Meal Prepping for Dummy's!

Meal Prepping for Dummy's!

The holidays are over and the New Year is right around the corner! We all indulged in some tasty treats but now is the time to start preparing for the New Year and how you can plan for success! 

When it comes to being successful with your nutrition, meal planning should be a top priority. It's the best way for busy people to stay on track, like myself! However, meal planning is so daunting sometimes. The thought of planning each meal for 7 days, going to the store to pick up the items, then coming home and preparing what you can for hours does not sound like fun. Especially when there is football on TV. Am I right!? But, when you fail to plan, you will likely plan to fail. So, do you meal prep?

When you plan your meals ahead of time,  you are more likely to make a healthier choice AND save money too! Meal planning and prepping does not have to be hard. Go back to the basics and keep things simple! I want to share some meal prepping tricks that have worked for me and some recipes that are simple, yet filling, delicious AND healthy!

Plan ahead - start by creating a meal plan for the week (or longer).  Plan out breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks. Once you have a meal plan, then break down each meal and decide what elements will go into that meal. This will be your grocery list. Again, keep things simple to start. Looking for dinner ideas? Start with 3 items (Protein, vegetable, and carb/fat/fruit). It doesn't have to be complicated! 

Chop vegetables - almost all of your vegetables can be chopped ahead of time. Grab you favorite vegetables from the store, gather some containers and start chopping! This will help save time when you are ready to cook dinner at night. Doesn't sound like much, but trust me, those extra 5 minutes of chop time will be saved and you can enjoy your meal FASTER! Some vegetables I buy and chop ahead of time consist of broccoli, brussel sprouts, zucchini, asparagus, cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, etc. 

Portion out protein/meats - if you are counting calories, macros, containers, etc. you are likely to measure out how much protein you need for a meal. 

Cook ahead of time - You can cook some protein ahead of time such as chicken breast, hard boil eggs, etc. This will help prepare for lunches when you have to grab and go or don't have a microwave at work. Precook rice and noodles for an easy carb for any meal. 

Here are some recipes I have used in the past that are so easy yet delicious! Pinterest is my best friend when it comes to meal prepping and so is Google! Many of these recipes I've found on Google. 

1. Cobb Salad Mason Jar Salad - Mason jar salads are so easy and the lettuce doesn't get mushy if you prepare it correctly. Feel free to change up any ingredients to your liking! 

2. Zoodles with meatballs - my go-to! I do not have a spiralizer, so I use a Julienne ($5 at TJ Maxx!) and it does the same thing! 

3. Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup - crock pot is the easiest way to cook without messing anything up! You throw the ingredients into a bowl, let cook for 8 hours and BAM dinner is served! 

4. Loaded Baked Omelet Muffins - these are perfect for those who are busy and don't have time for breakfast. Make a large amount in the beginning of the week and grab and go when you need it! 

5. Greek Yogurt with Berries, Nuts and Honey - another simple option for breakfast or a snack if you are craving something sweet! 

6. Italian Chicken and Vegetables - this is made all on a sheetpan! My favorite way to cook is by cooking everything at once, and roasting chicken and vegetables all together is so easy! 

7. Chocolate shake - making a shake for breakfast is the best way to get your protein, and vegetables in while being on the go. My go-to shake every morning consists of: 
1 scoop chocolate shakeology
1 tbsp of peanut butter
2 cups of spinach (you won't taste it I promise!) 
1 cup water
hand full of ice
--blend! -- 
Shakeology has helped me lose more than 30 pounds! It's full of superfoods, prebiotics, protein, amino acids, and digestive enzymes. And it helps satisfy my chocolate craving! 

These are just a few recipes to help you get started. If you are looking to start fresh in 2017 and need an accountability partner, a new workout plan, to lose a few pounds, or looking for other ideas email me! We can do this together! 2017 is OUR year where we will crush our health goals. 

Love,
Avery

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New Year's Resolutions

Reflect, Recharge, and Resolutions!

Let's be honest, 2016 was a rough year. We all had good things happen and probably hit a few rough patches throughout the year. We make New Year's resolutions with the best intentions and then life happens and they're hard to maintain. Those resolutions usually last a few months, at most, and then we forget about them or lose the momentum. 

Are you one of the rare people who actually stuck with those goals for the entire year? If so, I owe you an applause and a huge congratulations! Not many actually stick with it.

Let's reflect on 2016, recharge, and prepare for 2017 by creating New Year's resolutions that are attainable as well as maintainable. Let's work on setting goals that we know we will stick to! Here are 3 common resolutions and how to succeed through the entire year. 

1. "New Year, new you"! - Losing weight is one of the most popular resolutions. We go into the new year with the best intentions on eating healthier, maybe joining a new gym, and looking to lose those holiday pounds we just put on. The biggest problem with this resolution is that most expect to lose weight over night. 

You can succeed at this resolution if you understand that this takes time and won't happen overnight. So this year, if this is going to be your resolution, set a realistic goal and know that it may take you the entire year to achieve it. Find a new workout buddy or friend to hold you accountable and help you when there are bumps in the road. If you are looking to eat healthier, try a food journal where you track everything you eat! Be honest with yourself and write down EVERYTHING. Start small in your lifestyle changes and each small change will begin to add up over time! 

2. Stress less - Our stress levels tend to sky rocket with long work hours, lack exercise, poor diet, no sleep, etc. Small amounts of stress can actually give us a boost of energy! It keeps us on our toes and gives our hearts a little flutter, but when you are so stressed out all the time, you can experience sleepless nights, depression, health problems and more. 

If you are a chronic stresser, this year focus on "me" time. Give yourself a vacation - you earned it! Allow for relaxation and actually take time away from work. Spend time with your family or on yourself with some personal development. Stress is a part of life, but you are not benefiting yourself by stressing so much resulting in loss of sleep, missing your workouts, or not spending time with family.

3. Save more - Here is a big tip for you....SPEND LESS! Easier said that done right? Each of us have different lifestyles, but we can adjust our lifestyle to spend less and save more. Where do you spend the most money? Is it on gas to fuel your car? Start saving money on fuel by walking to places, riding your bike to work, or even carpooling. BONUS: that means less air pollution as well! 

Another way to save money is by going to the grocery store with a list of items. I can't tell you how many times I walk into the grocery store without a list and end up buying more items than I needed, meaning spending more than I had planned. That is not beneficial to my health or my wallet. When you meal plan, you can create a grocery list and that way you stick with that plan and don't aimlessly buy things you don't need. You can also hurt your diet by buying something unhealthy. Take note of what is in your fridge and buy only the necessary items you need for the week. 

Now that you've learned about a few New Year's resolutions that you can actually succeed in throughout the entire year, what are your goals? Have other tips to help with success, comment below! I'd love to hear them. 

Love,

Avery 

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