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!!

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

As I was searching for something to make this week, I came across this recipe.
Yum!  I just knew I had to try them out!
What a perfect opportunity to make them for this week's Friday's Fabulous Foods?

What you need:

• 2 tbsp light butter, melted
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• 2 cups Heart Smart Bisquick
• 1 cup shredded, fat-free cheddar cheese
• 2/3 cup fat-free milk

My ingredients may differ from what the recipe calls for...but it's what I had on hand. :)

What you do:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  
• Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper.  The best thing about this step is that you don't have to wash the cookie sheet when you're done with it. :)
  
• In a large bowl, combine the bisquick, cheese, and 1 clove of minced garlic.  I didn't have garlic (because I have so much garlic powder and garlic salt that I'm trying to get rid of), so I used 1/8 tsp of garlic powder.

• Stir in the milk.

• Using a spoon, drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the cookie sheet (This is where the term "Drop biscuits/cookies" comes from).

• Bake for 1o minutes.
  
• Meanwhile, put the butter in a small skillet and melt on medium-low heat.
  
• Add the garlic and saute on low for about a minute (again, I just stirred in an 1/8 tsp of garlic powder).
  
• Remove the skillet from the heat and add the parsley.

• When the biscuits are done in the oven, take them out and brush them with the butter mixture.

• Then stick them back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

There ya have it! Really simple! :)

Servings: 12

Serving Size: 1 biscuit

Calories: 95

Fat: 2 g

Carbs: 14 g

Fiber: 0.5 g

Protein: 8 g

WW Points+: 3 pts

Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas

I can't believe it's Friday again!  This week has just gone by in a blur.  We had a low-key week, which I'm okay with.  Today's recipe I want to share with you is from Pinterest, yet again.


At first when I saw the name, "Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas," I thought it sounded disgusting.  But I pinned it anyway.  Tyler and I ate at The Global Quesadilla Company, which isn't too far from our apartment, and they had all sorts of things in their quesadillas.  I decided to try this recipe after that visit.


Ingredients:

• 8 flour tortillas  (I used low carb, low fat, whole wheat tortillas)
• 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 lb pepperoni
• 1 (16 oz) jar of pizza sauce
• 1 small can black olives, optional
• 1 small can of mushrooms, optional

Directions:

• Heat a skillet over medium heat, and fry the pepperoni until they are crisp.  Transfer to a paper towel and let them drain.

• Brush each tortilla with a thin layer of pizza sauce.  It should be so thin that when you turn it over, it won't run.
• Sprinkle cheese on top of the sauce and the bottom tortilla.  Add pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms.  Sprinkle more cheese on top, then add the other tortilla to the top (sauce side down).

• Pre-heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Lay the quesadilla in the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crispy.

• Cut into quarters.  You can serve with more pizza dipping sauce if you'd like.

These were so yummy!  They even are fantastic as leftovers!  I thought that between Tyler and I we could eat the 4 quesadillas.  I was mistaken.  One quesadilla filled me up!  Each quesadilla turned out to be 292 calories, which I didn't think was too bad. :]

Happy cooking!