Getting Back on Track: Meal Prep Edition

Spring has sprung and for all of my fellow fit friends out there, you all know what that means. It's time to buckle down on our diets and push hard in the gym to whip our bodies back into shape for the summer time to come. After far too long of having a sort of "YOLO" diet, I think it's time I start getting back on track with what I'm putting in my body. After all, it doesn't matter how hard you train. You cannot out-exercise a bad diet. For optimal results and just overall health, you need to be fueling your body with the best foods possible.

For this post, I thought I'd share with you all another one of my meal preps. This week, I was really determined to make sure I had all of my meals prepped. We all know what happens when we are tired, hungry, and just don't feel like cooking up a healthy meal. We opt for the unhealthy, quick foods with little nutritional value. I am a total culprit of doing this and that it the exact reason why I am now an avid meal prepper. Meal prepping is honestly one of the best things you can do if you find yourself short on time or simply too lazy to cook a meal. It truly makes reaching your fitness goals much more attainable and a heck of a lot easier!

 

On the menu for this week is...

Lunch for school: Grilled chicken with roasted butternut squash, zucchini, and steamed broccoli

Dinner (2 different meals): Homemade healthy burrito bowl and (because I'm a repeat offender...oops) the same meal I prepped for my lunch

 

Ingredients:

- Chicken breasts (can also use fish or if you're vegan, tofu would work great!)

- Butternut squash (or sweet potato)

-Broccoli

-Zucchini

-Corn

-Salsa

-Brown rice (or quinoa)

-Taco seasoning

-Seasonings of choice

I've mentioned my recipe for Healthy Butternut Squash 'Fries' multiple times on my blog so I'll spare you the reading. This recipe can be found in this post on my blog! Same instructions, same ingredients! Being I was prepping more meals this week, I actually used two big butternut squashes and one little one. I told you I was obsessed with these!

While these were roasting in the oven, I began the (absolute vile) process of cutting up my chicken breasts. Before grilling, I seasoned the chicken with the taco seasoning for the homemade burrito bowls and the rest with sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

 

 

Ninety second rice is the best time saving hack ever created, so just pop it right in the microwave and watch the magic happen. Don't forget to keep an eye on your butternut squash and flip the pieces from time to time!

After my rice finished up, I chucked a big bowl of frozen broccoli into the microwave to let it defrost. Frozen vegetables are a huge time saver being you don't have to chop them up yourself and the vegetables just need to be defrosted.

 

 

In the meantime, I portioned out all of my toppings for my burrito bowl. Once the chicken is all grilled and the butternut squash is done roasting, it's time to start assembling all of your foods into the proper portion sizes for each meal. For each meal, I typically have 4oz of my protein of choice and I follow the serving size for everything else. As for the butternut squash, I get about 150g for each meal. As always, you can always make more if needed!

 

 

In total, this week's meal prep took about 2 hours to complete and I made 12 meals! Now, I can simply pop my meals in the microwave and they are ready to be eaten. No more opting for quick, nutritionally lacking foods that won't keep you satisfied! It may seem overwhelming the first time you meal prep, but once you get the hang of it, you'll actually look forward to it (as least I do)!

I hope you enjoyed this meal prep post and let me know if you try out any of my recipes! Also, be sure to let me know if you would like to see more fitness related posts such as more recipes, what I eat in a day, and workouts!

 

Much love,

Gabriella xx

A Week of Meals in Less than 2 Hours

You wake up way past your alarm in the morning and don't have time to whip something up for lunch later.  Or, maybe you've had along day at work or school.  You're tired, hungry, and the last thing you want to do is cook dinner. You have to eat something; and Domino's is just a phone call away.  A whole pizza pie later and you feel even more sluggish than before and you know you shouldn't have ate that pizza...especially after the Chinese food last night. Yikes. 

 

But what if I told you that you can avoid that entire situation by dedicating just 2 hours (or less!) of your time to cook a week's of lunches and dinners.  Yeah, you heard me right.  Put on some music, put on your apron, and get cooking.

