe listed. Pizza - on a meal plan!? Count me in!
I know this has been a popular topic on my Facebook feed lately, what with New Year resolutions 'n all, so hopefully this will help you out with that! That is, until you're faced with Girl Scout cookies. Then, you're on your own! ;)
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