Day 11: Food Prep

Meg's Thoughts

It takes 21 days to form a habit, and I am just over the half-way hump! YAY!! Thank you so much to those of you who are following me and reading. Please, save me from the space squid, and the pointing and the laughing. Please, leave me a comment... or a criticism.. Anything, just let me know you're there :))

There are lots of recipes today... and funny faces. Enjoy dear friends, and read on...

Food

Breakfast: two poached eggs on 1 slice of WW toast, 1 whole grapefruit

Lunch: sushi & edamame 

 I put sliced ginger and wasabi on the sushi... a little too much on the first one. Talk about pain, tears. 

Whoooo!! That's a spicy meatball!!!

Snack: 1 small apple

Dinner: 2 HBE & 1 sliced tomato in balsamic vinegar

NEED MOTIVATION???

No, you don't, you're doing great!! Keep killin' it, and if all else fails, go with Nike's motto.. plus mine

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Tip of the Day

Let's talk PREP!! I am an average person just like you. I completely understand that one of the major problems in making smart daily food choices is convenience. You're coming home from work, picking kids up from school, or are out & about and just ridiculously hungry. You either have to suffer the drive home, and figure out what to make for dinner when you get there, OR you stop by and pick up a quick cheeseburger or coffee. So you are inclined to choose whatever is quickest or least expensive.

By spending only 1 to 2 hours a week prepping food can go a long way

in making eating healthy more convenient (and helping you save money).

Step 1: chose a few staple items; ones that you like to eat, that can be added to a lot of dishes, and that are healthy.

Today my food-prep items are black beans, hard boiled eggs, Quinoa, fruit salad, a veggie tray, chicken breast and cottage cheese.

Prepping these items will really help you get a leg up on making healthy meals throughout the week.

Cottage cheese: it's just store-bought cottage cheese, but it's pre-portioned out into half cup size portions. You do this, so that if you are in hurry, you have some grab-n-go options. Grab one, add a piece of fruit or toast, and boom! Breakfast. I got these cups at the dollar tree and they are 1/2 cup size perfect for individual portions.

Black beans in the crock pot: these are really easy and inexpensive to make. I use the Reynolds slow cooker liners to make cleanup even easier too! No excuses. The rule of thumb is measure out twice as many cups of liquid to dry ingredients. I made 2 cups of black beans with 4 cups of water. Put both ingredients plus one bouillon cube in crock pot. Plug it in. Low for 8+ hours or High for 4+ hours. Forget about it! It couldn't be simpler. Or cheaper. In the past I have purchased S&W's canned black beans at about $1.18 per can (15oz). To keep the shelf life, they add sodium and preservatives. Make your own, reduce the cost to pennies per serving, and less nasty additives.

Quinoa: the same rule of thumb works here; liquid to dry ingredients 2:1. Put twice as much

liquid water or stock into a sauce pan and set to boil. Once boiling, add and stir in the Quinoa. Return to boiling for one minute, then reduce heat to low/simmer for 20 minutes. Stir once halfway though. And there you have it it's done. I like to saute an onion and add that for more complex flavor. This simple base item of quinoa can be treated just like rice and served with meat and/or vegetables. Per ounce quinoa has more protein than meat. And it's gluten-free!

Hard-boiled eggs: take a large sauce pan and fill approximately halfway with water and set to boil with a cover. Once boiling, add the raw eggs slowly into the water with a spoon (so that they don't crack). Return the water to boiling, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let stand for 12 minutes in hot water, covered. Then drain water and rinse in cold water 2 to 3 times until eggs cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.

Hard-boiled eggs are great source of protein and they come in their own handy packaging. One egg is only 70 calories. 50 for the yoke and 20 for the white. A very healthy and handy snack.

Veggie tray: chose your favorite veggies, cut them up, arrange them in a tray - all pretty. The more attractive the display, the more likely your are to eat them. Tricky!

Fruit salad: you can pretty much make fruit salad with any kind of fruit that you like but today I'm making mine with watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, and blueberries. Simply slice up your fruit to bite-size pieces and mix altogether refrigerate and enjoy at your leisure. I like to make a few pre-portion size containers – easy to grab'n'go! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if you're in a hurry you are prone to make poor choices. Having easy, grab'n'go items like pre-portion yogurt, cottage cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and fruit make skipping breakfast harder to do when your options are easier and more convenient.

Chicken breast: you can purchase a pre-cooked, rotisserie chicken at the grocery store for around five bucks or you can make your own. To make your own- prep the chicken breasts by either marinading them or simply brush them with a little bit of Extra-virgin olive oil and fresh ground pepper, Italian seasoning or your favorite herb mixture. Pop them in the oven at 350* for 20-30 minutes (depending on the thickness/size). They're done when the center is white with clear running juices.

So, what to do with the quinoa, chicken, black beans (all 3 are sources of protein, so you don't need to use all three at once, although all three are delicious). Throw all three in a bowl with some salsa, shredded lettuce and guacamole to make quick and easy naked burrito bowls; add some chicken & quinoa to steamed veggies; toss with feta cheese, fresh cut tomatoes, cucumbers and lemon juice for a Greek dinner, or put all three with a sprinkling of cheese between two tortillas and bake at 350 for 10 minutes for quesadillas. The possibilities are nearly endless! And sliced chicken and HBE's on a bed of spinach are great for lunch too! Mix & match, play, but prepping a few basics will help you stay on track.

Exercise

THE MANY FACES OF MEG

The Insanity Fit test! It took about 30 mins and a pint or so of my sweat! 

This was tough!!! I thought I was gonna die! Can't you see it on my face?

Thanks so much for reading. Please leave me a comment!!