So, this weekend we had my amazing sister in law over and her fiance. I really wanted thai food and was thinking about take out. The problem with take out is that I then struggle with entering the details of the meals into my fitness pal. My solution was, make it myself! This is all fun and games until you wake up with a phone call way earlier than anticipated and are so tired you could cry. Yes, that is a direct quote of what I told my husband. This is when being lazy comes into play. How can I get the most bang for my efforts. Simple, cook enough food for dinner that you can use it for your meals for the week! I wasn’t too worried about cooking on Saturday vs. Sunday because I am only prepping for Sunday to Wednesday.
My challenge was then to come up with and find recipes that hit my macros. Our groceries this week included just under $50 dollars worth of produce and $120 dollars work of meat. Yikes! My husband was like, “Seriously Nikki”. My response is generally “tee hee” followed by inside thoughts of “oh shit!” Anyway, I was committed and I’m proud to say it all worked out. When buying meat I actually do math. Math? Yes, math people! If i’m aiming for 100 grams of meat for lunches and I’m prepping 10 lunches I buy just over 1 kilo of meat (because shrinkage). Now this definitely isn’t a perfect system..often times I’m short of what I need. However, it is easier to eat a can of tuna than be stuck with tons of leftovers.
I didn’t prep any breakfast this week because I’m on vacation and will be experimenting with some breakfast recipes for a little project I’m working on!
Meals this week include:
meal 1: exciting breakfast not featured here but you can bet it will be delicious, nutritious and include carbs!
meal 2: ground chicken breast lettuce wraps from Skinny Taste
meal 3: Quick Chicken Curry (my own recipe)
meal 4: BBQ thai chicken with Cauliflower fried rice (my own recipe)
Snack 1: 5 Minutes protein waffles with Greek yogurt and some strawberries
Snack 2: 1/2 a bag iwon! nutrition protein chips in BBQ or Cinnamon French Toast compliments of @iwonnutrition and Square bars compliments of @squareorganics
Snack 3: Unico Nutrition Peanut Butter Chocolate protein shake
Post Workout: Optimum Nutrition Chocolate Protein Shake
Calories for above meals and snacks is approximately 1880
Approximate Calories: 1750
I’m cutting back on calories not for any reason other than I’m having a hard time eating as much now that I’m on vacation. I’ve also stopped showing my macros because you need to calculate your own macros based on your height/weight/age/fitness routine/activity level.
*if you want to know my macros/calories check out the “Macros” section on my blog
FAQs:
1. Do I freeze anything?
Because I only prep food for Monday to Friday (but Friday is just lunch) I don’t freeze anything UNLESS i’m making waffles or pancakes. If I make waffles or pancakes I freeze Thursday and Friday’s portions. Note: I do set my fridge to be colder than normal….sometimes my boiled eggs and parts of my meals are actually frozen.
2. How long does food last?
Anything not eaten by Friday at lunch time gets thrown out. Often times I cook 2 meals less than I theoretically need because I don’t like throwing food out. If you aren’t comfortable cooking this much food, prep twice a week.
3. Do things get soggy?
Meal prepping means that sometimes you have to figure out what works. When including fruit or salads, I make sure I dry everything really well so it doesn’t get soggy. I personally am not picky about soggy things…for instance, soft mushy french fries are my jam. But things like chili and lasagna don’t get soggy in my opinion. Sometimes it is simply trial and error to find out what works.
4. How many people is the food for?
My husband is away this week so this is all for ME! ?
5. How long does it take to meal prep?
This particular prep took me me 3 and a half hours which is because I was prepping a lot of different things and trying to make recipes as I went as well. I find I can prepare lunch and dinner for 2 people in about 2-3 hours. This varies depending on what I make and if I have any help. If i’m cooking breakfast also, I need about 3-4 hours.
6. Do I get bored of eating the same thing?
Sometimes, but not really. I only cook things I love. In general, I love eating things on repeat…and then I won’t touch them for like 5 years haha oops!
7. What’s the nutritional value of the food?
My calories change depending on my training and activity level. They vary between 1600-2000.
8. How do I reheat my food?
I usually don’t! As a teacher I often eat on the go. Between working with students, supervision and clubs I don’t get a lot of time to sit down. I’m also totally fine with eating food cold so…a lot of time that’s what happens. But, if I do have time I just throw my food in the microwave…I do not reheat my food in plastic, even if it is BPA free.
9. What can’t I live without when meal prepping? What containers do I use?
Check out this post to see to get linked to my favourite my waffle maker, crockpot, rice cooker, scale,meal prep containers, spiralizer….
10. What protein powder do I use?
Unico Nutrition Chocolate Peanut Butter and Chocolate Optimum nutrition. The chocolate taste amazing!! I do my baking and waffles and pancakes with the Optimum Nutrition vanilla.
11. What pre-workout do I use?
Unico Nutrition Strawberry-Limade preworkout with Con Cret creatine or Amino Energy. Currently loving lemon lime, blueberry mojito and watermelon flavors. My husband loves grape but I think it tastes like cough medicine.
12. What lunch bag do I use?
I use the Shield Bag from FITMARK BAGS use code friends15 for 15% off your bag.
Comments 1
Amazing