Meal Plan and Prep

Do you struggle with your nutrition? Do you know that 80% of your results come from your nutrition? I can’t stress enough how important it is to learn how to plan and prep your meals for the week. Learning this has helped me be successful not only in losing my pregnancy weight but keeping it off. Sure there are many diets out there that work and get the weight off, but if you don’t make it a lifestyle change then the weight will come back. It’s about enjoying your favorites here and there but ultimately living a healthy life that you can easily maintain. I always say being prepared isn’t half the battle it is the entire battle!

I normally reserve late Saturday night or early Sunday morning for my meal planning. It usually takes me less than 20 minutes to meal plan, prepare my grocery list and devise my plan for the week. I am a creature of habit and I love my eggs for breakfast. I tend to eat the same breakfast everyday. For my morning snack I tend to always have an apple with 8 walnuts. The apple is a complex carb and the walnuts are a source of healthy fat.  Lunch varies for me. I usually eat left over’s from the night before or I make a salad with grilled chicken. My afternoon snack is almost always Shakeology. I tend to hit a dip in my energy level around 3pm. Shakeology has really helped me get through this time of day. It’s easy, tastes good and is equivalent to 6 salads in one meal. Dinner is usually an easy clean recipe. The key for dinners is to do the meal plan and prep on Sundays. That way when you get home and trying to decide what to eat it is a no brainer! You have the meal plan on the side of the fridge, you read it and prepare! This takes the guesswork out and the ability to throw your hands up and eat something that isn’t so healthy. 

Once I get back from the grocery store, I set aside the food I want to prep for the week. I usually prep my food during my kids nap and while my husband is watching football. This week my husband and kids helped me prep. The kids love to cook and my husband encourages it as he is guaranteed a home cooked meal every evening.

First thing I do is preheat the oven. Then I start my carbs, since they tend to take the longest to cook. I place steel cut oatmeal on the stove and brown rice in the steamer.  Once the oven is ready, I put a few chicken breast and 1-2 sweet potatoes in. Then, I start browning my ground turkey for the week. You can season it with a clean taco seasoning or any low sodium seasoning like Mrs. Dash. This week I will be using the ground turkey for a dinner recipe so I will not season it. Once I have the turkey cooking, then I start cleaning and chopping a few of my vegetables. This varies from week to week, but I always chop my onions so they are ready to go for any of my dinner recipes. Once everything is done cooking, I let it all cool. 

Then I use my 21-day fix portion size containers to portion out all my food into snack bags. Having my food portioned out in baggies has really helped me stay on track during those jammed pack weeks. I just grab and go!

You can totally do this! Your life will be changed and you will feel amazing when you feed your body proper nutrition. Make that small investment into your health every week and over time you will see big positive changes in your health. Just like if you were to deposit a penny into your bank account everyday. Today it may not seem like it is making a difference but overtime if you stay consistent it could compound into a million dollars. It’s those easy simple things that are easy to do but easy not to do that sets successful people apart and makes the greatest impact in their lives.

Do you want more help in planning out your meals and finding the right balance for you? If so, please contact me about my next challenge/accountability group and I will be glad to give you information as to whether or not it would be a good fit for you!