One of the best things to do in the beginning of the week to have a nutritious diet is to prepare healthy foods. This includes grab and go items, meals, and snacks. For snacks I like to cut up veggies and fruit. In addition I like to buy healthy on the go snacks such as yogurt, cheese sticks, protein bars, and nuts. I like to get these sort of snacks because it helps me stay full and also be ready for when my hunger kicks in in between meals and they
won’t ruin my hard work I’ve put in at the gym like an ice cream blizzard from dairy queen would. When it comes to prepping for meals for the week I usually like to stick to making brown rice, grilled chicken, and grilled vegetables. That way, when I get home from work or school I have a lunch or dinner in the fridge almost ready, all I have to do is pop it in the microwave!
Here’s what my day consisted of…healthy prepwork! It’s kind of fun getting everything ready and knowing you’ll have a healthy back up plan when you have a sweet tooth or want something crunchy but don’t want to ruin a hard work out or are trying to look good for spring break 🙂
-Chop veggies: bell peppers, celery, cucumber, and carrots & put them in a container for go to snacks during the day!
-Cut fresh fruit like apples and bananas and put them in bags in refrigerator when you have a sweet tooth or add peanut butter on them for a perfect snack! (To keep apples from turning brown, place water mixed with lemon or lime juice in a bag, add apples, and shake it up a little bit & then drain the water. This should keep them looking fresh for a few days)
-Container sweets: if you like sweet berries, go to the store and cut up strawberries, get blueberries and blackberries and place them in containers when you need a healthy sweet treat after meals with yogurt or even in oatmeal/cereal in the morning!
After getting all my veggies and snacks in order for the week, I was able to prepare easy meals for me to get home. The only thing I don’t have pictured is the salad that I prepare to accompany my meals. It consists of ice berg, spinach, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, and radishes. I like to add walnuts, pecans, strawberries, and apples as well, but it’s not part of the blend.
To prepare my meals I made baked chicken and vegetables in the oven, along with making brown rice in the rice cooker. Costco has a great deal for buying about 10lbs of chicken for twenty dollars. That’s at least a good 20-25 meals right there! I love that store for getting fresh fruit and healthy treats like protein bars and pop chips, and nuts as well!
Anyways if you wanna know how I baked the chicken and veggies: I used olive oil and a little bit of seasonings to coat the food. I used garlic seasonings and black pepper. I don’t like doing too much to the chicken because if I want to add barbecue or teryaki sauce or a little cheese on top to mix the flavor up during the week, it won’t taste weird when added! So just a little to give it moisture and taste is always good. I cooked the chicken and veggies at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes! I used zuchinni, yellow squash, onions, red bell peppers, and mushrooms for the roasted veggie tray.
When I was done I let everything cool off for about fifteen to twenty minutes and then placed them in containers like the one showed below. This makes it easy for when I’m lazy and can just pop it in the microwave for a little bit. I didn’t take a picture of the brown rice, but that takes about an hour to cook and is quite simple! but now i’m ready and prepared for a week of healthy food and meals.
Hopefully this gives you an idea of how to prepare easy meals for the week and prep at the beginning so you don’t have to go through a hassle of trying to find something healthy and opting for the pizza delivery because you can’t find anything at home.
Have a great week 🙂
Simple and healthy meal prep!
i agree- its so easy, and it keeps ya on track 🙂 have a great day
Great tips! How long, however, before you get tires of chicken? My problem is that I have food ADD. Do you swap for fish instead?
haha, that’s a good question. I actually just like flavoring my chicken with different sauces. Sometimes I’ll use barbecue, pasta sauce, cheese sauce/shredded mozzarella, teryaki, it all depends the mood. But for the actual chicken, sometimes I’ll swap and do turkey patties, or veggie patties, or egg white patties during the week and crumble them on salads. Also pork chops, tenderloins are great meal preps. I’m not much of a fish girl, I wish I was, but sometimes the smell gets to me-it’s great for your diet though, so definitely go for that if you can a couple times a week!
Oh never thought of roasting stuff for meal prep as I normally stir fry or steam…simple I know but just never crossed my mind. Might do that today since I have an abundance of tomatoes and going to make roast tomato garlic and basil sauce.
Roasted tomato, garlic and basil sauce sounds delicious!
sounds like a great idea!
Smart! I agree…food prep is the key to healthy eating!
It really is, it saves me all the time, to grab veggies instead of chips or chocolate 🙂
I really like how you presented this information. Very informative and a great example of a healthy diet!