 

In this post, I will be sharing with you my top tips for meal prepping as well as what I cook for my typical week of lunch and dinner.  These recipes are very simple and you can literally just pop them in the microwave and you've got yourself lunch and dinner in minutes.  Keep in mind that you don't have to follow my recipes exactly, especially because I know most people don't enjoy eating the same meals every day.  But I'm weird and I actually don't mind.  I usually meal prep on Sunday nights and it takes me between 1 to 2 hours depending on what's on the menu for that week in particular. 

 

Before diving into these recipes, I wanted to share with you my top tips for a successful and quick meal prep.

 

1. Buy Pre-Cut Vegetables

    If you've ever cut up a week's worth of vegetables (especially bigger ones like butternut squash or spaghetti squash) it can take up a huge chunk of time.  When I make roasted butternut squash for the week, the cutting process takes more time than the cooking itself! If you're tight on time, spend the few extra cents and buy pre-cut vegetables.  However, if you're frugal like me, go ahead and cut them yourself.

 

2. Frozen Pre-Cooked Meat is a Time Saver

     Again, cutting up and cooking meats like chicken or pork take extremely long.  Plus, raw chicken really grosses me out.  That's why I typically buy pre-cooked chicken that is frozen from places like Costco, BJ's, or Sam's Club.  All you have to do is defrost the meat for a few hours and heat it up in the microwave.  This tip is a huge time saver (and I don't have to cringe when cutting up the meat!).

 

3. 90 Second Rice is Your Best Friend

    Those 90 second packets of rice are probably one of the best time-saving inventions ever created.  Just pop them in the microwave and you've got cooked rice in a fraction of the time.

 

4. Skip the Washing and Chopping and Buy Bagged Lettuce

    At my grocery store, there is almost always a sale on bagged lettuce.  They are either two for $5 or if I'm lucky; buy one get one free.  Don't waste your time on washing and chopping your salad leaves; go for the more efficient bagged option.

 

On the menu for this week is:

-Lunch: Grilled Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Feta Cheese salad with Poppyseed dressing

-Dinner: Spaghetti Squash, Butternut Squash, Grilled Chicken and Sauteed Zucchini

 

Ingredients for 5 Lunches and 5 Dinners:

• Butternut Squash (2)
• Spaghetti Squash (1)
• Chicken Breast (1 pound)
• Zucchini
• Salad Bags (2 bags)
• Salad toppings of choice
• Dressing of choice
• Seasonings of choice
• Cooking Spray/Cooking Oil
• An Hour+ of Your Time and a bit of patience

Before anything, pre-heat your oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit. This way, the oven will be ready when it's time to cook your butternut and spaghetti squash. Go ahead and chop up your zucchini.

Onto the spaghetti squash, use those muscles to cut this tough vegetable long-ways and scoop out the seeds in the center.  Place the squash center down on an oven tray and chuck it in the oven to cook for 45 minutes. 

 I have an in-depth post on my roasted butternut squash recipe, so head on over there for detailed instructions on how to make these healthy French fry alternatives!  Once you've got the squash peeled, chopped, and seasoned to your liking, go ahead and pop them in the oven as well for 1 hour.

I debated whether or not to photograph the process of cutting the raw chicken breast, and I'm happy with my decision to skip out on that one.  However, it's pretty straightforward so go ahead and cut up your chicken or protein of choice. 

By the time you've cut your chicken and began grilling it, the spaghetti squash should be all done.  To mimic the spaghetti look, take a fork and gently scrape the squash until you've got yourself a huge bowl of thin, spaghetti-like strands.

Next, you'll want to sautée the zucchini and season it to your liking.  I used pepper and a garlic and herb seasoning.  Don't forge to check on your butternut squash and move them around so that they can cook evenly!

 

Once the hour is up for the butternut squash and your protein of choice is fully cooked, it's time to start portioning out your meals. I use a combination of Tupperware and old Chinese food containers for my meals as they are both microwave safe.  Go ahead and portion out the spaghetti squash, butternut squash, chicken, and zucchini into five of the containers for dinner.  Use the remaining chicken and butternut squash for the salads.  I recommend keeping the lettuce in their bags until you assemble your salad with the toppings and dressing to maintain freshness.

