Meal Prepping

It is no secret that I have been meal prepping for the past several months.  I typically post pictures on instagram, so if you follow me on there, you've probably seen them.

I've had several people ask how to go about meal prepping, so I thought I'd share my process.

I meal plan on the weekends.  I plan my breakfasts, lunches, and suppers.  I write out exactly what I plan on eating and then make my grocery list from that plan.

I generally make a list of all of the dishes that I need to cook/bake/prepare for the week and the amount of time it will take me to complete them (from prep to cook).  This helps me use my time wisely so that I'm not in the kitchen all day long.

I pretty much use my whole counter space when I'm prepping and cooking.

After the food is cooked, I split it all up into containers for the week.  I use my meal calendar to tell me how many containers of each food I need for the week.  

I am not a morning person at all.  So this helps me in a couple of ways:  

• I can pack my lunch box at night and just grab what needs to go in there according to my calendar; OR
• I can just grab it in the morning.

Either way, it's super quick and I don't even have to think about it.  

When I don't meal plan or meal prep, I feel like my week is all out of whack.  This helps me keep on schedule and helps me achieve my goals (both fitness and for the week).

If you try meal prepping, let me know how it goes!!

Clean Eating: How to Keep on Budget

After a couple of weeks of break, I am back with the continuation of my clean eating series!!
Did you miss the first part?  No worries!

Find out what clean eating is.
Find out what the benefits are of eating clean.
Find out how to get started.


One thing that I have heard so many people say over the last year is this:  "Eating healthy is sooo expensive."  Yes, eating healthy can be more expensive than eating packaged foods full of ingredients that you have never even heard of.  But spending the money on food now is waaaay better than spending money on doctors, medications, and hospital bills later.

I truly believe that I am worth investing in.  My health is worth investing in.  That may sound selfish, but in reality I think it's also selfless.  I want to be the best person that I can be for my family...that includes spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.  I want to be able to live a long, healthy life.

But eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive.  
Here are some tips for keeping your health in the budget:

1.  Shop meat sales!  The grocery stores have meal sales quite often here.  Depending on the week, you can get beef, chicken, and seafood for a decent price.  We eat a lot of meat in our house, so when I can find a really good deal, I will stock up.  Then I'll freeze the meat in portions so that we have options to choose from in the future!

2.  Find a cooperative near you!  A friend of mine told me all about the local co-op that she was a part of.  You can get almost anything through this co-op including fresh dairy from a farm over in Illinois.  One thing that I really like is that the co-op supports local farmers, and if you know me (a farmer's daughter), then I will of course support the farms!  During the winter, it's harder to support local since basically nothing is in season.  But come Spring through Fall, they have such fresh produce.

I got all of this produce for just $20.  Our co-op orders every two weeks, and I personally order about once a month.  There is a lot of produce to last us a while.  Emails are sent ahead of time to let us know what is in the basket for the week, and then another email is sent to share different recipes using those ingredients.  I plan my meals around the produce that I will be receiving in the basket.

If you're in the St. Louis area, check out St. Louis Community Helpings Co-op to find a group near you!

3.  Shop your pantry.  After you've started eating clean, you will get the hang of it.  As I mentioned above with meat sales, I like to stock up.  This goes for anything.  I might have purchased grapes for the week but didn't eat them all that week.  So I will eat them the next week.  When you're meal planning for the next week, open your fridge and freezer to see what you have in stock already.  This will not only help you save money, but also clean out some room!

4.  Plant a garden.  I cannot wait to be able to start planting my "garden" this year.  I won't have a huge plot of land like my parents do, but I am going to try container gardening this year!  I can definitely cut down on my grocery bill by growing my own peppers, tomatoes, basil and other herbs.  I have started a list of things that I want to grow, so I can be prepared when it is time to plant.

These are just a few ideas to help you save money!  What do you do to save your family money when eating healthy?

Questions?
Leave them in the comments and I'll respond!

Clean Eating: How to Get Started

Two weeks ago, I talked all about eating clean and what it means to me.
Last week, I shared the benefits that I have felt since changing our lifestyle.

This week I want to help y'all get started!

Here are a few tips on changing over to a clean eating lifestyle.