Thank you so much! I hope you come back for more and have a great a day 🙂
i love to do this as well! It’s a great way to stick to healthy habits during a busy week! nice post 🙂
it really does, and thank you 🙂
Yes, I agree that one of the best things to do in the beginning of the week is to prepare healthy foods. Sometimes, I don’t always get to it on a Sunday, but if I can make my lunch the night before, I’ll feel accomplished. I love having something healthy available for when hunger strikes too! My purse also contains a couple of Luna bars! Cutting fruit in advance is a great idea! Thanks for sharing these awesome ideas to stay healthy on the go!! 🙂
That’s true, it’s hard for me when I get a lot of homework stacked on the weekend. but knowing you have a prepared meal or two for the next day is always a relief and something checked off the list! I love luna bars, mmm-the white chocolate and peanut butter ones…yummy! You’re welcome, i hope you have a great day
I’ve always been a health buff but now, due to the Fire Department requiring dormitories to install fire alarms and smoke detectors, we, the tenants, will be forced to keep our rice cooker and water heater for good and there is no nearby carinderia (Filipino term for small eatery/restaurant) here that serves red or brown rice and I think I’m gonna die in no time (just kidding hahahaha). Do you have any suggestions? The new dormitory I’ll be staying in has a caretaker who offered to cook the red rice for me with an additional service fee. I’m kind of shy to push this idea through since I have a small appetite which means I only eat a total of half-cup for lunch and dinner!
hmm, there are always the portioned sized brown rice packs at the store- you can put them in the microwave? I love oatmeal or quinoa, those are always good replacements for your whole grains as well! i hope you find something that works out!
I guess i’ll stick to oatmeal and muesli and my healthy sandwich creations for breakfast or emergency dinner because i don’t think my new dormitory has a microwave either. Good thing there’s this old lady selling organic produces in our school and I could always slap tomatoes and lettuce in my sandwich hahahah
Great ideas. I do super Subdays, but I’m in a rut. You’ve given me some new options. Thanks!
thank you, and good I’m glad you found something new! have a great day
Love it! So simple and easy and nutritionally sound. I also love your mention that the 10lbs chicken will give you up to 25 meals. Portion perfect!
it really is easy, just gotta find the few hours to do it 🙂 Costco is the best, so cheap and yummy for health nuts!
This is brilliant! Hopefully this weekend I can get on it and prepare meals and snacks ahead of time! It really does make such a difference!
I completely agree, it helps after a long day and you don’t wanna cook 🙂
Isn’t food prep seriously the best?! I feel way less stressed if I get the snacks ready before I am rushing out the door and it forces me to make healthier choices! 🙂
Simple, smart, easy. What a great start to the week. Thanks for the tips. Grace xo
it really is a great way to start the week or even prepare for just a couple days. Healthy meals at your hands without any work! you’re welcome, have an awesome week!
Reblogged this on Chronicles of A Fitness Freak and commented:
Love the ideas. Check this link out for more healthy snack tips: http://stayfitchronicles.com/2013/02/25/healthy-snack-ideas/
thank you for the share! I hope you come back for more ideas and health inspiration 🙂 have a great week!
I do this too! I prep everything at the beginning of the week. It is best way to ensure that I have healthy lunches for work!! Thanks for the post 😉
it really is, i’m glad you enjoy the post and i hope you have a good week!
We prep ahead for the week on Sundays. It makes life so easy because we’re tired after a long day at work and don’t want to think about cooking. I also prep ahead for my lunches so that it doesn’t take long to get ready for work the night before.
I know the same feeling. Sometimes it’s a nice relief to just cut things up and organize knowing your week is going to be much easier without meal prep after a day at work! i hope you have a fantastic week
Sunday and monday is my food prep days aswell, and BTW thanks for sharing some of your delicious recipes 🙂
good, i’m glad you enjoy doing the same thing. You’re welcome, I hope you come back for more. Have a great week
This is definitely something I need to work on! I’m always scrambling during the week to get meals together. Great motivation!
haha, it’s definitely a time saver during the week. It takes a little bit of time to do, and then you’re done. I hope you give it a shot and see how much easier it is, have a good week 🙂
Cool, good stuff keep up the good work
thank you for the appreciation, have a great week!
Great tips- so much easier to prep ahead of time.
agreed, it always helps me stay on track and keep me from eating chocolate or chips as snacks 🙂
This is a great suggestion! Wondering, what do you do when you actually have the veggies already chopped up and bagged but every time you open the fridge, you sigh heavily when you see the healthy stuff and then you reach for something else?
haha, i try to keep my fridge mostly healthy aside from what other people eat. I actually enjoy eating healthy foods-veggies with hummus or almond butter (yum!) because they keep me energized and I feel better about myself 🙂 Although there are occasions when a sweet tooth comes on or an unhealthy craving needs to be fulfilled 🙂 moderation is always key! have a great week.
Wow, so organised. I should really learn from this 🙂