Contrary to popular belief, I am not a perfect eater or a perfect planner for my meals! I usually fly be the seat of my pants and throw a meal together at the last minute whether it is just for me or for the whole family (when I invite people over I do tend to plan ahead though ;)). My saving grace for this last minute meal prep is a well stocked refrigerator and pantry!
I always have frozen chicken and/or fish available for relatively quick defrost. I often have chicken sausage, lean ground beef and even potstickers. I always have pasta (usually whole wheat), sweet potatoes, brown rice or whole wheat couscous that I can be prepare depending on how long until dinner. In the fridge there will be green vegetables of some sort. Broccoli, bok choy, kale, romaine lettuce, celery. Plus carrots, sweet peppers and cucumber. Homemade balsamic vinaigrette to go with the lettuce, and at this time of year, fresh tomatoes and basil in the garden.
I buy my veggies at costco. We rarely throw any away because of rot as if I have too many veggies left we make a big stir fry!
Do my kids eat the veggies? It depends. Broccoli usually gets consumed, but the best way to get them to eat them is to allow them to nibble on veggies before dinner when they swear they will starve to death...I offer them veggies or nothing and they can't get enough. If I serve those same veggies on their plates they aren't quite so keen! A little before meal snacking might not be so bad in this case ;)
I also always have a decent selection of dairy: yogurt, eggs, milk, and cheese. Plus seasonal fruit. Right now I have watermelon, cantaloupe, plums, nectarines, bananas and grape on the go. We bought blueberries and strawberries while they were in season and froze them to add to oatmeal, pancakes and of course, Shakeology.
I have been exploring some of the recipes in Beachbody's new nutrition section. Some great recipes I plan to try out. I also love Clean Eating recipes from Tosca Reno's cook book, but my last minute searches often go through Allrecipes.com.
I have 4 kids, all 4 and under, and I need to lose weight (like 30 pounds to be exact) and have really no plan or idea how to start...
ReplyDeleteHey Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI would love to help you figure out a plan! To begin I would appreciate it if you could click on the blue button on the side of this post that asks "Need fitness support?", and it will take you to my Beachbody site. You can join for FREE. and then we can chat via email or on the phone. I can help you figure out some basic nutrition guidelines and how you can work some fitness into your busy schedule!