Trying to Make A Habit of Meal Prepping? Plan! But Also PLAN TO BE UNPREPARED.

Let me set the scene...

Intention: You promise yourself, I'm going to meal prep every single Sunday night from 7-9pm. Which means, a planned meal menu... Which means grocery shopping is done...

Week 1: SUCCESS. The fridge is clean, the Tupperware is lined up in perfect stacks. You grab and go. Man, this is easy you think!

Week 2: See week 1. You pat yourself on the back.

Week 3: Holy cow, it's basically been 24 days. This is totally a habit.

Week 4: SHOOT, you say,as you get home Sunday night. It's 8:30 pm. You've just driven all afternoon across the state traveling home after a long weekend with your relatives. The fridge is empty. It's too late to go to the store.. let alone then cook after that! Lunch will have to be take out. Dinner? No time to make anything for that either between Susie's indoor soccer game, Tommy's basketball practice... Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday soon fly past too is a whirlwind of work and activities.

Are you saying Amen? I don't even have kids, but I truly commend all of you that have to consider their mouths to feed, too. I have a hard enough time as it is taking care of simply myself! LOL But I'm slowly but surely learning...

Many choose to meal prep as a result of another goal: trying to be better prepared, trying to lose weight, spend less money on meals, etc. I want to know what your reason is!

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Meal Prepping is easy, until it is not. Let's face it, life has a way of snowballing one activity on top of another. A two hour time block is a luxury, especially for parents and those that aren't only tied by their own schedule, but others in their lives as well. Don't take this the wrong way, when you want something bad enough, you will WORK for it. You will create a plan that works for you. Maybe you're watching Netflix/listening to an audio book/ as you prep for the week. Maybe you're separating and delegating the tasks between two people. Maybe what works best for you is spending one full day filling your freezer with crockpot meals, so that your life is made easier for the next month. The point I'm trying to make is, at some point or another, we are caused to devert from even the BEST made plans. So, what do we do? We PLAN for the inevitable swerves we will take.

Here are a few tips to keep yourself on track when there isn't time to fully prep for a week.

1. Find a few freezer brands that you support ingredients of. I only go through the frozen section at Meijer when their are sales. I've found an Aldi here in Grandville, MI to have great selections that meet my standards, as well as a similar style deal store in Allendale called Dailey Deals. A few weeks ago, I was able to buy $20 worth of frozen meals for Sam during a few week stint where he was basically working NON STOP. $20 literally filled like 6 bags! They had Grilled Veggie Chicken Fajita Pizza on a brown rice flour crust... EVOL meals for $1.50, Healthy Steamers meals of Cajun Pork and Rice, Chicken Meatballs ( easy to have with veggies, thrown into a pasta, on a piece of Ezekiel bread for a "sub"), and bagged veggies for ONE DOLLAR! Would I much rather have him come home to a fresh cooked meal? Yes... but fast food had been his crutch between 10 hour workdays, then working a side job in the evening, and then coming home to finalize a bedroom for a new roommate. Freezer food > fast food. I'm learning to pick my battles.

What do I look for in freezer food? Minimal ingredients, simple sauces, low sugar and sodium, veggies!!!, lean protein. I personally try to limit my intake of gluten, so if anything has pasta included, I prefer brown rice noodles, same to be said for the dough of pizza.

Brands to keep an eye for:

EVOL

Amy's

Kashi

Healthy Choice Steamers

Van's

Kodiak Cake Power Waffles

Morningstar Farms

Alexia

Food For Life ( Ezekial Bread, English Muffins, Muffins, etc...) - made with sprouted grains. :)

The queen of frozen food options - TRADER JOES! Seriously, if you've never taken a trip to your nearest TJ.. IT'S WORTH IT. Growing up, my mom and her best friend used to take the kids and make a fun girls shopping day out of it every few months. We'd stock an entire Yukon between two families. Craving Chinese? Burritos? They have a wide variety and you can find something for everyone, with healthier ingredients.. but you won't sacrifice amazing taste. A natural food store... I'll answer the question your already thinking. No, TJ's won't break your bank. Would I do a full blown grocery shopping trip their? No, probably not. It's worth it to stock up on special dishes, sauces, snacks for variety that is unlike so many other standard grocery stores. Fun fact: the owner of Trader Joe's brother is the owner of Aldi.