1.  First thing you must do is define what clean eating means to you.
Is it eating whole foods?  Is it eating less processed foods?  Is it eating all organic fruits and veggies?  What does it mean for you and your family?  Have a plan before you get started so you know exactly what you are going to eat and what you will not be eating.  If you have kids or a spouse, I would encourage you to let them in on this discussion so they know what to expect going forward.

2.  Clean out your pantry.
Get rid of all foods that are processed.  It's just easiest to clean it out and start fresh.  But you don't have to feel guilty for throwing food out.  Why not find a local food pantry to donate your unwanted food to?  When I did my cleanout last July, I also got rid of the foods that had gluten in them, because I went gluten free.  I gave the unopened packages and canned items to our food pantry at church!  I may not have wanted them, but there are others that will take those items!

3.  Meal Plan.
If you plan out each meal for the entire week, you will know exactly what you are going to eat and when.  This not only helps you out when it comes time for meal time, but it also helps you stay on track with your eating!

**I wrote this post on meal planning over a year ago.  Since then, our eating habits have changed, but the principle is the same.

4.  Write out a grocery list and stock your pantry with new clean eats!
Things to include:

• fresh fruits and veggies
• lean meat and fish 
• healthy fats {olive oil, coconut oil, nut oils}
• frozen fruit

Be sure to read nutrition labels.  The shorter the ingredients list, the better.  Can't pronounce an ingredient?  Don't eat it!  Avoid anything with added sugar.

This is a great article to help you decide what to eat:  Real Food Defined (The Rules).

Questions?

Leave them in the comments!

Clean Eating: The Benefits

Last week I started a series on eating clean.
Did you miss it?
You can find the first post here.

Today I want to share a little bit more of my story.
When I was in second grade, I started getting headaches.
I had my eyes checked and they were fine.
In fact, I didn't get glasses until I was 21.
Happy Birthday to me...

The headaches just became part of my life.
In 6th grade, I was taking so much ib profen for these dang headaches, I remember my mom telling me that I couldn't have anymore.
She was afraid that I had become addicted or immune to it.
Those next couple of weeks were painful.

I got my first migraine in 6th grade...I started seeing fuzzy stuff and then I could only see half of things.
I remember being at Walmart and asking my mom why I could only see half of her face.
She immediately knew that I was going to have a migraine.

A large part for changing my eating habits were to see if I could rid the headaches.
I was so tired of getting them...and there was never any point of taking painkillers.
They didn't really work.

I did lots of research and read lots of testimonials about getting rid of the headaches, and how having a cleaner diet helped tremendously. 
So, I thought I'd try this "clean eating" lifestyle for a bit.
Like I said before, I cut processed foods out of my diet, including gluten and dairy.

After four weeks of this lifestyle, here are my benefits to eating this way:

1.  No more headaches!  I'm not kidding.  I really got rid of them this time.  I used to carry Excedrin in my purse because I never knew when I'd get a migraine, but I no longer carry any kinds of pain killers with me.  This was the BIGGEST improvement for me!  Life has been so much better since I didn't have that "nagging headache" to carry around with me.  Even if I didn't feel any other benefits from eating this way, living without headaches has been totally worth it.

2.  I lost weight and most importantly, inches!!  In just the 4 weeks, I lost 10 lbs and 11 total inches.  I felt SO much better in my clothes because my body was shrinking.  It's really not about what that number on the scales says, but rather how you feel in your own skin.  And I feel fabulous!  I got through my plateau that I had been on for 6 weeks, which was a great feeling!

3.  No more naps!  I don't feel like I need a mid-day nap in the afternoon.  I have a lot more energy, and I'm not prone to getting that "mid-afternoon slump" each day.  I can come home from work each day and feel like I have enough energy to do the chores, make supper, and workout.  That was huge for me.

4.  No more bloating.  A lot of times, after eating, I just felt really full.  I may not have even eaten that much.  I really noticed this after eating ice cream a lot.  My tummy would hurt and I'd feel like I needed to go put sweats on.  After cutting gluten and diary out of my diet, I really realized how crummy I was feeling and how much better I felt without it.

5.  I know exactly what I am putting into my body.  Before, I never really cared about what went into my body.  But after doing my research, I found that the foods with the least amount of ingredients, the better.  

