Tag: Meal Prepping

It’s the home stretch now! I’ve made it through the first two weeks. I had my first “bad” day on Friday; two catered (fried) meals at work, a cookie trade, and holiday party with drinks O_O. Hopefully that one day won’t set me back too much. My chocolate Shakeology came in last week, and I LOVE it. I expected to tolerate it, but it’s actually delicious. It’s like eating dessert first every day. That’s my kind of diet!!

Recipes

This week I will be using:

• Shrimp Scampi, but adding tomatoes and using whole wheat pasta
• Thai Pork Meatballs, also with whole wheat pasta
• Chicken Lentil Stew
• Reusing the Stuffed Peppers and Oven baked eggs recipes

Daily Plan

Monday:

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: 2 eggs, almondsRB
• Lunch: Beef & vegetable stew, orangesRGP
• Snack: Carrots & cucumbers, pumpkin seedsGO
• Dinner: Freebirds (salad with chicken, black beans, tomatoes, corn salsa)RGY
• Snack: Strawberries, dark chocolate chipsPY

Tuesday:

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: Yogurt, almondsRB
• Lunch: Teriyaki beef and broccoli, orangesRGP
• Snack: Carrots & cucumbers, pumpkin seedsGO
• Dinner: Shrimp scampi with whole wheat pasta and tomatoesRGYY
• Snack: BerriesP

Wednesday:

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: 2 eggsR
• Lunch: Beef & vegetable stew, 2 tangerinesRGP
• Snack: Carrots & cucumbers, pumpkin seedsGO
• Dinner: Thai pork meatballs, green beans, whole wheat pastaRYG
• Snack: Berries, Mark’s birthday cake!PYB

Thursday:

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: Yogurt, almondsRB
• Lunch: Teriyaki beef and broccoli, brown rice, 2 tangerinesRYGP
• Snack: Carrots & cucumbers, pumpkin seedsGO
• Dinner: Teriyaki beef and broccoli, brown riceRYG
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Friday:

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: 2 eggsR
• Lunch: (Work-catered) + 2 tangerinesRYGBP
• Snack: Carrots & cucumbers, pumpkin seedsGO
• Dinner: Chicken lentil stew with bacon and carrotsRGY
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Saturday

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: Yogurt, 2 tangerinesRP
• Lunch: Lean Cuisine, almondsRYGB
• Snack: Carrots & cucumbers, pumpkin seedsGO
• Dinner: Stuffed bell peppers with quinoaRYG
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Sunday

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: 2 eggsR
• Lunch: Salad, 2 tangerines, yogurtGPR
• Snack: Christmas Eve dinner!GOY
• Dinner: ^^ Make good choices!RGBY
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Woo! Made it through week one, and actually stuck to the plan! (Except for a couple slices of pizza at lunch on Saturday). Here’s what’s on the menu for week 2:

Monday:

• Breakfast: 2 eggsR
• Snack: Yogurt, 2 tangerines (still don’t have my Shakeology yet?)RP
• Lunch: Turkey burger patty with monterrey jack cheese, sweet potatoes RYB
• Snack: Dark chocolate chips, carrots & celery, peanutsYGO
• Dinner: Salmon, spinach, tomatoesRGG
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Tuesday:

• Breakfast: Shakeology (hopefully! ?)R
• Snack: 2 eggs, pumpkin seedsRO
• Lunch: Meatloaf, roasted carrots and potatoesRGY
• Snack: Blueberries, carrots & celeryPG
• Dinner: Beef & vegetable stewRG
• Snack: Dark chocolate chips, almondsYB

Wednesday:

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: Yogurt, almondsRB
• Lunch: Beef & vegetable stew, 2 tangerinesRGP
• Snack: Carrots/celery, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate chipsGOY
• Dinner: Verde chicken, quinoa, spinachRYG
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Thursday:

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: 2 eggs, blueberriesRP
• Lunch: Verde chicken, quinoa, spinachRYG
• Snack: Carrot/celery/cucumber, pumpkin seedsGO
• Dinner: Steak, roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potatoesRGY
• Snack: Strawberries, almondsPB

Friday:

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: YogurtR
• Lunch: (Work-catered) Make good choices!RYG
• Snack: (Holiday party) ^^GOP
• Dinner: Eat out at Verts (grilled chicken, salad, hummus, sweet potato fries)RGBY
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Saturday

• Breakfast: ShakeologyR
• Snack: 2 eggs, 2 tangerinesRP
• Lunch: Eat out at Pita Fusion (Grilled chicken wrap, hummus, veggies, cheese) RYGB
• Snack: Pumpkin seeds, carrots/celeryOG
• Dinner: Salmon, potatoes, broccoliRYG
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Sunday

• Breakfast: Shakeology, whole wheat waffleRY
• Snack: Yogurt, pumpkin seedsRO
• Lunch: Chicken burrito bowlRGBY
• Snack: Carrots/celery, berriesGP
• Dinner: Beef & vegetable stewRG
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Recipes:

Mostly off the cuff and leftovers this week, but I will be trying:

• Instant Pot verde chicken from Cookies and Cups
• Chicken burrito bowls from Carrie Elle

Wow, long time, no blog. I have decided to do a 21 Day Fix challenge this December, and I just completed my first round of meal planning and prepping for the upcoming week. Phew! Lots of work, stress, and work. (I know I said that twice.) After planning for about an hour an a half, when Mark asked why I didn’t plan X, I threw a mini temper tantrum and threw my binder. Luckily, Amy is adorable and went and got it and handed it back to me sweetly.