2. Keep your freezer and pantry filled with a few items that can be whipped up quickly to create a complete meal. What can you find in mine almost always?

Freezer:

Egg Whites

Ground Turkey

Chicken

Turkey/Salmon/ Veggie/Black Bean Burgers

Wholly Guac 100 Calorie Cups

Ezekial Bread

Broccoli/Peas/ Mixed Veggies

Mixed Fruit

Pantry :

Chickpea / Lentil Pasta

Low Sugar Pasta Sauce

Tuna

Avocado Mayo

Black Beans

Kidney Beans

Corn

Diced Tomatoes

Path of Life Quinoa and Kale (individual steam packs)

Sweet Potatoes

Acorn or Spagetti Squash

Advocare Meal Replacement Shakes

Protein Bars

For me, I have a few staple ingredients that I ALWAYS have fresh on hand. Even if I'm not planning to make a recipe that would include them, I know that they will be my saving grace for some quick meal. They're a few of my favorite foods and I can always count on the taste to satisfy my buds. Have you thought about what those foods are for you?

For me they are: Goat Cheese, Beets, Avocados/Guac, Spinach, Tomato.

When I'm not prepared, I can take these ingredients and twist them to make meals..QUICKLY.

• Throw them into egg whites for an omelet!

• Baking a salmon burger ( 8 mins) / putting it on top of everything with honey mustard dressing to make a salad.

• Stuffing spinach, goat cheese and beets into a chicken breast and baking.

What else do I do with what's in my freezer and pantry when I'm in a pinch?

• Mix tuna with Avocado Mayo or Guac and throw it on a bed of spinach or eat with carrots.

• Chickpea pasta

• Veggie ( what can i find in the fridge?! omelet)

• Throwing a veggie/black bean/ turkey burger on a slice of Ezekiel toast to make an open faced sandwich!

• Crockpot BBQ Chicken ( LOW SUGAR BBQ - 5g or less)

• Turkey chili

• Buddah Bowl - (bed of quinoa plus veggies and protein - ex. steam peas and bake salmon burger.. top with chunks of goat cheese and mustard).

• ADVOCARE Meal Replacement Protein Pancakes

• Smoothie

My boyfriend Sam either has all the food in his house or nothing at all. I swear, there is no in-between. Lol However, he always seems to have the following ingredients stocked in his freezer and cupboards for emergency meals that don't taste like another frozen meal. He loves down home, comfort food... he has a manly appetite, but he can feel confident that he's eating great ingredients, getting veggies, and won't go into a carb coma like a typical Italian "pasta dish."

20 Min Meal!

Recipe:

Bananza Chickpea Pasta (Protein AND Fiber)

Pasta Sauce

1 bag frozen Broccoli (Greens)

1 can Corn

Turkey or Chicken Meatballs (Protein and Fat)

optional: trade broccoli for peas, spinach, kale

The meatballs bake in the oven while veggies steam and pasta cooks. Easy as 1, 2, 3!

As I said previously, I enjoy whipping up Bireta Bites Turkey Chili for an easy dinner ( plus multiple days of leftover meal prep) . The recipe can be found on page ..... in my ebook. Also, able to throw into a crockpot after turkey is browned. Black beans, kidney beans, broth, diced tomatoes all come from my pantry while peppers, onion, and ground turkey can be found at most times out in my freezer.

I hope this has helped you think of ways you can revamp your freezer, pantry and fridge to find simple options to heat up or whip up when life leaves you running ragged and tempted to reach towards takeout menus and drive through windows. If you have any questions or would like help creating swaps and solutions specifically for you/ your family, please feel free to reach out!

I can officially say, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wishing you all HEALTH, happiness, and excellent habits for the year 2018.

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