6.  My brain fog has been lifted.  Do you ever feel like you are just in a daze?  I felt like that all the time before the switch.  Eating real, unprocessed foods helped lift that daze.  I am more alert and can think clearer now. 

I love the way my body feels.  I have learned to feed my body to nourish it, rather than to just eat because I want to or am bored.  It's a different way of eating, since not many talk about eating to nourish.  I haven't felt this good in a long time, and all of those benefits that I listed above are completely worth giving up processed foods. 

Questions?
Leave them in the comments and I'd be happy to answer them!

A Clean Eating Series: What Is It?

Last April, I knew that our little family needed to make a change in our food choices.

Since making that change, I've seen significant amounts of benefits to eating healthier.

I've had a lot of thoughts floating around in my head that I've been wanting to share when it comes to eating "clean."

When the term "eating clean" came out over a year ago, I rolled my eyes every time that I heard it.

I still had a "weight watchers mentality."

That mentality was that I could eat anything that I wanted within moderation.

I'm not saying that it is a bad mentality at all...because many people have found that it works.

I just had a change of heart in the end.

I started modifying our recipes to include more fruits and veggies.

I knew that as long as I was working out that I would lose weight.

That's what happened in college.

I started working out and I lost a few pounds...but nothing like I had before.

I was stuck at a plateau for 6 weeks, so I finally did some research and decided to try eating clean.

Many people have very many views of what eating clean means.
I had to figure out what worked for our family and our lifestyle.
First and foremost, it's NOT a diet.
*I really hate the word diet.*
"Diet," as defined by dictionary.com is "such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight."

I am not limiting the amount of food that I eat.

I am simply learning what foods that I should consume to be healthy.

I am changing the way that I eat...it is now my lifestyle.

**You can't get healthy without eating healthy.**

Some people feel very opinionated to be only eating fruits and veggies that are organic.
Others feel that they should be eating minimal processed foods while others won't eat anything that is processed.
Some say they only eat gluten free while others think that you shouldn't eat gluten free if you don't have a reason to (celiac/gluten intolerance).
There are SO many opinions about what it means to eat clean.

For us, it was starting out slow...
I stopped buying some processed foods, but others I thought were fine.
I figured as long as I was eating "healthy" processed foods that I would be okay.

Then I read an article and found that I had 5 of 10 symptoms that I could possibly be gluten intolerant.  Whoa.
I did a bit more research to make sure that it wasn't just that article that said those things...and it wasn't.
So I purchased this food plan to help me out with a gluten sensitivity test.
I completed 4 weeks of being gluten free, and added some foods with gluten back into my diet.
I found that it made me sick. Blech.
I also found that I felt WAY better and could think clearly when I was eating real, whole foods.
Oh and I also got off that dang plateau.

I really love this quote from Chalene Johnson (creator of TurboFire) regarding whole foods:

"Whole foods are foods in their natural state, foods that are unadulterated.  If you can pick it from a tree or vine, if you can pull up or pinch off a vegetable from a plant in the ground, you are looking at a whole food.  Food in this state is food that hasn't been altered.
Whole food has its enzymes available for health because it is a whole food.  Whole foods contain all the enzymes and nutrients in the proportion nature intended for our health.  If you consume whole foods your body feels whole and nourished.  Whole foods diminish cravings, swelling, chronic pain, arthritic symptoms, digestive issues, and make weight loss and weight management easier."

So for me, eating clean means eating real food.
I have eliminated {almost completely} all processed foods from my pantry.
I avoid gluten, specifically wheat, at all cost.
And what I really love is a juicy steak and some yummy grilled veggies. :)

The best thing I could have done for myself is to really research all the different components to eating healthy (gluten, clean eating, whole foods, etc) before I made a decision on what I was going to do.  I like to be informed before I make a decision, so I feel like I have made the best decision for myself.

Questions?
Leave them in the comments!

Coconut-Seared Shrimp with Kale, Avocado, and Fresh Salsa

Yay!  It's back!! Friday's Fabulous Foods!

This week I have a phenomenal recipe for you.  I actually found it here.  I changed it up a little bit to make it more cost effective for my family.

