Meal Planning

"Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail"

The key to having a healthy body is 80% nutrition.  The key to proper nutrition is planning and preparation!  I recently read a quote, "Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail."  It is so true! I am much happier when I take this step each week!

Having had the opportunity to discover the 21 Day Fix and following the nutrition guide is what has helped this lifestyle change of mine truly happen!  Despite I have completed other workout programs, the nutritional foundations I learned all derived from the 21 Day Fix.  And for that, the value is irreplaceable in my opinion.  I am not a dietician or nutritionist... all I know is that eating cleaner is much easier than I anticipated and to think it was always in front of me and I never clued in.  Success is the sum of small efforts!

So here is the secret.... I set aside time each weekend to do meal prep!  I do meal prep for snacks, lunches and dinners for my family every weekend!  In the beginning this seems to take FOREVER, but trust me, in the end it is time saving!  And it diminishes stress from the hustle and bustle of my daily life rushing here and rushing there.  Not to mention  I feel like I have my sanity back since going back to work after maternity leave. I love being organized!

First
The first step in the planning for the week is to sit down and think about what I am feeling like eating over the next week and at the same time being frugal.  I look in the freezer to see what meat I have left. I look in the fridge to see what vegetables are also left.  From there I grab a pen and paper and jot down a "general" menu for the week.  My general meal is in accordance with how many of each coloured container I am allotted per day based on the 21 Day Fix.  For instance, I can have two purple (fruit) a day. So I may have a fruit at or with breakfast and I generally have my second fruit for my morning snack (I like to keep my fruit consumption before noon).

When scratching out my meal plan I think of it in terms of:   breakfast
                                                                                                am snack
                                                                                                lunch
                                                                                                pm snack
                                                                                                dinner

I always plan my breakfast, am and pm snacks first. Dinners next and lunches last.  Pretty Simple!  For dinners, I tend to think of 3-4 meals per week and have left overs, so that I am not having to do much for actual "cooking" during the week.  I love to re-heat and have less dishes!

When Do I do Meal Prep?

Sunday!  Sunday afternoons are when I sent time aside to cut my fruit and veggies, cook meat, eggs and prepare any casseroles for the week.  Then,  I divide everything out using my cute little coloured containers to be sure my portions are accurate!  I am sure to rinse and dry my fruit well, especially like berries to ensure they stay fresh for the full five days.  On the weekends, I prepare my food as I eat it since I am home.  If you don't have time to prep fresh fruit, frozen fruit is EXCELLENT!  I buy a large bag of frozen berries (strawberries, raspberries and blackberries). I take one cup out in the morning, add it to my greek yogurt and by 10:00am they are mostly thawed and the juice from the berries helps cut the bitterness of the greek yogurt!  A splash of maple syrup and some pumpkin seeds and voila!

For lunches I either take left overs, mason jar salads (see my other post on that or check out www.organizeyourselfskinny.com) for instructions.

Last
I put everything in the fridge in their proper spaces so that in the morning when we are rushed my hubby and I both know which bucket we are grabbing from for our lunch!  That simple!

Hope you enjoy!  And if you have any questions feel free to send me a Facebook message or send me an email!

If you are interested in joining an accountability group for 14-21 days and learn exactly how to do this with some motivation and support and 1:1 coaching, please be sure to CLICK the link below fill out an application for one of my upcoming groups! I would LOVE to have you!

Application Forms:
21-30 Day Accountability Group Application 
14 Day Clean Eating/3 Day Refresh Candy Detox