Meal Prep

I am all about the food!

Meal Prep

Preparing foods and meals in advance is the most essential part of weight loss and loss maintenance success! And I'm all about the food!

I want to eat what I want to eat....I love variety and choice!

This post will walk through my food prep day, which is usually Sunday. Food prep can be done any day you have time, but its best to do it the same day each week and get into a routine.

Food prep can be done in as little as 30 minutes if you don't have to shop, however, I find that it takes me at least ONE HOUR

My goal with food prep is simple: have it ready to grab and go!

READY means = cooked, chopped, peeled, diced or whatever you need to do with it!

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

PROTEINS

Proteins include: chicken, lean beef, pork, seafood, low fat cottage cheese, eggs, tofu, shakes and bars.

Let's start with the shakes and bars. Seems like these might already be prepped right? Well, yes in that they are packaged and ready to eat or drink however, consider this....how ACCESSIBLE are they?

I take bars out of the box and make them MORE accessible and visible! My shakes (I buy premixed because I'm not a fan of powder) are ready to go and cold in the refrigerator! They have their own shelf on the door and I constantly restock!

Onto the meats......the only protein that I do not prepare for the week is seafood, fish and shrimp. I've tried a couple of times but if I'm not going to eat it the next day it really just isn't tasty. So I save seafood for a meal like dinner that I will cook and eat same day right out of oven or pan. TUNA however is great because it is canned and easily prepared! Keep some cans on hand for salads, sandwiches, etc.

I really like to use chicken tenderloin strips. Most groceries carry them, I get mine at Costco in the tear away pouches. After they are cooked, 3 strips is about 3 oz of meat which = one serving of protein. (oh yeah, invest in a food scale!) So here's what a typical tray for the week looks like before it hits the oven......

 Place the tenderloins on the tray close together, sprinkle with your favorite seasonings and BAKE in the oven on 375 for about 35 minutes until done. Internal temp should be around 160 F. I try to keep my seasoning flexible in case I want to make different recipes throughout the week, although once cooked these are great for cold sandwiches or salads also! On this pan I have salt, pepper, dried minced onion, fresh pressed garlic and a little paprika.

If we are going to use the outdoor BBQ, I have also grilled this many tenderloins and they are FAST! Only takes about 15 minutes on a hot "Q". Chicken can also be put in the crock pot and shredded and occasionally I will buy ground chicken and pan fry like ground beef to keep on hand for wraps, chili and salads.

This technique can be used for ANY meat. Sometimes if my prep day falls apart I will go to Costco and buy two roasted whole chickens and simply take off the meat (yes, I throw the skin away or treat the dogs!) and that works really well.

Storage: gallon zip loc bags or other sizes work well, clear containers are best for the fridge so you can SEE what is in them and use up items that have been stored for a few days. Meats tend to last well for 7-10 days. You can also store cooked meats in the freezer HOWEVER, once you thaw, you must use- DO NOT REFREEZE!

CARBS

Carbs include: yogurt with flavoring, milk, whole grain breads, whole grain rice, all fruits, popcorn, oatmeal, whole grain pasts, all potatoes and all beans and lentils, carrots, corn and peas.

Again - if you buy  in bulk, take the individual yogurts out so they are MORE accessible. Breads are usually pre sliced but if you buy a brand that isn't, make sure you pre slice the entire loaf! 

Rice, quinoa,  and pasta can all be prepared in advance and stored in containers with little problems. I recommend coating cooked pasta with a bit of olive oil before putting into containers to keep the starches from sticking together.

**PASTA NOTE: I am a pasta freak! I have to hide it from myself or I will eat all of it in one sitting. Instead of putting pasta in a large container, I find that I stay on track if I portion it out individually into servings. 3/4 cup to 1 cup is a serving.

I'll use this picture again so you can see what my typical carb prep looks like:

Behind the shredded chicken container is a container of pre cooked quinoa, behind that is spaghetti squash, then there is zucchini in the front already prepped for a salad, roasting or just dipping. I also have a "Vegetti" (as seen on TV) that makes great squash "pasta" and I typically do one container of yellow and one of zucchini- can be eaten cold or heated in the microwave for one minute. There is also red bell pepper sliced and diced, onions diced, celery cut in bite size and cooking size pieces and some tomatoes and cucumbers in Italian dressing ready for snacking!

Since there are only two high days in my week I usually DO NOT prep much in the way of rice and pasta.

Carrots: usually I keep these in the way of baby carrot snack packs already pre packaged and ready to take on the go.

