What ever your nutritional goals: weight loss, weight gain, eating more vegetables, or reducing your fat intake, taking time to preplan your meals or prep ingredients ahead of time is a great way to ensure you stay on track.
One of the biggest excuses I hear from clients about why the cannot follow their nutrition plan is, they don’t have the time or energy to cook. It is much easier to run through a drive through or pop a frozen pizza in the oven.
While a lack of time can be an issue for some of us, most of us waste at least 30-60 minutes each day on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or watching reality TV. I am here to tell you that if you devote just 1-2 hours of your social media/tv time each week to prepping your meals for the week you will have more time and energy to achieve your nutritional goals (or any other goals).
Fuel your body with nutritious foods and you will be able to conquer the world!
Ok, maybe not the world but definitely your own personal goals, dreams, and desires.
So, how do I go about “meal prepping”, you ask.
Meal prepping can be as easy as simply doubling batch of something you are already making and then portioning it out into individual containers. You can easily pull the containers out of the fridge for quick meals during the week or put some in the freezer to eat later. I like this method for things like soup, grains like quinoa, rice, and oatmeal, roasted vegetables, and meat.
Another method is to take 15-20 minutes after dinner to put together breakfast and lunch for the next day. For example, if you cook an extra chicken breast for dinner, you can slice it and put it on top of some leafy greens and quinoa for a lunchtime salad. Also, you can prep some overnight oats for a fast delicious breakfast.
My favorite way to meal prep, is to take a few hours one day (I like Sunday) to prep my ingredients for the week. I wash and slice raw vegetables so they are easy to grab for snacks or salads. I grill 4-5 chicken breasts and 2-3lbs of ground turkey or other meat and portion them into individual containers so that I plenty of quick easy sources for protein. You can do this with beans and grains as well if you prefer a more vegetable protein based diet. I will steam or roast vegetables to use for breakfast egg bites, soups, or as a side dish. For me, this technique significantly reduces the time I spend cooking during the week. I simply mix and match a few containers from of the refrigerator, reheat and I’m done.
Once you get into the habit of prepping your meals, you will discover what methods work best for you. Then you can start to experiment with ways to make your favorite nutritious dishes ahead of time so you can have them on hand when you want them.
Meal prepping does take time, but it is an investment in your health, happiness, and success and it will improve your lifestyle waaaaay more than those crazy cat videos you’ve been watching.
If you need help learning how to get into the habit of meal prepping or how to create any other nutritional habit, our nutritional coaching plan can help! Check out our website at: https://procoach.app/wellnessphx.
Cold winter days make me crave soup. Unfortunately, finding healthy, gluten free soups is a tough task. That’s why I love this recipe for gluten free chicken noodle soup. I usually make a double batch and freeze some for later days.
Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon garlic, chopped
8 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breasts, raw, cut into pieces
8 ounces gluten free pasta, elbows, shells, or spaghetti
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add carrots, celery, and onion and sauté until tender. Add garlic a sauté 1-2 minutes longer.
Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to chicken broth.
Turn heat to low and simmer until chicken is cooked through.
Add pasta and simmer until pasta is tender. Stir frequently to keep pasta from sticking.
Local organic produce, artisanal sourdough, strictly grass-fed meat: Yes, they’re ‘good’ for you… but they’re also too expensive for most people. The great news? There are foods available that are both nutrient-dense and budget-friendly. In this infographic, we’ll show you five ways to eat healthy on a budget — while making your taste buds happy too.
— Read on www.precisionnutrition.com/eat-healthy-on-a-budget-infographic
Local organic produce, artisanal sourdough, strictly grass-fed meat: Yes, they’re ‘good’ for you… but they’re also too expensive for most people. The great news? There are foods available that are both nutrient-dense and budget-friendly. In this infographic, we’ll show you five ways to eat healthy on a budget — while making your taste buds happy too.
— Read on www.precisionnutrition.com/eat-healthy-on-a-budget-infographic
This year, give the gift of good health you your friends, family, or to yourself.
Join our exclusive nutritional coaching program and get started on the path to becoming the healthiest you, you can be.
This program includes daily lessons designed to help build healthy habits that will last a lifetime as well as personal guidance from me, your nutrition coach (and cheerleader).
This is not a diet or a gimmick, it is a program based on scientific research and years of program testing. This is not, a quick fix either. We will spend 12 months building the habits and knowledge you need to be successful. It will take time and effort on your part, but the results will be worth it and can last a lifetime.
This holiday season make the commitment to take charge and invest in a healthier you!