 

Congratulations, you now have a full work week's worth of lunches and dinners in less than 2 hours.  No longer will you settle for unhealthy fast food when you are tired and hungry after work and the donuts in the office won't seem so tempting when you've got yourself a healthy and satisfying salad for lunch.  "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."  Dedicate just over an hour of your time to whip up a week's worth of meals so that you can just pop them in the microwave when your stomach gives you the heads up.  I guarantee you will not regret jumping on the meal prep bandwagon. If you do decide to try meal prepping, do be sure to tag me on Instagram or tweet me a picture so I can see what you whip up for the week!  I hope this post will inspire and help you all to create nutritious and healthy meals that will be ready in minutes.  Thanks for reading!

Much love,

Gabriella xx

Have Your Cookies and Eat Them, Too

Soft, chewy, and tasty, cookies are surely hard to resist.  I mean, how can you say no to a gooey chocolate chip cookie or a cinnamon-y snickerdoodle cookie?  And don't even get me started on Oreos...

However, if your trying to keep your body in check and fuel it with the best possible nutrient-dense foods, cookies don't necessarily make the cut.  But what if I told you that I have for you a healthy, protein-packed cookie that doesn't even count as a treat meal?  Would you jump for joy?  I certainly did!

This healthy protein cookie is the perfect alternative to you typical sugar-laden cookies.  Using protein powder, pumpkin puree, egg whites, and few other add-ins, this recipe is completely guilt free! Now, I'm not going to lie to you and say this tastes exactly like a regular cookie, but it's enough to settle that sweet tooth that we all try so hard to ignore. Well, now you can answer your sweet tooth's calls with this healthy cookie!  Alright, now you're probably saying to yourself, "Shut up and give us the recipe girl!" I totally understand. I would be that excited, too.

(*Note: The cookie "dough" more resembles that of a pancake batter as there is no flour, so I will be referencing it as "batter" instead. )

Ingredients:

-1 scoop protein powder of your choice (I used Snickerdoodle from PEScience)

-3/4 cup pumpkin puree (about 55 grams)

-1.5 Tablespoon pudding mix (I used sugar free, fat free chocolate)

-1 egg white

-3 Tablespoons milk of choice (I used almond milk)

-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

-Sweetener of choice (I used Stevia)

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (about 175 degrees Celsius) and let that heat up whilst you make the cookie batter. Next, you're going to want to chuck everything into a bowl.  Okay, well maybe not chuck everything randomly.  You'll want to measure out everything above and add all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl first.  Then, add in all the wet ingredients (I find adding them in this order makes it easier to mix but whatever suits your fancy!).  Next, mix it all up. Oh, and if you are looking for a killer arm workout, this will definitely check that box.

I'm aware that the above pictures look very disgusting, but I assure you these cookies taste good once their finished!  Alright, next you'll want to scoop out the batter with a tablespoon and plop them on a non-stick baking pan.  This recipe makes about ten to twelve cookies if you make them the size of a golf ball, so if you want smaller or bigger cookies, then adjust accordingly!

Hopefully the oven should be preheated by now, so stick your cookie sheet into the oven and let it bake for 20 minutes.  After the 20 minutes are up, do the trick where you stick a toothpick in the cookie to make sure it's all baked properly! If not, stick them back in for five more minutes until they are done.

 

How good do those look?! And if you're like me and one cookie is never enough, this entire batch is  equivalent in energy (calories) to about two regular cookies!  Yup, you heard me right. Twelve healthy protein cookies versus two not-so-healthy regular cookies.  I don't know about you, but I'd much rather eat twelve cookies that provide me with protein and fiber rather than two regular cookies filled with unhealthy sugars and fats.  (Don't get me wrong, I totally enjoy regular cookies on special occasions because life is all about balance, am I right?!)

If you try out this recipe (which I totally recommend you do) be sure to tweet, Snapchat, or tag me on Instagram so I can see! This recipe was adapted by @kimhoeltje on Instagram and she has a bunch of healthy alternatives to all our favorite desserts/treats so definitely give her some love!  I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know what you think about my recipe posts and if you'd like to see something else! Thanks for reading!

 

Much love,

Gabriella xx

My Go-To Healthy Recipe

Have you ever been hungry but just can't be bothered to take the time to cook?  If you're human, I'm sure you have.  While it can be nice to take the time to create a delicious meal, not everyone has to time to spend over an hour cooking a decent meal.  That's why I decided to share my go-to healthy recipe that literally takes 10 minutes to make if you pre-roast the butternut squash.  That being said, if you want a healthy, delicious, and quick meal that you can have at any time of the day, keep on reading!

