I love to instagram on Monday's about food. It's a hash tagging dream for a girl like me{#MealPrepMonday}. Between bodybuilders and the clean eaters, its tips on tips on tips and inspiration galore. Successful bikini competition prep, successful off season gains, and successful fat shredding diets all center around food. Getting healthy has 80% to do with the food you put into your body and prepping your food is a commitment and guarantee to yourself that your going to get to that 80%, 100% of the time. This is my first blog post about prep. It's like a little toe dip into a very large pond. I could probably write a post daily about technique and tips. It's a bit of an art, but at the same time it's ridiculously simple. I mean, you purchase food, cook it up, eat it the entire week and feel good. 4 easy steps. The problem is it's so fundamentally different from the way everyone in the world eats that we try really hard to make it complicated and scary. It's not. It's a little bit of work, portion control, and ultimately worry free choices for a feel good lifestyle. So this is my food prep intro for you just tuning into the world that I love so much....
Step one: Go to the dang grocery store. I know right, but for someone out here this is profound. Getting to the grocery store is probably my least favorite part but lately I've been wearing my headphones and I have to tell you it's giving me BIG JOY. I get starred at fairly often, but I'm pretty sure it's because I'm busting out my dance moves. I don't much care. It's kinda like whatever makes the task more enjoyable is what I'm gonna do. Music helps me through cardio, why wouldn't help me through the dreaded store. Now, I don't usually wear them while shopping with my kids, in fact I don't recommend you even take your kids to the store. Let it be known I really don't love to take my children{all three together} anywhere! lol Some mother out there with three boys is feeling me on this one. They are like herding cats. Big, obnoxious, hungry cats. So I tried my new found joy out while shopping with them. Total awesomeness. The minute Pop Tarts and CoCo Pebbles were mentioned I turned up Pandora Radio. *note...I totally expect my kids to be in therapy soon*
Step two: Fill your cart with healthy foods. I told you it was easy. Okay, so a healthy lifestyle diet consists of lots of lean protein and vegetables. Lots and lots and lots of it. There are some items I insist on buying organic, chicken, spinach, salmon{fresh caught vs farm raised} and milk for my kids are a few of the musts, but honestly my budget doesn't lend itself to much more organic than that. My advice is to buy the best quality food your budget allows and steer clear of frozen produce and meat. For the record, that is indeed Ranch dressing in the cart. I'm not proud, I don't eat it, but my kiddos do. I let me kids be kids, and ranch dressing and Doritos are two of their favorite things. They are true blue Americans for sure. I shudder.
{as if I would ever deny my child a grocery store selfie opportunity}
Step thee: Cook. Most weeks I do a big prep on Monday and a little prep mid week to get me through the weekend. It ususally looks very much like the above pics but just different vegetables. I roast, sauté or grill my veggies{I use olive oil-healthy fats are important}. I prefer to grill my protein. I marinade them in olive oil and gluten free low sodium soy sauce, lemon juice and fresh herbs, or sprinkle them with no sodium seasoning. I brown my ground turkey. I boil my eggs, wash lettuce, cut up fresh veggies{I seem to like fresh veggies over cooked ones in the summer} When everything is cooked, I slice it all up and bag it. For me bagging works because I have the time in the morning to prepare my food if I'm going to be home, or put it into containers for when I'm on the go. Did you catch that part??! I TAKE MY FOOD WITH ME WHERE EVER I GO. I never leave home without a meal, two if I think I will be longer than three hours. This is key! Don't ever get to starvation level hungry! Chew on that for a while. It can be a hard part for people to wrap their minds around. In my next prep post I'll talk more about it. Okay so, back to organizing your food....If you work out of your house, this is where you would grab 10,000 plastic containers and fix your weeks meals to look something like this....
Step four: EAT. Protein, veggie,{maybe} healthy fat and carb{ground turkey, grilled squash, 1/2 avocado, carb-although not pictured}. You grab this, you eat it, you smile, you move on with your day until it's time to eat again, like in thee hours. I know right??! Simple, easy eating, guilt free yumminess, absolute day making stuff.. The picture below is what I make with my prepped food if I'm home. Everything is already cooked{right, and in a bag}, I just grab and assemble. I always eat off a small plate to keep my portions in check. And if you can believe it, this becomes a really fun habit and life style, mainly because you get RESULTS. You shred fat, reach goals, get healthy, have energy, and I don't know....maybe blow your own damn mind with your commitment and disipline. Wouldn't that be fun??!
