My wellness and fitness journey is continuing and I’m really excited about what’s ahead. If you remember, over the summer, I started working out. I went from working out none to working out almost every day. I loved the way my body felt after I finished working out. Hello endorphins! I would turn into the Energizer Bunny. However, after some time, I stopped altogether. It bothered me that I was no longer working out and I felt drained, rather than energized.
So, I’m happy to say that for the last month, I’ve embraced a new workout Beachbody® on Demand (more on that later) and NUTRITION plan. I love the accountability that the Beachbody® community gives me. Accountability was definitely a missing portion of my wellness goals. However, today, I wanted to solely focus on sharing all about my personal nutrition. I think it’s a huge reason why I’m seeing results with my journey.
Workout Picture (You wont find many of these as I look a disaster after I workout).
In the past, I’ve talked a lot about meal planning and shared my best tips in this FREE E-BOOK. Yes, I still meal plan. In addition to meal planning, though, I have now started to MEAL PREP my own healthy meals. I have a regular menu set for my family and my own separate meals prepped in advance for myself. One day, I hope to combine the two but for now, this works for my family and I. They are picky and I’m not. It works so I’m sticking with it for now.
Shakeology® Smoothie
Here’s how I Meal Prep for the week:
For myself, I plan out breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options for the week. On Thursday or Friday, I meal plan and order groceries. I look online, through my Beachbody cookbook, and review my personal recipes to get a food plan. I quickly review calories (if provided) to make sure I’m within my recommended calorie intake to meet my goals. Also, I know that I’m going to make a smoothie everyday, with my Shakeology® protein,so I keep that on hand. Whatever I can’t get from my grocery pick up, I purchase from local grocery stores. By Saturday, I have everything I need and can cook all my meals on that day or Sunday. Here is the general plan of what I ate over the course of one month.
Breakfast / Snack Options
Shakeology® Smoothies
Everyday, I make a nutrient dense protein smoothie. To make my daily smoothies, I use unsweet almond milk, frozen fruit blends, Vanilla Shakeology®, plain greek yogurt, collagen, and sometimes a turmeric blend (fights inflammation and joint pain). I normally enjoy it as a snack but since I started a more advanced workout, I’ll need to have it before I workout. Other great snack and breakfast options are boiled eggs, low fat cheese snacks, yogurt bowls, egg recipes, zucchini chips, and protein bars. Two egg recipes that I love are Breakfast Bacon and Egg Bites and Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Sweet Potato Frittata.
Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Sweet Potato Frittata
Veggie, Chicken, and Quinoa Salad
Lunch Options
So many things to choose from for lunch. One of my favorite things I’ve eaten so far is Quinoa and Black Bean Salad.I ate it with a half of an avocado and plain yogurt, with blueberries. There are several good salad options, including making up your own. My favorite salads have been the Veggie, Chicken, and Quinoa Salad. It includes cooked chicken breasts, quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, lettuce, and lemon juice. What I’ve found is it’s best to make your own salad dressing with red wine vinegar or lemon juice. This cuts down on the calories a ton with salads. I also really enjoyed the Turkey Chili and Shrimp and Avocado Lettuce Wraps for lunch.
Easy Turkey Chili + Salad
Dinner Options
For dinner, I definitely like savory food like, Zesty Chicken with Brown Rice and Chicken Breast with Kale, Mushrooms, and Quinoa. I love meals with lots of vegetables too. I basically keep chicken breasts and ground turkey, in my freezer, for my meal plan. You can make a ton of healthy meals with both. You can make this Perfect Juicy Chicken, add vegetables, and you’re all set for several days of dinner. Rather turkey? Try Turkey Sloppy Joes, Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps, or Turkey Meatballs Over Zoodles Marinara. All are super simple and budget-friendly.
Week 1 Daily Meal Plan (Under 1500 Calories)
Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with Plain Yogurt and Blueberries + 1/2 Avocado
Turkey Meatballs Over Zoodles Marinara
1 Shakeology® Smoothie
Zone Perfect Bars or Beachbody® Protein Bars
70 Ounces of Water
Week 2 Meal Plan (Under 1500 Calories)
Turkey Chili plus Salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers)
Chicken, Kale+Mushroom, Broccoli
1 Shakeology® Smoothie
Zone Perfect Bars or Beachbody® Protein Bars
70 Ounces of Water
Week 3 Meal Plan (Under 1500 Calories)
Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Sweet Potato Frittata
Shrimp and Avocado Lettuce Wraps
1/2 Chicken Breast + Cauliflower Casserole (no bread crumbs)
1 Shakeology® Smoothie
Zone Perfect Bars or Beachbody® Protein Bars (if needed)
70 Ounces of Water
Week 4 Meal Plan (Under 1500 Calories)
Breakfast Egg Bites
Veggie, Chicken, Quinoa Salad
Zesty Chicken with Brown Rice
1 Shakeology®Smoothie
Zone Perfect Bars or Beachbody® Protein Bars
70 Ounces of Water
Don’t forget!
Don’t forget your water! On average, I have been drinking 70 ounces of water. This is relative to my personal needs. Do research and figure out how much water you need to drink. Consider your fitness and wellness goals to make a good decision. I bought a big water jug, affectionately known as “my big baby”. If you’re not a fan of water (I’m not), then try sparkling water with no added sugar or calories. I like La Croix for this reason. It taste better than plain water to me. You can also add mint, lemon, or other fruit, to add flavor to your water. Just no extra calories or sugar!
Don’t forget your meal prep containers! I like these Good Cook teal meal prep containters at Target and these at Amazon. Also, like I mentioned earlier, make sure you have all the ingredients for your recipes. Turn on some music, and start cooking. If I’m organized, it takes me 3 hours or less to cook my meals for the week.
Don’t forget to control your portions! Just because you’re eating healthier doesn’t mean you should eat more than you should. That’s where the meal prep containers come in handy. For the most, they help to keep you within the constraints of your required caloric intake. Beachbody® also provides portion control containers, as well as they specifically tell you the nutritional value per serving.
Ready to start meal prepping for a healthier you? Do you want to join me on a healthier fitness/wellness journey? Leave me a comment below or email me and let me know your goals – nutrition or fitness. Let’s see how we can help each other.
My best,
