Excel With Mel

As mentioned on my favorite page Food!, I wasn’t always the healthiest eater.  But I did learn that if I did a little shopping and planning, I could actually save myself a lot of time in the kitchen and make it harder to sneak unhealthy snack foods when all my favorites are nearby.

• Step 1 is to figure out what meals you want to make
• Step 2 is to make a list and go grocery shopping
• Step 3 is to schedule a few hours to prep and make these meals

I can pop in some of my recorded TV shows and cook these up while I’m entertaining myself.  For Sunday, February, 9th these are the foods I made and how I will use them:

Breakfast: Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Even though I eat this one first, I make it last, just before I go to bed on Sunday night and it makes 6 or 7 hot, easy breakfasts.  I store this in a glass jar, scoop out a cup, add a little almond milk, nuke it until warm, and then add 1/2 oz. of crush walnuts on top.  I can prepare this and make a cup of coffee in less than 2 minutes on a busy weekday morning, by just mixing everything up the one time, and setting overnight in my crock pot to cook.

Lunch

Chickpea “Tuna” Salad from the Karma Chow Cookbook.  You’ll have to buy the book to get the recipe, but this is one of my favorite vegetarian meals from this cookbook.  And the author is one of the nutritionist’s who helped shape the food for The Ultimate Reset.  Spending a few minutes in the kitchen produces 4 heaping servings of this delicious “tuna-like” meal without meat.  I love to scoop this into a whole wheat pita, add some sides and POOF – lunch in minutes.

Sides: Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

This is truly one of my favorite side dishes, and so low in calories, yet full of flavor and fiber.  It takes @30 minutes to make (15 minutes is cooking the quinoa) and then all you have to do is scoop a full cupful onto your plate as a side dish.  Absolutely marvelous.

Snacks: Turkey Muffins

While I have found so many vegetarian meals to be delicious and healthy, I still have a few staples that involve meat, and provide me the much needed protein my body craves as I lift weights in my BeachBody Workout Programs.  This Turkey Muffin recipe can be whipped up in no time, and then stored in plastic bags or glass containers in the fridge.  I like to use them for a mid-afternoon snack instead of reaching for chips or candy.  They can be eaten cold, but I like to pop them in the microwave for @30 seconds to warm them up.  I can make a whole batch and freeze some, and use some throughout the week.

Dinner

I am lucky enough to have a husband who is a wonderful cook so he makes a lot of our dinners.  I’ll post later and often about some of the dinners I like to make and eat, but if I didn’t plan my breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and sides and just ate all the yummy goodness he makes, I’d be back up over 200 lbs. again and not a happy camper.  So I always plan to eat what he makes, just watch my portion sizes, and enjoy the time I save during the weekdays by prepping my meals during one weekend afternoon.  Add Shakeology after my morning workout, and the only time I spend in the kitchen all week is putting together a salad, and washing the dishes.

What would your weekday look like if you just planned a little once a week to save yourself a ton of time when you were busy with work or the family?