I like to figure out what we are going to be having for lunches each week and get them all cooked up and packaged so that we don't have to worry about it each morning. Not only does it save us money, but it makes it easier to know what our calories and other numbers look like each day. I am better able to plan my dinners and snacks if I already know what my lunch consists of. Plus, I like to open my fridge and see all the containers nicely organized.
I try to make lunch a higher protein choice, usually something with chicken or ground turkey. I have an app on my phone that has tons of different recipes that I start with. I don't usually stick to the recipe as I tend to use whatever I have in the kitchen. I don't like to have to go grocery shopping just to do the food prep, especially since I already have tons of stuff in the cabinets already. I want whatever it is I am going to make, to be simple so that I am not in the kitchen forever (I have shows to watch). On top of making the lunches I try to package up some snacks for us, this makes it easier to just grab and go.
This week I decided to do something with chicken and the crockpot. (Oh how I love the crockpot, best invention ever!!) So I looked on my recipe app and found something that I could use as a base. Here is what I came up with:
Crockpot Chicken Salsa
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1. 6 Frozen Boneless Skinless chicken breasts (I buy the individually wrapped ones at Costco)
2. 2 cups Trader Joe's Frozen Roasted Corn
3. 1 Can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
4. 1 Can diced green chilies
5. 1 diced red and yellow bell pepper
6. 1/2 diced onion
7. 1/2 pack Trader Joes Taco Seasoning
8. Salsa
Instructions:
1. Put the chicken at the bottom of the crockpot
2. Sprinkle taco seasoning on top of the chicken breasts
3. Pour corn, tomatoes, challis, bell peppers, onion and salsa on top. I didn't measure the salsa, just kind of eyeballed it.
4. Turn crockpot on low for 6-8 hours.
When everything is done, I put one chicken breast in a container and then equally measure out all the other stuff that is in the crockpot. I will eat the chicken in a couple different way. Today I had it shredded with brown rice, tomorrow I will eat it with tortillas, then I will probably have it with Quinoa.
Stats (chicken and mixture): 204 calories, 16 carbs, 4 fat, 25 Protein, 4 fiber and 7 sugar
The original recipe called for carrots, celery and other items, but I didn't have that stuff on hand, so I just made do with what I had. It makes it easy to clean out your pantry and fridge without making food prep take forever.
The snacks for this week will be Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein balls (addicting), Veggie bags, Fruit bowls and hard boiled eggs.
The more that I can have done and in the fridge, the easier it is for me to stay on track. It doesn't have to be a lot of work to have healthy food choices, but it does take some work and some planning. I am lucky that Lido isn't a picky eater and will eat pretty much anything I give him, except Kale. I still can't get him to eat Kale. I also can't sneak spinach into his smoothies.
Really, this food prep thing is just about being creative and using what you have. Again, I usually find recipes online or through phone apps and then I just tweak them. I love trying new things as long as they aren't too difficult. I am just looking to be able to stay on track and hit all my numbers without having to stress about it. Plus, it makes it easy to say no to going out to lunch or anything not within my food plan because I have it all ready and it is already in my food journal before I leave for work each day.
I hope everyone had a great weekend and you are all ready for the week.
How do you prepare for your week? (Failing to prepare only prepares you to fail)
I like that you show the TJ ingredients. I usually only shop there but sometimes I don't know what to make. Thanks for the blog!
ReplyDeleteI mostly shop at Costco, Sam's Club and Trader Joe's so I figured it would help to state the specific ingredients when I can. Glad it helps. Thank you for reading my blog!
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