Master your Master Food Prep

OKAY, I'll admit... the first time I heard about someone doing a once per week "Master Food Prep", I thought to myself... "those damn over achievers"! The past few weeks I have been grabbing unhealthy items for lunches, snacking on things I shouldn't be all due to not having the time to prepare anything healthy. THIS is one of people's biggest barriers when it comes to hitting their health goal.... time!

I came to the realization that if I dedicate 1 hour per week for food prep, in the long run it is going to save me a ton of time, hassle, reduce my stress, etc. The thought of prepping however, stressed me out!!!

I decided to do the dreaded task and see if it'd be helpful, and to see how difficult it actually was. I wrote down a couple ideas for lunches/ dinners/ breakfast & snacks. This is what I decided on: Healthy Egg Salad, Avocado Mix (for wraps), Turkey Spaghetti with whole wheat pasta, Cucumbers, and fresh cut veggies (green peppers, etc), and Steel Cut Oats (Cinnamon Apple recipe for the Crock Put from He & She Eat Clean). Snacks: Chick Pea Chips, and Oatmeal Cookies.

Now, this will not be the entire week... I also have some "on - hand" items that are easy like: 100 calorie pack almonds, Kashi Frozen Waffles, and a Protein Cereal from Aldis that I consider to be a great / cheap staple in the pantry: Millville Get Balance Cereal. In addition, another great item from Aldi's Fit & Active Chicken (frozen).

I also have spinach, and supplies for quick salads, as well as my Shakeology and Protein Shake Supply (which is another quick/ easy item).

I started my prep at 4:30pm, and was done by 5:30pm. I even ate a portion of the Spaghetti for dinner tonight, and put the left overs in the containers for this week.

Try to get a few things started together. For example: I boiled my eggs for the egg salad, and had the sauce going for the spaghetti at the same time.

While those were boiling/ simmering I chopped the celery and onion for the egg salad, and chopped some cucumbers for the week. I also had time to do the avocado mixture for the wraps.

Here are some key items that make prep fast and easier:

1)  A nice chopping knife
2) Pampered Chef (or any other brand) food chopper.
3) Crock Pot
4) Cheap re-usable containers (the ones I got were like 4 for $2 at wal-mart)
5) Full stocked spice rack
6) Dry Erase markers to label the containers and put the date on them
7) Baggies (snack size and sandwich size)

Pretty Girl Shake it!

As I was sitting here on a Friday Night. I asked Chris- "Any ideas on a new blog post"? And he said, "yeah, why don't you write about different shakes". I thought for a moment, "great idea". I pictured this beautifully written, informative, helpful blog- then thought about it for another second and had a different reaction, "Holy crap" this will be no easy feat!

The best place to start is with the very first shake I ever tried: Slim Fast. This shake is basically a meal replacement. I was in a desperate attempt to lose 10 lbs in a week in my 1st or 2nd year after high school. I worked at Rite Aid, and thought what the heck, I'll give it a shot. Drinking it from the can made me gag. The powder mix was more tolerable- but to replace 2 meals per day with this?= Pure Torture. The purpose of the shake is to basically help you control caloric intake. I had no energy to workout and was so hungry, I actually snacked more and gained weight. I am sure this shake has worked for some, but for me, not so much. As I looked more into it, it only provided 1/3 of my daily vitamins, contained high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, artificial sources to make particular flavors, and hydrogenated soybean oil- all not so good things! Especially since it is suppose to be a meal!

My 2nd exposure to a "shake" was at a local gym (which I could not afford a memebership at). I would go to this gym after my workout at the cheaper gym for a tasty myoplex lite shake. These were far better tasting then slim fast- but I used them mainly as a snack. I always odered the smaller size- but there is no way I could've eaten even the larger size for a meal. It was more of a drink to me. As far as how I felt- it always helped me after workouts. No complaints. For some reason though, I couldn't make them as good as the gym made them when I bought the powder to use at home.

