Breakfast: steak strips, sweet potato fries, guac, and jalapeno peppers (All WLC compliant, by the way).
The best part about this was the prep time took next to nothing. Sure, it took some time to cook the sweet potatoes but we have done exceptionally well at meal planning and prepping this week.
I cooked the majority of the meat on Sunday. Last night I cut up the sweet potatoes and got the pan ready to cook. This morning most of the hard work had already been done, so it took a lot less time.
Over the weekend I had written out a meal plan and went shopping based on that. When you have a 6 year old, a 3 year old, a job, etc. life gets hectic. This planning and prepping might seem over the top, but this week we have done a great job at it and I am amazed at how much stress this relieves.
Last night when I got home and my wife was at the gym, I didn’t have to stare into the fridge and wonder what to cook. I just looked at our meal plan and did it. I knew we had the ingredients, some of which had already been prepared. That peace of mind has been helpful for us but most importantly, allowed us to stay focused and not deviate from eating clean.
Meal planning for the week…
Writing this out could be considered OCD, but the time it saves and peace of mind it brings makes it worth doing. We decide what we want for the week then I make a grocery list based on this. It makes meal prep easier and also reduces the “extra” food we would be tempted to snack on throughout the week.
Since we are doing the Whole Life Challenge, I pay extra close attention to the labels and ingredients. It astonishes me the crap that is in our food. Stuff that says all natural, sugar free, etc. usually has some sugar alternative or other garbage in it.
By paying closer attention to what we buy, I feel better about what I am putting in my body now.
Best show on television. LOL!
Chicken Salad
I was a little hesitant about posting the recipe to this, only because the chicken is not the healthiest in the world, at least the way I marinated it. A buddy passed along this to me and I gave it a shot, tastes awesome.
For the chicken marinade:
- 1 cup light Italian dressing
- 1/4 cup low sodium hot sauce
- Pinch of sea salt & some pepper
Mix up the above ingredients and place them, along with your chicken breasts, into a freezer bag. Shake it up pretty good and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours. Once you are ready to cook it, placed the chicken breasts into a glass cooking pan and then pour the marinade on top of them. Cook for 35-40 minutes on 375.
The best part about this, for me anyway, is to cook several of the chicken breasts on the weekend. After they are done cooking, toss them into some tupperware. This takes a lot of prep work out of your meals during the week. It is quick and easy to grab a chicken breast and toss it on a salad for a meal on the go. I do the same thing with the onions. I will chop them up and toss them into tupperware. That makes cooking volumes easier and it is cheaper than buying them already diced.
For the salad:
- 1-2 cups of mixed greens
- Diced onions (I prefer red but didn’t have any handy)
- 1 tablespoon of reduced fat feta cheese
- 1 half avocado
- 2 tablespoons organic salsa
The small things become big things. For me, I can easily go overboard on salad dressing. I just don’t have the self control. I know the chicken was marinated with salad dressing, but that doesn’t mean I also have to douse my salad with it as well. What I have been trying to do is move away from using any salad dressing at all. Salsa has been the best thing for me personally.
“Paleo Nachos”
I caught this on Instagram and wanted to put it here so I could try it. Also thought it looked pretty good so I figured sharing it wouldn’t be so bad either. The recipe looks pretty simple and straight forward. Sweet potato wedges around a bowl of ground turkey (I am told the turkey has carrots and zucchini in it as well). It is topped with avocado and sour cream (obviously not paleo). If any of you get a chance to make this before I do, please let me know how it tastes.
Today went a little better than yesterday. At least it was planned out somewhat.
Post-WOD: Light vanilla soy with Progenex
Breakfast: 2 Kashi Go-Lean waffles, egg whites, scrawberruhs, coffee
Snack 1: Reduced fat peanut butter and a banana.
Lunch: Mixed green salad with onions, reduced fat feta, cherry tomatoes, turkey burger, and salsa.
Snack 2: Chobani and almonds
Dinner: Last minute decision to meet up with the wifey right after picking up our girls. Always a little nerve wracking eating out as it is too tempting to do bad. Splurged a little with the chips and salsa but did great with the meal. Ordered off the light menu and got a great 6 ounce sirloin with a big helping of broccoli.







