Quick, Easy Meal Prep Sunday

I'm sure you've heard it before, diet is 80% of your results. What does that mean? Well, simply, you can't out exercise your diet. Believe me, I know it and lived it. Running and running and running and still had that extra weight slowing me down physically and figuratively. That is until it finally hit me...I need to be following the 80/20 rule. So, I cracked down on my nutrition and the weight started coming off.

One major tool that I started using was batch cooking my meals for the week. It took several weeks to get the hang of it, so patience is key, but it is well worth it. So, every Sunday or Monday, I will sit down and plan my week. For me, breakfast, lunch and snacks are where I often fall off the map. So, on Sunday, I'll make all of my breakfasts (this week is breakfast parfaits), then my salad bases, cook quinoa, make a healthy dressing and chop all my veggies. It takes me about an hour and I don't have to think about "what's for breakfast" or "what's for lunch", its all there packed in my fridge ready to eat.

My recommendation, especially as you are just starting out, is to make basically the same breakfast and lunch for the week. It simplifies your routine and sets you up for success. As weeks progress, you can build on variations to add some variety.

For dinners, we still cook our meals one by one as its just the two of us and we like to spend that time together in the kitchen. However, there are options for batch cooking dinners as well, so message me and I can give you some suggestions. I'm here to help coach you and want you to succeed!

It's a great idea to buy most of your foods in bulk since we are going to be eating many of the same foods. I have a Costco/Sam's list which is my 'monthly' list. Then each week I have a Grocery List which I use for the 'in-between' items.

This week was an 'in-between' week. It doesn't take much... all my groceries for this week fit in one of my grocery baskets and totaled $22. This is the stuff that I can't get at Costco/Sam's or stuff that I ran out of.

Grocery list: Greek Yogurt (0% fat/plan); salad mix, tomatoes, veggie broth, radishes, green onions, avocado and sprouts.

Steps to meal prep in an hour our less:

1. Start your quinoa. It takes the longest to cook. Recipe here. Chop onions, press garlic and get going. 
2. Chop all your veggies and assemble your salad bases (the base of your salad).
1. Grab your salad containers. You will use 1 green container for your salad greens. Then 1 container of the 'extras'. My 'extras' this week are bell pepper, cucumbers, radishes, green onions and tomatoes. Place everything in its own container for each day. I like to make these 2-3 days worth so that everything stays fresh then put the remaining veggies in a separate container (I call these the replenishment veggies). To note: You do not want to put your tomatoes on the salad until that day.

3. Next we will put all of our cutting utensils away, rinse and put directly into the  dishwasher. Looking for efficiency here.

4. Now, we'll move onto make our breakfast parfaits.This week I am doing 2 with mango/pinnapple and 2 with cherries. MMM.. Yum. These take NO TIME and are such a great breakfast or snack. 

5. Last up is making my homemade healthy ranch dressing. If anyone is interested in the recipe message me and I'll send. It takes maybe 5 mins, throw everything into a blender and go. 

Here is my fridge, post batch cooking. Organized and ready for a healthy week!

Hope this helps you set your week up for success! Happy Sunday and happy meal planning! Now get in that kitchen!!! :)