Meal Planning and a Challenge!

The best thing you can do when making healthy choices is to be prepared! I honestly don't do this prep enough, and I am trying harder to get organized when it comes to eating. This past Sunday, I spent time getting all my goodies in order to set us up for a healthy week. Here are some tips for meal planning:

Grocery Lists

Did I mentioned I have OCD? Oh, and I use to be an English teacher, so I like my drafts and final copies of my grocery list :) I use my planner to make my meal list - I like to see what events we have each day and determine our meals by these plans. For example, on the days my son has Tae Kwon Do in the evenings, we keep it simple. If we are all home with nothing on the agenda, I may make something bigger and more involved.

Lately, I make one recipe-driven meal a week then buy our staples. Our staples include eggs, ground turkey, chicken breasts, almond milk, deli meat, fresh fruits, and veggies. It makes the grocery bill cheaper too when I am not buying outrageous ingredients I will only use on one meal.

This week, we had grilled some fajitas with all of the fixings. We have plenty of grilled chicken left so it will be great on salads or in a taco with warm corn tortillas.

I then take a look at my meal plan and list all I need for the week. Since I go to the grocery store with two crazy kids, I need to get in and out without tantrums and items thrown from the shelves. Because of this craziness, I like to list my items by the map of the store #OCDprobs. I can navigate easier and don't have to turn around over and over to get what we need.

Meal Prep Made Easy

Sundays are my days to map out our food. This time, we cooked ground turkey (mixed with minced garlic and onions), put some pork on the smoker, baked some sweet potatoes, and boiled some eggs. I then placed it all in individual containers. For example, for lunch I will have half a sweet potato, turkey, and some brown rice. For dinner, we will do a veggie and a protein (maybe the pork or chicken).

Via

I also cut and wash fruit so it can be accessible for my shakes and for a quick snack. I just grab it all freshly washed and put it in our shakes or toss some to the kids!

Relax and Enjoy

I feel less tempted to grab some chips or cookies when I have all the food ready at my fingertips. And, it makes dinner time less chaotic when I am reheating what we've prepared.  I will take it out and make portions for us then warm in the oven. Easy stuff!

The 21 Day Fix is another great program that takes the guessing out of the portioning. In fact, we are about to start a summer challenge with this great program. It's the first workout I used after baby, and I credit this program with getting me going on this journey.

Right now, we are enrolling for our BACK TO SCHOOL challenge with the 21 Day Fix (or Fix Extreme). We are looking for teachers who are ready to take care of themselves before the busy school year starts. Can I help you get your school year off to the right track?? Contact me! 

Happy Wednesday!