I have had many people come to me and say “Jen how do you plan ahead”, “how can I prep my meals in a simple way”. Well….THIS is what I do literally EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY to keep me on track. If I don’t, I do exactly what everyone does when rushing and that is grabbing at snacks because we are so hungry at this point that prepping just seems too far away and too much work. Ordering take out, grabbing that extra slice of pizza when we know we shouldn’t, finishing off our child’s place (those damn nuggets), etc. Should I keep going?
If you prep you have it right there at your fingertips. THIS is the time of year where we either eat the wrong foods OR we hardly eat at all because we are rushing. The foods that I prepare are all foods that are easy to prepare, easy to make while I’m at home rushing OR easy to store to eat on the run with zero excuses!!
Do you have to follow my list and my recipes and what I do? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! This is just a guide to show you what I do. Feel free to take this, prepare your own foods and ideas and get planning for a successful week!
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So first thing's first….FIND THE FOODS YOU LIKE!!
Meats
Fruits
Veggies
Snacks
Healthy Fats
Carbohydrates
For example...THIS is MY shopping list that I make for my prep on every Sunday!
Boneless Chicken
Salmon Filets
Hard Boiled Eggs
Ground Turkey
Almonds
Sunflower Seeds
Lettuce
Avocados
Asparagus
Yellow and Green Squash
Sweet potatoes
Strawberries
Mushrooms
Feta Cheese
Turkey Bacon
Plain Greek Yogurt
Romaine Lettuce Leaves
Lettuce
As I mentioned above….do you have to have the same list? NOPE….CREATE YOUR OWN! THESE are my favs and I know I can make a few things out of them, spread them across the week and NOT fall off track. There are many times I am running all over during the day, so...before I leave, I pack a small back OR throw a bunch of the foods prepped from Sunday in my purse so that I don’t fall off track OR...worse case scenario, come home soooo hungry I snack on just about anything because I don’t have the patience to wait while I prep food.
**NOW what do I do with the foods I bought? SUNDAY PREP!
Cook the boneless chicken breasts in coconut oil, a little salt, pepper and garlic
Steam all the veggies
Steam the sweet potatoes so you can make mashed sweet potatoes
Take about 3 or 4 other sweet potatoes, peel them, cut them up, place them on a cookie sheet and bake them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper
Hard boil the eggs and place to the side
Cook my salmon filets in a little bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, parsley, salt and pepper and garlic.
Cut up my lettuce and any toppings I would want added to my salad and put it aside in sandwich bags so if I’m in a rush, I can put together a salad in 2 seconds.
Okay so once my food is prepped and cooked, NOW WHAT??
I take all the chicken I cooked and I make 2 containers. I take a portion of the cooked chicken and I cut it, shredding it as much as possible, putting in part mayonnaise and part plain greek yogurt (you won’t even taste the difference). Taste and feel free to add a little more mayo if needed. Place in a container and refrigerate. With this you can…..
*Make a Chicken Salad sandwich on Romaine Lettuce Leaves, a piece of
whole wheat toast or a spinach wrap if you choose. Add a few slices of
avocado and a slice of bacon. YUM
*Add the Chicken Salad to your regular salad with a little oil & vinegar and other
Salad toppings of your choice
2) With the other chicken, put this aside. You may want to add this chicken to a regular salad for the week, place it in romaine lettuce leaf with a little greek yogurt (which will take the place of sour cream) shredded cheese and boom, you have a fajita ;), or you have a dinner prepared with some chicken and veggies and sweet potatoes that have already been prepared!!
3) Salmon filets. Now that the filets are cooked, I place them in a container and can use this as a dinner with my veggies and sweet potatoes OR I can add this to my salad for an awesome lunch or light dinner.
4) Ground Turkey. Cook the ground turkey down and use this for an amazing dinner “Turkey Chili” (See recipe attached). OR...you can add this to a salad and make your own “taco salad”, add this to a romaine lettuce, with shredded cheese and a tsp of greek yogurt
5) The hard boiled eggs. Okay you can keep them off to the side and use these as a snack during the day OR….you can cut these up and do the same as you did with chicken salad. Add part mayo and part greek yogurt, add a little salt, pepper and paprika and now you have Egg Salad that YES again you can add to a sandwich or a romaine lettuce leave with some avocados and even a piece of bacon ;)! DELISH!!
6) The veggies and sweet potatoes. You can use this during the day for ANYTHING!! You can add this to a side with your breakfast, a mid-morning snack, mid-afternoon snack or a side for your dinner….OR even after a workout ;)!
7) SNACKS. Take the sunflower seeds and almonds that you have purchased and mix them up and place them in a container. While running around and the hunger kicks in, take about 10-15 almonds and about a tsp of sunflower seeds and enjoy a SNACK or...you can even add this to a salad. (tip….put the almonds in a bag and crush them up and add to a salad)
*Other Snack Choices: ½ avocado sliced up with a little pepper; veggies, sweet
potato, hard boiled egg, strawberries
8) My Breakfast. So, this my friends is usually my breakfast, but keep reading because I will take this to a Fast Forward breakfast if you are running out the door and don’t have time to prepare this in the morning. I scramble 2 egg whites and 1 egg. I add in feta cheese and mushrooms to my egg (sometimes spinach), I cook 1 piece of turkey bacon, sliced up avocados and either strawberries OR some asparagus. THIS is the breakfast that fuels me first thing and gives me all the necessary nutrients to start the day and kick start my mind and body. NOW...if you are busy, scramble those eggs and leave them plain or add in your feta and mushrooms and put them in a dish and put them in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Put a piece of bacon in a paper towel and cook in the microwave for 1 minute. Slice up your avocados and boom there it is in fast forward OR you can make a sandwich with 2 pieces of toasted whole wheat toast ;)!! Even better, scramble these eggs and put them in a cupcake/muffin pan and place in the oven at 350 degrees and now you have egg muffins that can be heated up on the go or for a snack ;)!
CrockPot Turkey Chili
1 lb of lean Ground Turkey
1 15 oz can of black beans drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can organic fire roasted chopped tomatoes 1 bunch (about 6) of green onions
chopped Cheddar cheese for topping
1⁄4 of an avocado chopped up for topping
Seasoning (or purchase 1 packet of taco seasoning) 1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1⁄2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1⁄2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (more or less depending on the amount of heat you
want) 1⁄4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional)
1⁄4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1⁄4 teaspoon of oregano
Put ground turkey in the crock pot and break up.
Mix Seasoning ingredients together in a bowl and then sprinkle evenly on the turkey (or use store bought taco seasoning). Next add the beans, tomatoes, and chopped green onion. Set on low for 36 hours)
Serve with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and chopped avocado.
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