SO, what came of all of that planning? I’m going to document it here in case anyone wants to steal it and save the hours of planning, or in case I want to reference it in the future. I’ll break down below what I’m making (and what categories they are), what recipes I’m using, and what I plan to prep in advance.

To start with, I printed off the free weekly planning sheet from Sublime Reflection for my target calorie range.

So, what’s on the menu?

21 Day Fix meal plan, ~1300 calories/day

Monday:

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, carrots & celeryRG
• Snack: Yogurt, 1/2 portion strawberries (don’t have my Shakeology yet)RP
• Lunch: Grilled chicken, quinoa salad with spinach and peachesRYGP
• Snack: Pumpkin seeds, almondsOB
• Dinner: Salmon, roasted asparagus, mashed sweet potatoesRGY
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Tuesday:

• Breakfast: YogurtR
• Snack: Shakeology (hopefully!)R
• Lunch: Salad, tangerines, peanut butter celeryGGP
• Snack: BlueberriesP
• Dinner: Eating out at Zoe’s kitchen (hummus, cucumber, chicken kabobs, pita, salad)RGBY
• Snack: Dark chocolate chips, 1/2 portion peanutsYO

Wednesday:

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1/2 portion blueberriesRP
• Snack: ShakeologyR
• Lunch: Grilled chicken, quinoa salad with spinach and peachesRGYP
• Snack: Carrots/celery, pumpkin seedsGO
• Dinner: Stuffed bell peppersRGYB
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Thursday:

• Breakfast: Yogurt, blueberriesRP
• Snack: Shakeology + peanut butterR
• Lunch: Stuffed bell peppersRGYB
• Snack: Carrot/celery/cucumberG
• Dinner: Teriyaki Beef, sesame seeds, steamed broccoli, brown riceRGYO
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Friday:

• Breakfast: 2 eggsR
• Snack: Shakeology + blueberriesRP
• Lunch: (Work-catered) TamalesRGYOB
• Snack: Cherry tomatoes, cucumberG
• Dinner: Meatloaf, potatoes, roasted carrots and asparagusRGY
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Saturday

• Breakfast: YogurtR
• Snack: Shakeology + peanut butterR
• Lunch: SaladG
• Snack: Tangerines, carrots/celeryGP
• Dinner: Christmas Party ?RGYY
• Snack: ^^OPB

Sunday

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, whole-grain waffleRY
• Snack: ShakeologyR
• Lunch: Turkey burger lettuce wrap, carrotsRG
• Snack: Another Christmas Party ?GOP
• Dinner: ^^RYBG
• Snack: StrawberriesP

Sounds great! How do I do that?

Sunday meal prep:

We grocery shopped for all the ingredients, then:

Pre-cook eggs for the week. I followed Savor+Savvy’s recipe, and will microwave them for 30-45 seconds on the morning I plan to eat them.

Cook the Stuffed Bell Peppers to eat for Wednesday dinner and Thursday lunch. Used Hello Fresh’s recipe, which includes quinoa, ground beef, crushed tomatoes, and cheese.

Pound flat and grill (or prepare in your preferred way) chicken breasts for Monday/Wednesday lunches.

Cook quinoa (we used our new Instant Pot for 1 minute quinoa.) I combined two recipes for this one. We used a cup of quinoa, 1 red bell pepper, 1 peach, 2 cloves of garlic, 4 oz spinach, and a lime. We added the lime zest to the uncooked quinoa, and then added the lime juice into the cooked quinoa. Cook chopped bell pepper and garlic in a large skillet. After a couple minutes, add in the spinach and cover. When it starts to wilt, add in the cooked quinoa, stir, and cook until warmed through and spinach wilts a bit more. Turn off the heat and stir in chopped peaches.

I also chopped up the “rabbit food” (veggies) for snacks and put them in baggies. I personally don’t like ranch or dressings, so it works out that I don’t have to budget for them in my meal plans. I portioned out the nuts and seeds in baggies, as well.

I’ll follow up after this week with how this week went, and what I plan to do next week!

Recipes for later in the week:

We’ll be doing a couple other Hello Fresh recipes, substituting the bok choy for steamed broccoli in the Sesame Teriyaki Beef, and Meatloaf À La Mom.