For this recipe, you will need:

-*Roasted Butternut Squash (See my Healthy Butternut Squash 'Fries' post)
-Kale (Spinach works great, too!)
-Eggs (however many you desire)
-Grape tomatoes
-Feta cheese
-Oil of choice (I used olive oil but coconut oil would be amazing)
-Spices (I used sea salt and pepper)
*The roasted butternut squash takes about an hour to make, so my tip is to cook a big batch and keep the rest in the fridge so you can just pop them on your plate whenever you make this recipe!

First, you'll want to heat up your oil of choice in a pan and once it is hot, add your kale and let that sautée on low heat whilst you cook the eggs.

I opted for fried eggs, but you could cook your eggs however you want!  Here, I just cracked two whole eggs into my pan with a little bit of olive oil.

While your eggs are cooking, I added some halved grape tomatoes to the kale that has been sautéeing along with sea salt and pepper to taste.

After the eggs are done cooking, the kale and grape tomatoes will be done as well, and that's it!  Now you'll want to assemble everything together.  But don't forget to add the roasted butternut squash and feta cheese! 

I absolutely love the combination of all these flavors.  The eggs and kale add a savory taste while the roasted butternut squash give a perfect touch of sweetness.  As you can see, this recipe requires hardly any work at all!  The butternut squash is really the only time-consuming part of this entire recipe, so like I said before, whip up a batch of this Sunday night so it's all ready to go for the week ahead!  I hope you enjoy this delicious and nutritious meal as much as I do!  If you decide to make this recipe, be sure to send me a snap, tweet me, or tag me on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations of this recipe!  Thanks for reading!

 

Much love,

Gabriella xx 

Healthy Butternut Squash 'Fries'

It would bean understatement if I said that ever since I've transitioned into a healthier lifestyle that I never crave the taste of crispy on the outside, soft on the inside french fries.  I mean, who doesn't like fries?  Unfortunately, this fried, greasy food isn't the healthiest option even though they taste amazing (anyone else wonder why most delicious tasting foods are usually unhealthy?).
That being said, my new addiction (and when I say addiction, I'm not kidding) is roasted butternut squash "fries".  When sprinkled with cinnamon and baked in the over, this sweet winter squash is the perfect healthy alternative to your typical greasy french fry.  I usually whip up a batch of these on Sunday night and store them in the fridge so that they are readily available when the craving hits.  This recipe is super simple as you need very few ingredients and once it's in the oven, you don't need to watch over it.  Let's dive in.
You'll need your butternut squash (obviously!),  a peeler, knife, cinnamon (or any other seasoning you'd like), your oven, an oven pan, and either your favorite oil or non-stick spray.

Start by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (approx. 200 degrees Celsius).  Next you'll want to peel the skin off your butternut squash.

Next, cut your butternut squash length wise.  This will make it much easier to scoop out the seeds, which you'll see next.

Take your knife or spoon and cut/scoop out the seeds from the squash.  Careful, they're quite slippery if you drop them on the floor!

Next, cut the butternut squash to your preference.  This can be in long strips, like a typical french fry, or in cubes, like I prefer.

After you've cut up all your butternut squash, you'll want to either drizzle your oil on your oven pay or spray a non-stick spray.  Be generous as it is a pain when they stick to the pan!  Spread out the cut up squash.  Make sure they aren't too close to one another or else they won't bake as well!  Sprinkle your seasonings of choice and pop them in your pre-heated over for 50 minutes.  Half way through, go ahead and move the squash around so that they can cook evenly.
After your 50 or so minutes are up, depending on how crispy you like them, try not to eat them right away as they will be steaming.  This is always the hardest part for me because I just want to eat them right then and there!  Allow them to completely cool before storing them in a container in the fridge ready to be eaten whenever you so please!

I hope you've all enjoyed this different post!  I explained that health and fitness is also a huge passion of mine and I want to incorporate these types of posts into my blog as well.  Give this recipe a try, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Let me know if you do decide to try this recipe and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!
Much love,
Gabriella xx