Ingredients:
5-10 stalks kale, washed and destemmed
1 avocado
A package of shrimp
Coconut Oil
1/2 fresh lemon

For the fresh salsa:
1 tomato
1/4 white onion
1 T cilantro
1/4 fresh lime

Directions:
I like to make my salsa first, because it takes up the most time.  Dice the tomato and onion.  Finely chop the cilantro.  Squeeze the lime over and mix together.  You can add some fresh ground pepper or sea salt if you would like to.

Add the coconut oil and turn the skillet to a medium heat.

Evenly sear the shrimp (or scallops as the original recipe calls for) on both sides.

Prep the kale and use it as the base of your plate.  Slice the avocado and divide it between 2 plates.  Place the shrimp over the greens and top with 1/4 cup fresh salsa.  Squeeze 1/4 of a lemon over the top and serve.

This recipe serves 2.  It is so yummy AND healthy!

Quinoa Pizza Bites

Lately, I've been trying to experiment "outside the box."
I love finding new foods and trying them.
What I love even better is when they're healthy foods.
And what I even love more than that is when I find that I actually like those foods.

After trying out the Cauliflower Pizza Crust, I had some extra pizza sauce left over.
Now I know I told you before, but I could eat pizza everyday.
I had found this recipe online and wanted to try it out.

I changed it up a bit to suit what I had on hand.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups chicken broth (optional)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped green onion (you can use other onion...and more if you like onion)
1 cup shredded cheese (I used a mexican blend, the recipe called for mozzarella)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
some salt
pizza sauce

Directions:
Measure and rinse the quinoa well.  Add 2 cups liquid (I used chicken broth for a tastier flavor, but you can use water if you don't have chicken broth on hand) and the quinoa to a medium sized sauce pan.  Boil.  Cover and reduce to a simmer.  Let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add all ingredients (except the pizza sauce) in a mixing bowl and mix together.  Spray a mini-muffin pan with non-stick spray.  (I had a medium sized muffin pan.)  I also packed my each "muffin" down pretty well.

Cook at 350 degrees for roughly 20-25 minutes.  Grab some pizza sauce and dip away!  

These are super easy to make!  They're also delicious AND healthy!! :)

Happy cooking!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

It's no secret that I've been changing my eating habits during that last few weeks.

I want to put healthy things in my body, rather than feeding it crap.

So when I found a recipe for a healthier pizza crust, all systems were a go.

I LOVE pizza.  I could seriously eat it everyday.

That's how much I love it.

I will preface this to say that this pizza isn't like regular pizza.

It's a softer crust, so I ate it with a fork.

However, it doesn't taste like you're eating cauliflower.

It's just different.

I will also tell you that my husband loved it.

He said, "This is on the 'yes' list."

Meaning he would love to eat it again!

Ingredients:

*1 cup of cauliflower, cooked and riced

*1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*1 egg, beaten

*1 tsp dried oregano

*1/2 tsp crushed garlic

*1/2 tsp garlic salt

*olive oil (optional)

Directions:

To "rice" cauliflower, I cut the stems off and cut them into florets and grated it with a cheese grater.  It worked better than I imagined.

But if you have a food processor, you can stick the head of cauliflower in there and pulse it until it looks like a grain.  Don't over-pulse it because then you might puree it.

Put the riced cauliflower in a microwavable bowl and cook it in the microwave for 8 minutes.

One large head creates about 3 cups of riced cauliflower (and I actually used it all).

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Stir together the cauliflower, egg, and cheese (I used what we had on hand).

Add oregano, crushed garlic, and garlic salt.  Stir.

Transfer to the cookies sheet and pat out making a 9 in round.

(As you can see, mine was a little bigger than 9 inches since I used all the cauliflower.)

Brush olive oil over the top of it to help it brown in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and add the toppings.

Place in the broiler on high for approximately 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

*Since you will be broiling it, all pizza toppings need to be fully cooked.*

Enjoy your healthy pizza!

Mini Meatballs

Random fact about me...

I like to work out and watch food shows...especially on Saturday mornings.

We don't pay for any sort of cable television, so when I work out, it's a treat to get to watch "my shows."

Those happen to be any of the sort:  Say Yes to the Dress, Four Weddings, House Hunters, Love it or List It, The Pioneer Woman, Trisha's Southern Kitchen, etc.