Exposure #3- weight watchers meal replacement shakes. These were sold at the weekly meetings. Although tasty, definately not very filling!

Shakeology was my 4th exposure to the "shake world" when I started a 90 day Beachbody Challenge in November 2011. I was totally freaked out that I was going to have to drink a shake for 1 meal per day for 90 days... especially with horrible past shake experiences. I read a lot of reviews on the shake prior- and most were really good- and yes, most were from Beachbody Coaches- so I knew they may be biased. However, all the girls in my challenge group were regular customers like me, and they seemed to like the shake as well. I was really bummed that there wasn't a vanilla flavor. I ordered Chocolate. As I learned more, I understood it gave me my full multivitamin, 4-5 servings of veggies, all ingredients were derived from whole foods, had protein, prebiotics, fiber, and nothing artificial (which is why they can not make a vanilla flavor). At the end of the first month, I had lost 12 lbs. I was really nervous, since the shake was PRICEY... but I did not want to give it up. I felt better than ever. Well, it is almost 8 months later, 33 lbs later, no colds, flu, or sicknesses, my hair and nails are amazing, and I still drink it! AHHH!

My Top 20 Snacks!

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. You never want to have one of those days when you eat really well all day, get stuck in traffic on the way home and find yourself munching on a bag of chips. By the time you get home, the bag of chips is nearly empty. All that “eating well” all day suddenly goes down the drain. Now you are disappointed, skip your workout (because you think, “what’s the use?”).

When it comes to snacking… and when your body is saying “I WANT A SNACK”… it is usually right- on, you are a little hungry, and can’t wait for the next meal. So you need a little something to hold you over. Think of a snack in that way… just a little something until you can have your next meal.

Clean out your kitchen… and place appealing things that are healthy at eye-level in your fridge- like washed berries, grapes, carrots, and cheese sticks.

When you get those little “nudges” from your belly telling you to have a snack… what it really wants is something worth-while. Feed it what it needs. Something with a little protein is always a good option (think almonds, turkey jerky, Greek yogurt, peanut butter, or string cheese). It may need some nutrients like potassium – think bananas!

We are all busy. So prepare! Make sure you have some of these key snacks available to you (at work), (at home), and in the car. Put one in your purse if you are going to your son or daughter’s sporting event. Chances are there are snack machines or snack booths lurking around the corner at these events, tempting your belly “nudges” to purchase something from them. Having something in your purse ahead of time will prevent the temptation.

Make sure your house always has: snack size baggies, ice packs, and portable containers to put snacks in.

My Top 20 Snacks

1)      Banana

2)      Ultimate Rice Cake (Multigrain Rice Cake) 2 TBSP PB2 or Just Great Stuff Powdered PB (reconstituted), with ½ banana sliced on top

3)      100 calorie pack plain or cocoa almonds

4)      1 serving of plain non-fat greek yogurt with 2 TBSP sugar free jam (I love raspberry)

5)      Turkey Jerky

6)      Carrot Sticks (put them in the mini snack bags) with hummus

7)      Homemade trail mix: Dark Chocolate Morsels, 8 plain almonds, dried cranberries, couple pretzel sticks (put in a snack size baggie- store in fridge if it is summer time so the chocolate does not melt).

8)      Take a P90X bar- slice into 4 slices and place in separate baggies for a quick yummy treat (70 calories)

9)      Grapes

10)   Berries

11)   Smart Pop popcorn (definitely recommend putting these in baggies in 1 portion sizes) it can be easy to go to town on the whole bag (OR Pirates Booty- single serve bags).

12)   Clementine oranges

13)   Homemade Granola Treats: (2 ripe bananas, 1 cup of quick oats, 1 TBSP honey, 2-3 TBSP PB2 (Reconstituted), handful of dried cranberries, handful of dark chocolate morsels OR 1- 100 calorie cocoa almonds - crushed, mix together, and place in 6 cup- disposable or reusable cupcake tin (3/4 way full)- place in freezer) grab and go for a quick snack.

