Sunday Meal Prep-Week 1

People are often overwhelmed with the idea of doing meal prep each week but want to be healthier or eat healthier but don't know where to start.  I've been doing Sunday meal prep for almost two years now and this was a game changer for me.  We all have a lot going on, for me, I'm juggling a full-time career, graduate school, volunteering on the board of directors for Midcoast Hunger Prevention Programs and managing two businesses for my husband.

To make sure that I took the time to take care of me each week, on Sunday I will prep my lunches and snacks for the week, plan out our suppers and do any prep needed for that.  For those that are just getting started, that are looking for inspiration or tips/tricks that they didn't think of, I thought I'd share what I do to get ready for the work week.

Meal Prep, really actually starts with planning out what you'll eat for the week and making a good shopping list.  I usually do this on Tuesday or Wednesday, to make it even easier for me, my area has a store with Hannaford to Go in it.  All I have to do after I've made my grocery list is go online, select what I need and pick the day I'll pick up my groceries on.

Some of my prep things I need to do, like cut up vegetables or marinate meats, I will start doing that on Friday night or Saturday morning so that on Sunday all I have to do is cook, and assemble.  I only do lunches and snacks but I will prep veggies or meat for suppers during the week at the same time so they are ready to cook when I get home from work each night.

Let's get started!

Breakfast: 

For breakfast, I make a smoothie to drink after my workout, then I usually have my first snack for the day when I get to work.

Lunch: 

This week for my lunches, I picked up a Chef's Prime Roast that I cut into medium cubes then marinated in Chipotle Pepper.  I skewered 7 pieces to a wooden skewer and grilled.  1 skewer equals 1 serving of protein or 1 red container on 21 Day Fix eating plan.  

 Next it is time to cook the veggies for the week, this week I chose Zucchini, Summer Squash, Asparagus and Broccoli.  I steamed the Broccoli and grilled the other vegetables that I marinated in olive oil and Italian seasoning mix.  

Now that everything is cooked, it is time to assemble my lunches in individual containers so that all I have to do is grab and go.  

You can never get enough veggies if you ask me! Now my lunches are all packed and ready to go into the fridge for the week.  

Snacks: 

A staple item that I prepare every week is "hard boiled" eggs:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, place eggs in mini muffin pan ( I prep an 18 pack).  Bake for 30 minutes. Fill large bowl with ice and add water, remove eggs from oven and submerge immediately in ice bath until cool.  Peel and portion out 2 eggs equals on serving or 1 red container on 21 Day Fix eating plan. 

Next I choose a couple of fruits that I will snack on throughout the week.  This week, my choice was watermelon and cherries.  One of the best investments I made was a cherry pitter, so you don't have to worry about being in a meeting and spitting pits out...keeps it classy :) 

Each portion is one serving of fruit or 1 purple container on the 21 Day Fix eating plan.  

Then I usually have one vegetable snack as well, this week it was colored peppers.  

Late afternoon to get me through the hour commute I have home, I usually will eat an RX or Kind Bar, this week it will be RX bars.  

And meal prep is finished for the week...it is such an accomplishment to look in the fridge to see this and know that all I have to do is put everything in my lunch box each morning and out the door I go with delicious, healthy eats! 

Don't be intimidated by Sunday Meal Prep, it gets easier the more you do it and the idea is to keep your foods simple but tasty.  I usually keep things pretty basic and don't make crazy recipes for lunch.  

Some of you may be thinking, wow this looks like a lot of food to not include supper.  My daily workouts include strength and weights training with a mix of cardio plus walking Riley a mile each morning.  

I focus on portions and the right mix of food groups versus calorie counts, this has been much more successful then counting calories ever was for me and I feel full/satisfied.  When I first started the journey I followed the 21 Day Fix Eating Guidelines to the letter, now it's become a guide for how I live.  I still portion out in my containers to measure my portions and I still use the container counts.  

Daily Portions: 

4 Servings of Red (Protein)

3 Servings of Purple (Fruit)

2 Servings of Yellow (Carbs) I don't always plan out my carbs because those somehow sneak in on their own but I almost always save one for dinner because my husband likes carbs so it just makes making dinner for the two of us easier.  

5 Servings of Green (Veggies)

1 Serving of Blue (Healthy Fats)

Hopefully, you found this helpful and it helped to take some of the overwhelming aspects of meal prep out.  It really is about having a plan and I find it easy to do meal prep while I tackle other chores, for example while I wait for a couple things to cook, I might fold laundry (but I'm a multi-tasker to the bone).  

Now get out there and enjoy Sunday Funday!