Meal Prep Monday....The Tuesday Edition

So, I'm feeling rather frumpy these days.  I lost 15lbs in 9 weeks, and literally nothing that I own fits me.  All of my favorite shirts hang weird, and honestly, I bought them when I didn't feel that awesome about myself, so they make me look like I'm part bag lady, part 500lbs.  I need to fix this, like yesterday.  I've been watching for good deals on jeans (size 28/29 HOLLA!) and scooping those up when I can, but it has still left me totally empty handed for shirts.  I was online shopping yesterday like "Ooooh!  I need that, and that, and that AND THAT!" But, I plan on this being a temporary size, and I need cute clothes that don't hide all of my hard work, but that I also don't drop a grip load on.  I grabbed a few online that should come in within the next week, which will hopefully help me get through the slump, and then I'll just keep my eye out for good deals at The Rack.  Also, I found the cutest shirt there the other day, but the kids were being crazy and I was just done shopping, so I totally skipped it and I've been kicking myself ever since!  Don't you hate that?  Ugh, such a drag.

One other thing that I really need to kick into high gear is getting dressed every day.  I mean, I don't wear my pajamas all day, but I do rock yoga pants at least 99% of the time.  Did you ever watch that episode of Desperate Housewives where Lynette and her husband had sex for 30 straight days to fall back in love?  That's how I feel with clothes.  Maybe if I put jeans on for 30 straight days I won't hate putting jeans on at the end of it.  I mean, as long as I don't end up pregnant it's a real win either way.

Back to the matter at hand.  I swear, yesterday came and went, and I feel like I blinked and I missed it!  It was our first 'at home' day in almost a week and a half, and aside from grocery shopping and cheer we really did just stay home. The kids were so happy, and it went so well we went ahead and decided to spend the rest of the week doing as close to nothing as possible.  I'm a real giver like that.  Anyways, lets talk about meal prep Monday, the Tuesday edition.  Along with being gone all week last week I also ate out all week last week.  I feel like a slug from putting all of that garbage into my body and my face has broken out!  So these next few weeks before surgery I am focusing hardcore on diet and water.  I feel so much better when I put good food into my body, and my skin glows so hard it basically rivals the sun when I get my gallon of water in a day.

My girlfriend is AMAZING and brought me all of these squash and cucumbers!  It was a serious score.  So, everything that I prepped this week includes either or both of those ingredients.

(such a blurry picture, I was basically shaking with excitement!)

I decided to go simple this week, because that's the goal around these parts, and just sautéed a bunch of squash, added it to seasoned ground turkey and called that the start of lunch!  Breakfast will always be egg whites.  I hate the taste of eggs, so the whites usually just absorb whatever flavor is around them.  Otherwise, the rest of my meals will be even easy-peasier.  Fiber One for my morning snack (hide your jealousy, I dare you), ground turkey over a sweet potato for lunch, a granola bar of some sort afternoon snack and then my previously posted meal plan for dinner.  Geeze, if I keep all of my weeks this simple I might as well change the title of this blog to The Real Mrs. Cleaver!  I'm totally in the market for a homemade, protein packed, granola bar.  If you've got any amazing ones pass them my way, please.  

Sunday Funday

....or what used to be Sunday Funday, now it's all about meal planning.  Do you ever feel like you're drowning in kids activities, constantly shuffling one kid to one side of town while the other kid has to be on the complete opposite side of town, at the exact same time?  I swear, at the end of some days I look back and think, 'how did I survive today?'  Well, let's be honest and say that some days I don't.  Some days we wind up in the Chik Fil A drive thru, and it's just a part of life.  Plus, their diet lemonade and Asian Salad is amazing, so it's almost totally fine.  But, on those days when I do have myself together it's because I meal planned, prepped and got dinner 95% done by 10 am, so that that night I just had to pop it on the BBQ or stove, or in the oven.  So, what's going on your plate this week?  Here's my meal plan, filled with lean proteins & veggies.  All grains are for the kids & Mark's enjoyment, because I just don't love going to bed weighed down with carbs.  I've included the calorie & nutrition breakdown for each main dish, but all of the sides are on you ;).  Before I jump to the list, add these macros in to your calorie counting app at the start of your day, and then plan your meal around it!  It makes eating through out the day a lot easier, and then you don't get to dinner and realize that you only have 100 calories, or 5g carbs & 10g protein left for the day.

Monday: Honey Lime Chicken Skewers.  I swear, if you've never tried these they need to be on your menu tonight!  I've used Sprite instead of lime, been out of cilantro, used half the honey, really, I've made every variation of these depending on what ingredients I had on hand, and every time it's turned out fantastic.  The *only* thing that I do differently is to skewer breast tenders instead of cubing the chicken, simply because it saves me time.

I mean, right?  If you can believe it, they taste even better than they look!

Tuesday: Cobb salad for Mark & I, and grilled cheese with fresh fruit and broccoli for the kiddos.  Go simple on your salad, you don't have to over complicate it by adding 17 ingredients, and skip out on dressing when you can.  I promise there is romaine lettuce under all of that deliciousness.  I didn't have the chicken on in this picture, but chicken marinated like this tastes AMAZING on top of this salad.  

(This breakdown DOES NOT include the chicken)

Wednesday: Tilapia & salad.  Yuck.  Mark & Reese love fish, and I'm sitting in the corner like "anyone wanna go to Chik Fil A?"  Anyways, I want Reese (and the other kids) to love fish, and all kinds of food, so even though I absolutely hate it, I go out of my way to buy frozen fish for them to enjoy.  I buy it frozen and pre seasoned, so all that I have to do is throw it on the grill (outside, obvi, so it doesn't stink up my entire house), whip up a quick salad an voila, dinner is done!  Which is awesome because on Wednesday nights, because Cam has soccer practice & BMX, and Reese has cheer practice, so I am quite literally, all over town.

Thursday:  Pork chops, Taylor Farms kale & brussels sprouts salad and baked sweet potatoes.  Mark is dying for them, and I've been slacking on them.  A little salt, pepper & BBQ sauce goes a long way with these, so they're super simple for me to make.  Have you guys tried this salad from Taylor Farms?!  Seriously.  It is delicious.  Even Mark, who absolutely hates kale AND brussels sprouts will eat this salad.  

I'm not adding the pork chop macro breakdown, because well, it's a pork chop.  Remember to weigh it, and measure how much BBQ sauce you smother on it.  BBQ sauce is high in carbs, so 

ADD IT AT THE START OF YOUR DAY!

Here is the macro breakdown for the salad sent straight from heaven (includes everything in the bag):

Friday: Pizza for the family, salad for me.  Friday's are my happy place.  No kids have any sports, the week is winding down, and for the first time in four days I feel like I can just breathe.  I have no interest in wasting one single second cooking, so I use some pre prepped chicken for me, and pick up a Little Caesars for the kids, and then spend the rest of the night watching a movie or playing a game.  

Hopefully your meal plan is as yummy as mine, and that your week is far less hectic!