I’m limiting the number of enrollees to 15 to ensure everyone gets the personalized attention they deserve. While this is great news for your success, it also means spaces will fill up quickly. Response to the program so far has been amazing, and I expect slots to fill up quickly. Don’t miss out on your chance to get in your best shape!
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Is it safe to say you could have put a bit more time into your diet and exercise in 2018? (and maybe a year or two before that as well)
Question: Are you ready to take the first step towards getting things under control?
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Achieve Wellness is growing and I am looking to add a few new clients to our nutritional guidance program.
This program teaches participants simple, effective lifestyle changes that can put you on the road to the best body and best health of your life. And thanks to the techniques you learn in the program you’ll learn how to stay there. No fad diets or short term results here. In fact, this is a long term program that progresses you slowly so you have time to absorb and master your new habits. If you are in a rush to lose weight, this is not the program for you.
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If you are like most people I know, your hectic schedule often means you have no time to the little things, often they get put aside so as to get seemingly the more important things done. Like this year’s resolution to eat healthy, for example! We miss meals, eat wrong food groups, grab meals on the run, all for the sake of saving time. Along with the failure to exercise, many forget the problems this life style can have on our health and wellness. We get run down, over weight, stressed out and sometimes worse. These symptoms are a reminder from our body that we need learn better eating habits.
If you’re currently not eating a healthy diet, it can be difficult to get started. However, healthy eating along with some exercise is very important for maintaining a good bodily function and goes a long way towards living a disease-free life. If you struggle with healthy eating, then you know that breaking unhealthy habits can be the most difficult part of the process. Therefore, if you truly want to live the best lifestyle possible, it is important to follow tips in order to start eating a more healthy diet.
A great first step when you want to start eating your way to a healthy life style is to rid your home of all temptations that will distract you from following better eating habits. Ideally, it would be a wise to keep junk foods and beverages out of your house so as not be tempted to snack during the day. If you’re worried about getting hungry, keep healthy snacks like carrot sticks, yogurt, fresh fruit, or whole-wheat crackers on hand. If you find that you just cannot bear to toss out the sweets, try keeping something tiny on hand, peppermints or miniature chocolates. Eating a few, (emphasis on few) of these won’t ruin your diet but also will give you that little sugary fix you rave. I buy full-sized chocolate bars and break them into pieces which I keep at my office. Before I leave work I grab a piece to bring home with me for an after dinner snack.
Another great step to healthy eating, when you’re first starting the process, is to take a few moments to learn what foods are the healthiest for you and how they work within the body. To start eating healthily we must begin by thinking healthily. Most people understand that fruits, vegetables, and low-fat meats and dairy products are good for you, but few people understand why. The key is learning about nutrients. When you understand how specific nutrients work and why you need them, it becomes more reasonable for you to make healthier choices for your body. Knowledge really is power!
Preparation is a major key in commencing a new healthy diet. You must take into consideration your schedule for meals. If you often eat in a hurry at odd times of day, you’re more inclined to grab a rushed meal which will probably do more harm than good. So plan ahead! Instead of grabbing a fast food lunch on the go, take a bagged lunch to work, complete with a healthy wrap and some fresh fruit and vegetables. Remember not to forget your evening meal, a simple plan to have a meal ready before you get home would be perfect, but in our fast paced life style, sometimes this just can’t be done. One way to solve this problem is to plan out your evening meals for the week, on your days off. Perhaps just before you do your weekly shopping. Another warning: when going to the shops, do not venture there hungry because you are more likely to pick processed low nutrient foods. That becomes the first break in your healthy eating. Also shop the outer edges of the store and stay out of the middle aisles where many of the unhealthy food options live.
Initially you may find it very difficult to make the necessary changes to healthier eating. Along with the difficulty of change, you may not feel well for a short period of time. Usually this is normal as your body is adjusting to your new and improved life style and is cleansing itself from the unhealthy toxins built up from poor eating habits. However if this feeling continues or you are worried a visit to your doctor would be the correct thing to do.
Start with baby steps. Even if you only replace one soda a day with a glass of water, you are really improving your calorie intake. If you eat fast food every day for lunch, try replacing that half of the time with better quality foods. When you start by taking small steps you aren’t cutting out all of the foods you love all at once. By taking your time to learn about your eating habits and slowly replacing them with better meals, by taking the time to learn and understand why you should be doing that and making the necessary changes in an orderly fashion, you will feel much better within yourself physically, mentally and emotionally and well on the road to becoming as healthy as you can be
Achieve Wellness 