14)   String cheese (low fat)

15)   Low Fat Cottage Cheese with S/F raspberry jam

16)   ½ banana covered with plain Greek yogurt and cinnamon/ truvia mixture then roll in crushed almonds. Place in freezer.

17)   Apple slices with ½ TBSP honey drizzled and cinnamon/ truvia mixture- warm in microwave

18)   WASA multigrain cracker, 1 TBSP light miracle whip, tomato slice, and ½ ounce low-sodium turkey breast, sprinkle with pepper.

19)   Raisins

20)   1 dark chocolate square

10 Tips on Motivation...

Ever wake up and say... "Today I am going to workout!" ? Then you either hit snooze, or (if it is the weekend) you go to the computer, log in to facebook or amazon sipping on your coffee (similar to what I am doing now), and all of the sudden it is 11am and you have 100 other things you need to get done that day? We are human, so I am guessing this happens to more people than just myself!

So if you have read my post on writing a goal... you have already done the most critical thing when it comes to putting that goal into action. If you haven't read it... read that first, then come back to this post :).

It was difficult to narrow this list down to just 10 tips... but here are the most effective I have found (not only for myself) but other people that I have worked with on health and fitness goals.

1) Prep Ahead. Lay out your workout gear the night before, and have them in site when you wake up. Also, know what you will need or not need as far as fuel (food/ water) before you begin your morning workout. If you MUST eat prior, choose something low on the glycemic index, and under 100 calories. I usually have a slice of ezekiel toast and 1/2 cup of coffee. I figure I can eat a bigger breakfast after I finish my workout.

2) When you wake up (or if this happens to be in the evening or afternoon) remind yourself of how good you felt when you finished your workout the last time you did it. What a sense of accomplishment you had!

3) At least try to do the warm up. Chances are... you'll start moving and decide to finish the entire workout. If not, at least you got a part of it done.

4) If it is one of those days where you really really do not feel like working out (you are coming up with every possible excuse), do a workout that you know you enjoy. I know what you are thinking, "a workout I enjoy!? There are none!" You will find one, trust  me... it took me most of my life to find one! I love group exercise... specifically Turbo Kick. To get me to run that track in high school/ middle school would have been a miracle. If only they had had Turbo Kick in gym! I also have a few select dvd workout programs that I really love as well.

5) The best way to stay accountable is to find a workout buddy. Find someone that will motivate you (and not come up with excuses). Sometimes this takes some time to find just the right person. Go to the gym together, have them come over and do the dvd with you... OR friend them on "My Fitness Pal" and log in your workouts and share them with each other... later in the week schedule a coffee date as a reward for both of your hard work (and stick to coffee, avoid the pasteries :) ).

6) Set a "mini" goal Sunday Night. I will do "X amount" of workouts this week. 3 cardio (list which ones), and 2 strength training (list which ones).

7) Put them in your calander like a non-negotiable appointment. I learned this one from Chalene Johnson. Especially with some of us having families to take care of, life is super hectic. However, you wouldn't cancel your dentist appointment, right??? Sunday night... put them in your calander... times and days you will workout. Plan how long the workout will take you. That is your time that nobody can interrupt!

8) Download New Music. Sometimes a new tune is just the motivation we need to start a workout for the day!

9) Clear a workout space. Working out at home? Designate a room for your workouts. Clear it out so you have no excuse to workout! Sometimes just knowing that you have that special area will be enough motivation to begin.

10) Post your goals where you know you will see them everyday. On your dvd player, on the coffee pot, the back drop on your phone. Everyday is a step closer to acheiving your goal!

** ONE LAST TIP: As the time ticks away while you get caught up in something else... say to yourself... "The last hour I spent on _________ I could have gotten ________ workout done!". In fact, there is a saying that goes... "If you worked out when you were first thinking about, you'd be done by now". Put down what you are doing and PUSH PLAY!