Meal Prep 2/22/14

Meal preppin!!! 

I got all this at the local HEB for less than $45! It's enough for 8 lunch servings, 6 breakfast servings and about 20 snacks! 

Turkey and Veggie "Meatloaf" Muffins

I. HATE. MEATLOAF. 

For real. So when a friend introduced me to "skinny meatloaf muffins", I was skeptic. But now I've been making them for years. I've made a few adjustments and this is what I have found works (and tastes!) the best. :) 

Sausage & Veggie Casserole

I've been doing a lot of meal prepping lately. I make egg muffins almost weekly and this just seemed much easier. I was able to bake it all together, then just slice pieces out (more like a quiche) and not have to worry about washing a nasty muffin pan! 

Meal Prep - 2/9/14

Hey Guys and Gals! We're starting a new blog post series here. Rachael and I have both been busy meal prepping on a weekly basis and it's working so well to keep us on track with our nutrition and calorie intake. :) Hopefully this will help you with some ideas if you're meal prepping or maybe we'll inspire you to start.

If you have any questions or need suggestions, please let us know. We're pretty passionate about our meal prepping, so we would love to help you!

Rachael's Meal Prep this week:

Snack: Carrots and Olive Hummus

17 Baby Carrots

2 Tbsp 3 Olive Hummus

119 calories, 15 carbs, 6 fat, 3 protein, 206 sodium, 35 sugars

Breakfast: Egg Muffins

3 servings:

3 egg whites, 3 whole eggs, 1/2 scallion, chpd, 1/4 C mushrooms, chpd, 1 c Turkey Sausage crumbles

3 servings:

3 egg whites, 3 whole eggs, 1/2 scallion, chpd, 1/4 C mushrooms, chpd, 1 C Turkey Lunchmeat, diced

Layer all non-egg ingredients in muffin tin. Beat eggs and whites, divide evenly over ingredients.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

113 calories, 1 carb, 6 fat, 14 protein, 286 sodium, 1 sugar

Lunch: Sausage, Quinoa and Veggies

5 servings:

14 oz Turkey Smoked Sausage, 1 1/4 Cup Dry Quinoa (cooked according to pkg), 1 med zucchini,

12 oz frozen steamable California Medley veggies, 1/4 cup mushrooms, 1/2 cup spinach

Cut sausage into chunks and pan sear. Shred zucchini. Saute mushrooms and spinach.

Divide into 5 containers. Quinoa, sausage, shredded zucchini, frozen veggies, mushrooms and spinach.

341 calories, 44 carb, 10 fat, 18 protein, 837 sodium, 7 sugar

 Snack: Emerald Natural Almonds

100 Calorie Packs

Melissa's Meal Prep this week:

Snack: Carrots and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

6 Baby Carrots

2 Tbsp Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

88 calories, 8 carbs, 5 fat, 3 protein, 3 fiber, 3 sugar

Snack: Cubed Fresh Mango

1/2 cup serving size

45 calories, 13 carbs, 1 fiber, 12 sugars

Breakfast: Apple/Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

6 servings

Bring 2 1/2 Cups water & 3 cups unsweetened almond milk to a boil. Add 1 3/4 cups steel cut oats, pinch of salt, 1 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/4 cup ground flax seed, 2 Tbsp whole flax seeds & 1/2 cup dried apples. Reduce to low. Simmer UNcovered for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. When creamy & tender, remove from heat & stir in 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 1 Tbsp vanilla, sweetener of your choice (I used 2 scoops NuNaturals Stevia and 2 squirts of Skinny Girl Liquid Stevia) & 2 scps vanilla whey protein powder.

292 calories, 44 carbs, 7 fat, 14 protein, 8 fiber, 8 sugars

Lunch: Spaghetti Squash with Ground Turkey, Baby Bella Spaghetti Sauce

5 servings

Cook spaghetti squash in crockpot. I used this method from Stacy Makes Cents. I put mine in when I got up and it was ready to be taken out of the crockpot to cool when I got home from church. I got exactly 5 cups of spaghetti squash from mine. Made perfect 1 cup servings for my week's lunches. Brown 1 pound ground turkey, pour 1 jar of sugar free spaghetti sauce into pot, add 8 ozs baby bellas and 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning. Pour 1 cup spaghetti sauce over 1 cup spaghetti squash.

221 calories, 19 carbs, 7 fat, 22 protein, 5 fiber, 10 sugars

We hope you enjoyed our meal prepping pictures and info. We really LOVE meal prepping and hope we can help you get started or give you the boost to love it. :)

God Bless,

Melissa

Confessions of a Former Addict: The Scale No Longer Defines Me

How much do you obsess about the number on the scale? Does it consume your every thought? Does every bite of food make you wonder if it's the reason you're not losing enough weight? Do you skip meals or limit calories to crazy-low amounts? Have you considered or acted upon skipping all meals for days, throwing up after you "cheat" or taken laxatives to lose weight?

Omelet Muffins

I've been making these for months for my husband to take to work. He eats them for breakfast quite often and is a big fan. I think these are the most versatile breakfast foods out there. You can literally add anything you want and they'll be amazing! 
The recipe below will be for veggie omelet muffin. I have done some with different veggies, crumbled bacon, turkey sausage or ham chunks and, as always, adding cheese makes them even better! 

Paleo Breakfast Muffins

It's supposed to rain... ALL WEEK. I know we need the rain, but I'm not a huge fan. I don't like being stuck indoors. So this morning, I went out on a bike ride hoping to beat the rain. Then, I got started on prepping food for the week for hubby and I. I didn't have time to do it yesterday (Sunday) which I know makes way more sense :) 
I started with some breakfast muffins. I'm a big fan of the classic blueberry muffin, but since switching to a 90% paleo life, a "normal" muffin is not an option. So here's what I did instead! I hope you enjoy! 

#idontdietijusteatright

So, this morning I wanted Sonic. I passed one on the way to work and all I could think of was the sausage, egg and cheese burrito I used to to eat (4-5 days a week) and I was drooling! 

As I passed the sonic, I began to think about what I was going to make for breakfast. It's my go-to. Egg whites, turkey sausage, avocado and salsa. NOMNOM!! (Much to my chagrin, I have learned that turkey sausage is not paleo. Looks like my favorite breakfast needs a makeover!) 

Anyhow, it's not that I CAN'T have a burrito from Sonic. I just choose not to. Hubby and I have talked a lot about can't vs. don't. If someone asks if I want pizza, I won't say "I CAN'T have pizza." Instead, "I don't eat pizza." 

So much of our own failures and successes are decided in our own mind. But I'm only talking about food, today :)

My breakfast was 291 calories. Everything was healthy. Protein, healthy fat, vegetable (yes, you can count salsa as a vegetable!) and a big glass of water. 
The Sonic burrito I wanted was 500 calories. And I'm sure I would have added a very unhealthy super sweet coffee drink. That would have added 430 calories. That's almost 1000 calories FOR BREAKFAST! 

I'm pretty sure I made the right decision :) 

It's one decision at a time. I DON'T DIET, I JUST EAT RIGHT! (and I hashtagged it because that's how I post my food on Instagram!)

My yummy breakfast

Make good decisions.  

R