Meal Planning

One of the major factors that everyone talks about when losing weight is nutrition. Before now I knew it was important, but never took it as serious. Until now!

This year I decided to start meal planning and meal prepping. In addition to that I went a step above and made a calender of what we ate each week. I won’t bore you with all the ends and outs, but I will give you details of some of the thing I’m doing.

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Counting calories

I get it, something as simple as writing  down or using an app to monitor calories seems time consuming. Honestly, it is! BUT it helps me, at least, be honest with what I’m eating and how it effects my macros (carb, proteins, fats and fiber). Right now I write things down because it forces me to keep track of what, when and how much I eat. I’ve also used the mobile app My Fitness Pal which is a cool app too.

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Breakfast

Typically I’m up before everyone to make sure the kids get up and out the door for school, so I try to keep it simple. Most days I’ll drink a green smoothie or just plain protein smoothie with carbs.

Here’s the recipe for the green smoothie (thanks to my brother) – makes two 20 oz. servings

1 handful of kale
1 handful of spinach
1.5 oz of water
1 scoop whey protein powder
1 carrot
1 banana
1 handful of frozen strawberries
1 handful of frozen pineapple
agave nectar

On weekends we may make breakfast. Last weekend for my fiance’s birthday we had whole wheat pancakes, eggs, turkey bacon, maple syrup and pulp free OJ. The pancakes were amazing and easy to make!

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Meal prep lunches

Every Saturday I get up and head to the grocery store(s), yes it maybe more then one depending on the sales. My favorite stores include Aldis, Schnucks, Dierbergs and local farmers markets (in warmer weather). Lately for lunch I’ve worked to include a carbs, veggies and lean protein.

**Included with each meal are links to recipes that I’ve used from other bloggers. Please take a moment to visit them to learn more.**

This week here’s what I ate:
4 meals included: 1 grilled chicken breast (varied seasoning), agave cinnamon sweet potatoes (they’re too die for), and a mixed green salad with almonds and mandarin oranges (alternated with

2 meals include: 1 grilled tilapia (varied seasoning with olive oil), 1/2 cup of brown rice and 1 cup of sauteed garlic snap peas.

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Dinner prep

We have two kids, ages 10 and 13, so eating healthy and clean can take a bit of planning. My son loves hamburgers and french fries and my daughter loves chocolate (completely agree with her). To avoid beating my head on the wall I turn to my favorite site Pinterest. Some recipes I try as is, while others I alter a bit depending on what we all will eat.

This week we ate:
Cauliflower crust pizza with turkey pepperoni, steak, green peppers, mozzarella cheese, onions and Prago pizza sauce (lowest sugar)
Results: Not bad, but still working to perfect a firmer crust.

cauliflower crust pizza

Sesame-soy meatballs with spinach and carrots

Turkey burgers with fries (yes we do eat some not so healthy things to keep the kids happy) and broccoli

Taco salad with lettuce, ground beef, taco seasoning, black beans, corn and salsa

Chicken Stirfry

Turkey Chili