There used to be a time when I would look forward to going home from work to make dinner from scratch.
Mediterranean Chicken, homemade pizzas and broiled steak tips with beautiful side salads were all in my cooking repertoire. Having a 9-5 job with no commitment other than feeding myself and sometimes friends, made the task of cooking seem not so arduous. I used to genuinely enjoy cooking, finding new cook books and bookmarking recipes to whip up.
Once I started working as a full time personal trainer, that all changed. Soon it became all about ease and convenience. The early mornings and late evenings made cooking the absolute last thing I wanted to do when I got home. Over the past 3 years or so I developed a huge appreciation for batch cooking and I’ve mastered the art of making balanced, tasty meals in 5 minutes or less.
Now I want to teach you how, too!
Disclaimer: This is what works for me. You might like having more variety, different vegetables, less carbs, etc. I’m a creature of habit so this is how I do things. Take from it what you will 🙂
Kitchen Tools
A crockpot
A roasting pan
A George Forman Grill
A big bowl
Scissors
Grocery List
Greek Yogurt (I buy the individual cups…might cost more than a big container, but again convenience 😉 )
Eggs
Cheese (feta, goat)
String Cheese or cheese bites
Almond Milk
Pre-packaged trail mix or nuts
Apples
Bananas
Berries
Vegetables (Brussel sprouts, asparagus, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, etc)
Avocado
Frozen steamable broccoli & cauliflower
Greens (Cruciferous Crunch from TJ’s or kale, spinach, arugla, etc)
Frozen Turkey Burgers (you can cook these from frozen. SUPER easy)
Chicken breast
Chicken broth
Trader Joe’s Vegetable Fried Rice
Sandwich Thins
High Fiber Cereal (I like Kashi GoLean)
Protein Powder
Peanut butter or any nut butter
Your fave salad dressing
Dark chocolate peanut butter cups
Wine
Food Prep Steps
Put the chicken in the crockpot and cover it with chicken broth. Set it for the desired amount of time (see recipes below). Move onto the roasted veggies.
Cut up your veggies and put them in a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Once they’re cut up and in the pan add a bit of oil and some seasonings (see recipe below). Put the veggies into the oven and get started on the hardboiled eggs.
Put water and eggs in a pot and bring it to a boil. Once the water starts boiling set a timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, take the eggs out of the pot and into ice water.
Food prep done 🙂
Recipes
Shredded Chicken: Add chicken to your crockpot and cover with chicken broth. Set on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours. Once it’s done cooking, use tongs to shred the chicken. Throughout the week you can add any sauces or seasonings you like to change it up a bit.
Roasted Vegetables: Brussel Sprouts, Bell Peppers, Red Onion, Zucchini, Yellow Squash. Preheat oven to 400*. Line a pan with aluminum foil and cut up veggies. Spray the pan with non-stick spray and add 1T of oil to the veggies. You can use any seasonings you like. I use garlic salt and pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until veggies are cooked. Once you take the veggies out of the oven, wrap the aluminum foil around the veggies to create a steamer to soften them a bit more.
The Meal Plan
Breakfast: Greek yogurt, high fiber cereal, berries or banana & nut butter
Snack 1: Apple & hardboiled egg
Lunch: Turkey burger (cooked on George Foreman) on a sandwich thin with avocado and Cruciferous Crunch cut up with scissors (super easy for scooping & eating!) with dressing.
Snack 3: Protein shake w/ almond milk
Dinner: Shredded Chicken, Vegetable Fried Rice and Roasted Vegetables sautéed in a pan with some oil & seasonings
Post-Dinner Sweets: 2 dark chocolate peanut butter cups & a glass of wine
And that’s it! This is typically how I eat 5-6 times per week. Meal prep takes me all of 35ish minutes on Sunday or Monday and my meals are hot and ready in about 5 throughout the week 🙂
Every Sunday evening at 8PM, I’m sending my #simplesanesuccessful recipes to my email list. If you’re looking for quick, simple & healthy recipes, be sure to get on this list! When you join you’ll also be first in line to grab your spot into my new program The Overeating Solution and you’ll get a 25% off of the program as well! Get on the list here >> bit.ly/OESWaitlist