Last weekend, I was watching Trisha's Southern Kitchen on the Food Network and she was prepping for a Girl's Night.

The meatballs she made looked so good that when I was finished with my workout, I immediately looked up the recipe on their website.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 2 cups Italian flavored breadcrumbs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 4 medium eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, minced
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl or mixer, thoroughly mix the beef, pork, breadcrumbs, milk, parsley, eggs,  

garlic, onion and some salt and pepper. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Shape into meatballs and place on a foil-lined shallow baking pan. Bake 30 minutes. 

I went ahead and put them in some pasta sauce so that we could eat it with Spaghetti Squash.  They were definitely delicious!!

Roasted Portobello Caps

Before this recipe, I had never cooked with portobello mushrooms before.

I've eaten them in restaurants, but never knew how to prepare them myself.

I was excited to have found this recipe, so I tried it out!

Ingredients:

• 4 large portobello mushrooms with the stems removed
• 1/4 tsp salt, divided
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup plain, dry breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil {EVOO}

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Coat a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with cooking spray.
• Place the mushroom caps, gill side up, on the pan.  Sprinkle with 1/8 tsp salt and pepper.  Roast them until tender, about 20 minutes.

The gills are so cool!!

• Meanwhile, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley, EVOO, and the remaining salt and pepper in a small bowl.

• Remove the mushrooms from the oven and top each cap with about 2 tbsp of the breadcrumb mixture, spreading evenly.  {You want a rimmed baking sheet because some of the liquid bakes out of it and you don't want that all over your oven!}

• Put them back into the oven and roast until the breadcrumbs are browned, which is about 5 minutes.

Nutrition Info:

Serving Size:  1 mushroom

Calories:  109

Fat:  5 g

Carbs:  11 g

Fiber:  3 g

Protein:  7 g

Quinoa Egg Muffins

Ah...yes!
A new recipe!

I am excited to share this recipe with you this week.
I made these muffins on Sunday morning and have eaten them for breakfast this week!
Quinoa is a little different from anything I've ever had.
I don't even know what to compare it to, but I really like it.
It's super healthy for you and has lots of protein in it.
I found this recipe here.

Here's what you need:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup diced veggies (I used zucchini, an orange pepper, and broccoli)
• 1/2 cup reduced fat feta cheese  (I didn't use the cheese)
• 2 eggs
• 4 egg whites
• salt and pepper

Here's what you do:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Whisk the egg and egg whites together.
• Then combine all the ingredients in the bowl.

• Line your muffin tin with liners and spray them with cooking spray.  (The recipe called for 6 liners, but clearly I needed more than that.)  Also, make sure you coat the liners very well with the spray!

• Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown!

Nutritional Info:

Serving Size:  2 muffins

Calories:  185

Fat:  7 g

Carbs:  15 g

Fiber:  2 g

Protein:  16 g

WW Points Plus:  5

Greek Quinoa Salad

Today's recipe is brought to you by this whole eating healthier thing. :)
This week I really wanted to do my best in making good eating choices.
I did have a cookie or two at a friend's baby shower, but other than that I've done a good job.
Oh, and I've cooked supper every, single night this week!
I'm so proud of myself!

I had purchased some quinoa a couple weeks ago.
Have you heard of it?
It's all the rage now.
I also had a quick recipe that I had previously printed off.
Wa-la!

Without further ado, here it is!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 seedless cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• the juice of one lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds (optional)

So I'm a rule-breaker.  I can't help it...it comes naturally.

I used a {normal} cucumber instead of seedless, a yellow pepper instead of a green, and table salt instead of kosher salt. 

Sue me.

Directions:

Cook the quinoa according to the package, with water.  

My directions said to rinse the quinoa with cold water until the water is clear.  Add the 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Turn to a simmer and cover for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add all the other ingredients to a large bowl.

I cut up all the veggies while the quinoa was cooking...it took me just about 15 minutes.

When the quinoa is cooked, add it to the bowl with your ingredients.  

Let it set for about 15 minutes before serving so that the flavors can combine.

I took it for my lunch the next day, so it had all night to meld together. :)

It was delicious and super easy to make!
Not to mention, it's healthy! :)