Potatoes: these are so EASY! You can bake russets, yams or sweet potatoes easily at the same time as your protein. When I bake potatoes I usually do 3 or 4 and leave them whole in the fridge after baking. They are great alongside dinner, for lunch with broccoli or other veggies on top or diced up for breakfast and pan fried. Sweet potatoes and yams are great too. Bake them with skin on, then cool. Scoop out the insides into a container and they are great for breakfast or your high days for carbs. PLUS they are sweet!

VEGETABLES

Includes: all vegetables except carrots, corn and peas which are in the carbs group because of natural sugars that quickly turn into carbs.

Just as in the picture above THE MORE PREP YOU DO AHEAD OF THE GAME the more time you will save. I prep vegetables for the WEEK and sometimes longer. If I buy in bulk from Costco I prep 1/2 for the fridge and 1/2 for the freezer.

The only meal I really prepare at home is dinner. My kids are 18 and 13 and in school or out during the day. HOWEVER, I have a busy schedule and is is SOOOOO NICE to cook and the prep work is already done!

HEALTHY FATS

Healthy Fats include: low fat cheeses, feta, low fat/ low cal dressings, avocado, olives, all raw nuts, peanut and almond butter and all oils.

NOW on a low day you need to have one serving of healthy fat 5 times a day.....WATCH YOUR PORTION and serving sizes. MEASURE!

1 serving of olive oil = 1 tablespoon

1 serving of avocado = 1/2 small avocado

1 serving black olives = 6-8 large olives

1 serving nuts = 1 oz

1 serving feta = 1 oz

1 serving low fat cheese = 1-2 oz

1 serving peanut or other butter = 1 tablespoon

1 serving of low fat/cal dressing = 2 tablespoons

RAW is best! When it comes to nuts - raw- is best. Don't buy roasted, coated, sweetened or salted. Those are the things that you are avoiding right now! Salt makes you retain water and causes high blood pressure, sugars....well....we know what they do! 

My favorite nuts right now I find at Vons. The brand is Emerald and they make a 100 calorie pack. I prefer the walnut & almond pack, but they also have just almonds.

NOW.....nuts are tricky! If you notice on your Chris Powell food list.....nuts like macadamia, cashew and some fancy nuts aren't listed. THEY ARE REALLY HIGH IN FAT! and this excludes them from the "healthy" category.

I also find that I have to be REALLY CAREFUL WITH SUNFLOWER SEEDS. They are small and I tend to overdo!

MEALS ON THE GO

The typical adult goes to work every morning so how do you keep on track? YOU PLAN! If you're gone all day then you will need to TAKE YOUR FOOD WITH YOU. Don't rely on fast food to get you through, you won't make good choices and you will sabotage yourself!

This is how my friend Stephanie Thomas preps her meals. She uses containers with pre portioned foods. The two meals you see are for high days since they contain rice. (THANKS STEPHANIE!) This enables her to keep them in the fridge, ready to grab and go! Containers could also be labeled with "high" or "low" as well as "lunch" or "dinner" or "snack".

If you find yourself STUCK, your best resource while out and about is the GROCERY STORE. Most groceries today have snack packs of vegetables, a deli where you can get a piece of BAKED chicken and apples are easy to eat raw and require NO prep. 

I had a really bad day and planned nothing and found myself in a small town about 40 miles from nowhere seeing a patient. My choices were McDonald's, pizza and Albertson's. I chose Albertson's. In I went. I chose baby carrots pre packaged in snack size packs, a baked chicken breast from the deli, Emerald 100 calorie walnuts and almonds and the largest water they had. SUCCESS!

I always also try to carry a few protein bars in my car. I'm not a fan of chocolate so I really like Quest bars, plus they are GLUTEN FREE! And in the summer when its 105 here, they don't melt!

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

It does take time. Here is my "paper tracker".......

                     

I purchased a cheap dollar store spiral bound notebook and I make a page for each day. YES, I track electronically and I could make up a sheet on my computer, BUT there is something about having to write it out that helps me - so that's what I do! I keep the notebook in a prominent place along with my food list.

Usually I look at it the night before and plan breakfast, I write it in AND I STICK TO IT. Sometimes I have to fill in the ENTIRE DAY if I'm going to be away from home. Sometimes I just plan a few meals like lunch and dinner ESPECIALLY if I'm meeting friends or going to a restaurant.

DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU! But you need to track!

Track time, content and calories.

Use My Fitness Pal or your Weight Watchers app.

Use an activity tracker like Fitbit or Map My Run, Map My Walk or Strava

Blessings,

3.1runmom