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2018 is off to a decent start for our family and business, but it's time to make some positive changes. I have some New Years Resolutions as many people do this time of year. At the top of my list.....eating healthier and losing some weight, but it's hard to just pick up a good habit. Why are bad habits so easy to pick up though? So here I am starting off slow. Baby steps you know?!
We typically eat decent on a daily basis but not as well as we could. My husband works totally opposite hours and through the night so he will eat out on those night. He's always been good about making healthy choices and getting to the gym throughout the week. Me on the other hand.....not so much. Let's just say that the gym and I just don't get along. I don't know why but that's just how it is. Even though I cook most of our meals here at home, I have been slacking and eating out a lot, letting the kids have cereal or ramen noodles for dinner. Yes, bad mom to start the year off. But I have vowed to work on changing it!
Today I was able to sit down and decide what sort of meals I could prep and store ahead of time so we can just grab it from the fridge and warm it up or take it to work with us. Here's what I came up with.
Brown rice, garlic lime shrimp, and pinto beans.
Roasted red potatoes, chicken and broccoli
Protein boxes - hard boiled eggs, cheese, almonds, and carrot sticks
Fruit snack bags - grapes, oranges, and cheese sticks
Breakfast sandwiches with sausage and cheese
Homemade waffles
Chips and guacamole
I spent the day shopping for all of my food and storage containers. I found these guys at Amazon (because, you know Amazon has EVERYTHING you could ever want) and ordered them today. I think they will work out so much better than the ones that I have for this weeks meals.
While we're on the subject of shopping at Amazon.....did you know you can order your groceries from them? I had no clue!! I'm seriously going to check it out. I mean really.....select your groceries online and have them delivered to your door. How awesome is that?!!! Check out the link below for more info on their program
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Time to prep!
Wash all of the fruits and veggies. Get them all cut.
Cook the brown rice. I made enough for 5 storage containers.
Roast the potatoes, chicken and broccoli on a sheet pan. I used Italian dressing as a marinade. Boil a dozen eggs.
Assembled the breakfast sandwiches. I used a package of premade biscuits, frozen sausage patties and American cheese.
I bought the snack sized guacamole cups to pack with a bag of tortilla chips.
The hardest part was probably making the waffles. They are truly time consuming, but I double the batter recipe and get enough waffles to last 2 weeks.
It's definitely time consuming but I think once I get into a routine it will get easier. I am excited though. Instead of being a short order cook, I can tell them to go grab something out of the fridge! And now we don't have a choice but to eat healthy!!
My favorite part....the protein bites!! They are like eating peanut butter cups, only healthy and super easy. No baking needed. Here's how
1/2 a jar of creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp. chia seeds
3 tbsp. honey
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 bag of mini chocolate chips
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Arbonne's vanilla)
quick oats
almond milk
Here's where the recipe gets a little sticky :) I start by using my kitchen aid mixer and cream together the peanut butter, chia seeds and honey. I add the coconut and the protein powder and get it all combined. It's going to be pretty thick. Here I add a splash of almond milk to help thin it. Now start adding the oats. I used about half of a canister in all. You're going to want to get it to a cookie batter consistency. So if it's too dry, I'll add more almond milk and then more oats. I add the chocolate chips at the end so they don't get crushed too much.
Now use a portion scoop and roll each into a ball. This way, they are all the same size! I initially freeze them on a baking sheet and then put them into a container. I like to keep mine frozen. It's kind of like eating cookie dough.
These keep for a few weeks in the fridge and a few month in the freezer. But I guarantee they wont last that long!
So if you are wanting to start eating healthier without sacrificing good food, this is a good place to start. If I can do it, you can too! Here's to eating healthy in the new year.
Nicole