Meal Preparation 101

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend! I felt like ours was rushed and busy, but I suppose that's how it's going to be for a mother of two boisterous boys and a newborn baby girl.

I did make sure to spend Sunday going to the grocery store for my clean foods and then prepping and storing my meals for the week. My husband is wanting to drop a few lbs too, so I made some extra so he would have some lunches for work this week.

Basically, I baked some chicken breasts and then chopped them into bite size pieces and stored them in 4 oz portions. I roasted some vegetables with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and stored those in portions of around a cup each. I hard-boiled a lot of eggs since my meal plan involves a lot of egg whites. I also bought an extra case of eggs so we could still scramble, over-easy, etc. And finally, I baked some sweet potatoes and stored them in approx. 3 oz portions.

This is butternut squash, yellow squash and grape tomatoes. I first put them in a bowl and tossed with 2 tbsp EVOO, then spread them on my tin-foiled pan {also coated the tin foil with a little olive oil}, sprinkled some sea salt and black pepper over them and then roasted them on the top rack of the oven for 30 min at 375.

This is asparagus, zucchini and grape tomatoes. I did the same with these as I did with the squash mix and they also roasted for 30 min at 375.

Our veggie portions all nicely stacked in the refrigerator! They were later joined by the chicken and sweet potatoes. Oh, and don't worry, this picture made me realize the green lid wasn't shut tight, so now it is!

I am very excited to start this journey of eating clean and training dirty {hee hee} to accomplish my goals. Something feels very different about my efforts this time...I feel extremely motivated, more so than I ever have in the past, and I'm a pretty motivated girl. My sight is set on my first goal of getting the last of this pregnancy weight GONE and regaining some muscle tone along the way. I've been able to get back to the gym more now as well, and will be able to fully commit to a gym schedule in just a little over a week once Farrah is old enough for the childcare there. When I can't get to the gym, I am making sure to get a great workout in at home, whether that's Insanity, a good stroll with the kids or some weight training with the equipment I have. Oh, and on Saturday, I had my last bit of alcohol for a while. I really want to see some great results with this new eating plan and I know that cutting out alcohol is going to make a huge difference. I'm not sure how long I will cut the alcohol for now, but I want to at least get a good month in, and then maybe have it back in moderation. Of course, when training for the NPC Bikini competition next year, alcohol will be nixed completely.

Be sure to stop back in this week as I share my weight training routines!

Favorite Pregnancy Snacks

As a person who generally has a good grasp on her fitness and nutrition, I'll be the first to admit that pregnancy is rough when it comes to cravings. I can't tell you how many times I've had a good lunch planned out and then when it came time to eat, could not stomach the idea of eating what I had originally had in mind. No, my body craved something greasy and carb-loaded instead. While I have given into this craving a time or two, I really have been cognizant about keeping healthy snacks around at home as well as at work. The easier they are to grab and go, the better. Here are some of my favorite snack options for pregnancy {and beyond!}

Apple Slices & Cheese

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Almonds

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Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt & Fresh Berries

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Lowfat Cottage Cheese

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Wasa Crackers and Natural Peanut Butter

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Obviously, you can see my cravings err on the side of dairy and sweet things. So I try to at least have my sweets mostly come from fresh fruit. I know too much dairy is not good, but when you are pregnant, protein is necessary for a healthy fetus, so I don't mind indulging a little on that end for now.

What are your go-to healthy snacks?

Still Tasty

In an effort to plan my meals better, I've started cooking batches of things ahead of time - i.e. quinoa, tilapia fillets, chicken breasts, etc.

I've found myself wondering the proper storage for these items once cooked...and how long they will be good for. I've of course gone to the internet as my answer source. Today, I stumbled upon an AWESOME site.

Still Tasty

You literally type in any kind of food...

...choose whether it's cooked or uncooked...

...and -voila!- you have your answer on the proper storage and length of time it will still be good to eat.

I told you, awesome, right?

Right now I'm eating some reheated quinoa and tilapia I made a couple of days ago. 

I feel my diet is where I need the most change. I am pretty good overall with my diet, but I do let myself indulge a little more than I probably should...and often it's due to lack of preparation. When I have my meals and snacks in a lunch cooler ready to go on work days, it makes it so much easier to stay on track.