Clean Eating Meal Prep for Week
I wish everyone knew how easy it was to do meal prep for the week so they could ensure they had healthy meals at their fingertips. The hardest part is doing the calculations in the beginning so you do not make too much food and end up throwing money in the trash.
I recommend writing down what meals you will be making. Be honest. Do you normally eat breakfast at home? Do you have a day you go out with your friends for lunch? Calculate those in. That ends up being good amount of food you could make the following week and save yourself some money. Another option is to go ahead and make some extra food and then freeze it into your own little lean meals you can store in the freezer at home or at work.
My general plan is to choose what proteins and carbs I want for the week. Chicken and salmon are my top two picks. I also generally choose from eggs, chicken breast, turkey breast, and fish for my protein and i switch off between sweet potato, rice, and quinoa for my carb. For myself, I generally eat breakfast out except about 3 days of the week. So I adjust my measurements for that when preparing my food.
My meals equal to about the following:
M1 - 1/2 cup low sugar fruit (usually berries or unsweetened apple sauce)
4 egg whites and unlimited veggies into a scramble, 1/2 cup hash browns or other carb
M2 - 1/2 cup lean protein, 1/2 cup carb
M3 - 1/2 cup lean protein, 1/2 cup carb
M4 - 1/2 cup lean protein, 1 cup veggie
M5 - 1/2 cup lean protein, 1-2 cups veggie
Any of my M2 and M3 can have the carb switched out with veggies if I am trying to cut my weight quickly. I can also switch those out with a protein shake if I am on the run. I like to use the EAS carb advantage.
I have a rice cooker and use that to make my rice and quinoa. That can be done at almost any time, and rice freezes quite nicely. I haven't frozen my quinoa yet, but I am sure it shouldn't have a problem. I really like to use quinoa over rice as it's a complete food (being both carb and protein).
I generally buy some of the 3 cup containers for my meal storage and I get the disposable giant lasagna pans for cooking. I suggest getting the lasagna pans at Costco or Sams, but they only run you about $2 at my Fred Meyers. The $3 cup storage containers I generally get are just store brand and cost about $2.50 for a set of 4.
I set the oven for 375 degree Fahrenheit which is kind of a universal heat for most of your cooking. I normally use 2-3 trays for cooking. I tray is for my chicken, the second is for my veggies. I might use a third tray for fish if I am including it.
Tray 1 this week is chicken. I sprayed the bottom of the pan and added my chicken breasts with the fat trimmed off. I topped them with a mix of Dijon, balsamic and salt and pepper. These will cook for 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
Tray 2 this week has my veggies. I put together zucchini, bell pepper, and crimini mushrooms. These two pans sit side by side and I cover them with a bit of foil. The veggies will take the same amount of time, so it's super fast to get this done.
This week, I added some salmon for my protein. I grilled these, or you could use a forman. I also had some brussel sprouts that needed to be used, so I cooked them in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes lightly dresses and cut sides down. That makes them nicely browned and caramelized. I will add these to my other veggies to give a nice taste and texture difference.
For my carbs, I made sweet potato. I peeled the sweet potato and cut into chunks. I then made a foil envelope and put them in with a little salt free seasoning and cinnamon. These cooked at 400 degrees for 40 minutes as well.
That's it! All done with cooking. Let cool and portion off. And if you used the disposable pans, you have very little clean up to do!!
I recommend writing down what meals you will be making. Be honest. Do you normally eat breakfast at home? Do you have a day you go out with your friends for lunch? Calculate those in. That ends up being good amount of food you could make the following week and save yourself some money. Another option is to go ahead and make some extra food and then freeze it into your own little lean meals you can store in the freezer at home or at work.
My general plan is to choose what proteins and carbs I want for the week. Chicken and salmon are my top two picks. I also generally choose from eggs, chicken breast, turkey breast, and fish for my protein and i switch off between sweet potato, rice, and quinoa for my carb. For myself, I generally eat breakfast out except about 3 days of the week. So I adjust my measurements for that when preparing my food.
My meals equal to about the following:
M1 - 1/2 cup low sugar fruit (usually berries or unsweetened apple sauce)
4 egg whites and unlimited veggies into a scramble, 1/2 cup hash browns or other carb
M2 - 1/2 cup lean protein, 1/2 cup carb
M3 - 1/2 cup lean protein, 1/2 cup carb
M4 - 1/2 cup lean protein, 1 cup veggie
M5 - 1/2 cup lean protein, 1-2 cups veggie
Any of my M2 and M3 can have the carb switched out with veggies if I am trying to cut my weight quickly. I can also switch those out with a protein shake if I am on the run. I like to use the EAS carb advantage.
I have a rice cooker and use that to make my rice and quinoa. That can be done at almost any time, and rice freezes quite nicely. I haven't frozen my quinoa yet, but I am sure it shouldn't have a problem. I really like to use quinoa over rice as it's a complete food (being both carb and protein).
I generally buy some of the 3 cup containers for my meal storage and I get the disposable giant lasagna pans for cooking. I suggest getting the lasagna pans at Costco or Sams, but they only run you about $2 at my Fred Meyers. The $3 cup storage containers I generally get are just store brand and cost about $2.50 for a set of 4.
I set the oven for 375 degree Fahrenheit which is kind of a universal heat for most of your cooking. I normally use 2-3 trays for cooking. I tray is for my chicken, the second is for my veggies. I might use a third tray for fish if I am including it.
Tray 1 this week is chicken. I sprayed the bottom of the pan and added my chicken breasts with the fat trimmed off. I topped them with a mix of Dijon, balsamic and salt and pepper. These will cook for 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
Tray 2 this week has my veggies. I put together zucchini, bell pepper, and crimini mushrooms. These two pans sit side by side and I cover them with a bit of foil. The veggies will take the same amount of time, so it's super fast to get this done.
This week, I added some salmon for my protein. I grilled these, or you could use a forman. I also had some brussel sprouts that needed to be used, so I cooked them in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes lightly dresses and cut sides down. That makes them nicely browned and caramelized. I will add these to my other veggies to give a nice taste and texture difference.
For my carbs, I made sweet potato. I peeled the sweet potato and cut into chunks. I then made a foil envelope and put them in with a little salt free seasoning and cinnamon. These cooked at 400 degrees for 40 minutes as well.
That's it! All done with cooking. Let cool and portion off. And if you used the disposable pans, you have very little clean up to do!!
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