Being fairly new to eating clean, I have quickly learned the importance of preparing and planning your meals in advance … a good day can turn bad fairly quickly if you fail to plan; and of course, follow through. There is nothing worse than having a plan and then having that plan fall apart.
For the last month or so, I’ve employed a Sunday Prep Day where I cook or pre-portion all my items for the week. Typically, this involves portioning out fruit and veggies and cooking up protein. I also map out the meals we are going to have for dinner and plan the nights where we are going to eat out.
Here is what I typically cook/prep:
Brown Rice
Boneless, skinless chicken breast
Egg whites (I use muffin tins to cook liquid egg whites in)
Hard Boiled EggsGrapes
Bananas
Raw broccoli
Raw carrots
Once everything is prepped and portioned, all I have to do is grab it in the morning and through the items in my lunch cooler. This is what a typical/ideal day looks like:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup oats cooked in water with 1 TBS ground flaxseed, 1/2 banana and 1/2
tsp vanilla. 3 hard “boiled” egg whites and 1 whole boiled eggSnack 1: 3 oz chicken, 1/2 cup cooked brown rice (seasoned with Mrs. Dash’s), 3/4 cup grapes (or other fruit)
Lunch: Chocolate Shakeology mixed with 1 cup unsweetened, original Almond Milk and ice.
Snack 2: 3/4 cup raw broccoli, 10 baby carrots, 1 TBS hummus, 3 oz. protein (chicken, turkey, meatballs, etc.) – this week I added in some baked sweet potatoes
Dinner: Typically I will cook something from Clean Eating Cookbook or Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Cookbook; or I will find a recipe in a magazine or online. Usually, served with steamed veggies and/or a salad.
Is everyday perfect? No, in the work that I do, there is ALWAYS food … we have an industrial test kitchen filled with delicious goodness and I occasionally indulge. It’s all moderation and planning ahead helps me keep that in check (usually).
I keep track of all my food and workouts in MyFitnessPal. You can follow me at www.myfitnesspal.com/girlinnashville.