Weekly Meal Prep Tips!

Hello readers! This is my first post of the new year so I had to make it a good one! I know that losing weight or getting healthy is a popular New Years Resolution and I hope that you all have remained dedicated. As for myself, I know that I have not been eating too healthy. I recently graduated from college and like many other poor, unfortunate souls, I have not had the best luck in finding a job. Well, what do you do when your future is threatened and it looks like you'll have to a homeless hottie or a stripper? Well you give up luxuries that you cannot afford anymore. It is basic survival. Humans live to protect themselves and my physiological need for shelter and security were being threatened. Sadly, I was at a crossroads where I knew I needed to eat but didn't know if I could have risked losing the money. It was a sad place to be and can only imagine what other students or unemployed undergrads are going through. Thankfully, my family came to visit me and I was able to get a ton of groceries (plus my mother cooked some delicious foods so I have leftovers). It was literally the best thing to ever happen to me since all I had in my fridge was a jar of salsa and three frozen tilapia fillets. The struggle was mad real for ya girl but back to the topic at hand...

1. When it comes to meal prepping, I like to start out by dividing my animal proteins. That means that my beef, pork, chicken, salmon all get divided into two day portions. I buy a bulk bag of chicken breast but I have found that fresh beef, salmon, and pork is cheaper and freezes and thaws out perfectly! If I buy ground beef (which goes perfectly with corn tortillas) I cook and season the meat before freezing it. Then, whenever I want to cook it, I just heat it up on the stove top and voila!
2. Buy fresh and frozen produce. I like to eat the fresh foods first and then dip into the frozen stockpile. While it is tempting to devour the edamame immediately, I know that I have to finish my fresh green beans first.
3. Cook your vegetables and carbohydrates. My grainy sides usually consist of brown rice and more brown rice. I always cook  more vegetables than grains since I love having a colorful plate. 
4. Portion out your plate! I am not sure what dietary restrictions or plan you are on but the key step in meal prepping in putting all that delicious and healthy food into Tupperware! Storing it makes it super convenient to grab and eat on the go and it might prevent you from overeating. 
5. Don't forget to prep your snacks too! Things as simple as portioning out nuts in a sandwich bag or making smoothies/juices ahead of time makes it easier (and cheaper) to get through the next day. If you don't know what kind of snacks to prep, below are some of my favorites

• Mango's and berries
• Bananas and crunchy peanut butter
• Almonds
• LARA bars
• Kale juice (recipe below)

Homemade kale juice

Kale Juice Recipe

-1.5 C green tea

-1/2 bunch of kale

-1 extra large green apple

-2 kiwis

-1 banana

-1 cucumber

-splash of fresh lemon juice to taste

09/15 Shopping Trip

Hello readers! It has been well over a month since I have officially been grocery shopping! Over the past few weeks, I have supplemented my diet with a few quick trips to CVS here and there but nothing to serious. Well...I finally got the chance to head to the grocery store so here is shopping list!

1 lb of green beans - $1.51

1 tub of Dannon plain yogurt- $2.38

1 can of corn- $.48

Baby carrots - $1.44

Chicken drumsticks - $2.55

Top sirloin steak- $4.33

2 Cans of store brand tuna- $1.36

1 Cucumber - $.58

1 White onion - $.57

2.35 lbs of red apples - $2.75

2 Avocados - $1.16

1 Potato - $.50

1 Jalapeno- $.06

Air freshener- $.88

Total- 20.55

Stay tuned this week so see what I cooked!
-Eating Clean in College

Sunday Night Prep

There are many things that you can quickly make that will help you make your meals faster! The trick is to maximize on the one night a week where more people have nothing to do-Sunday night! For me, this is the time where I do all my grocery shopping so it makes sense to go ahead and chop, cook, or marinate the foods I purchased. If you spend a couple of hours Sunday night, you can get breakfast for the week taken care of, school lunches out of the way, or even a couple dinners or two. Not to mention snacks nuts and produce.

• Marinate all meats and seafood and place in freezer bags. Freeze those you plan on using later in the week or for another time. For the meats and seafood that you plan on eating within the next 3 days, then you can place those bags in the fridge. 
• I like to just "marinate" my fish with spices and herbs, nothing to aqueous 
• For chicken, olive oil or canola oil make good bases for spices and herb to blend into. Any combination of garlic, parsley, black pepper, Dijon mustard, Italian dressing, red pepper flakes always hits the spot.
• For meats (particularly beef since I don't eat pork) I find that it is best to marinate your fridge portion with an oil base and your frozen portion in a sauce (like BBQ, ketchup). Just like with chicken Dijon mustard, black pepper, and garlic are great ways to spice up your beef. For an extra fancy touch, stuff your red meat with the garlic, jalapenos, or split your beef cut in half and  apply a spread in the middle. 

 

• Fruits: I tend to leave them alone since they oxide immediately and don't store that well. If you do want to cut up 3 days portion (after that, I feel that they don't taste that well) then I recommend that you put add in a citrus fruit. For example, cut up and apple in edible portion and add in  1/2 a  sliced grapefruit. You can even do a peaches, apples, and oranges mix. Of course, if you just do citrus fruit, then you do not have to add in any additional fruits. I would stay away from bananas since they tend to get mushy. Lastly, all kinds of berries and grapes do well alone but you are more than welcome to mix them with other fruits. Of course, make sure to squeeze all air out of the bags.
• Vegetables: Unlike fruits, they can store fresh by themselves.Since zucchini is a staple in my kitchen I always purchase a lot. You can slice, dice, and chop them for easier cooking. This same rule goes for leafy vegetables like romaine lettuce and spinach. You can wash and divide the bunch into equal portion sandwich bags. 
• While you are doing all of this, boil brown rice! It takes about 30-45 to make depending on the package directions. 
• Nuts typically come in either 1/4 or 1/3 cup portions so you bust out your measuring cup and sandwich bags and fill them up until the nut package is empty!
• If you can, make a menu of what all you have and what foods you can prepare with it. Just like with the fruits and meat, I recommend that you make dinners for 3 days in advance. 

      

-Eating Clean in College