Meal Prep HACKS and Meal Prep 101

Lifestyle Change 101 by Rebecca Byers
70-80% of your results are what you EAT!

Eating out HACKS!

The “I haven’t slept in a week, my baby pooped on the carpet and my rabid dogs are missing meal plan” This is ok to follow once in a while, not ideal for your wallet.

Breakfast
Dunkin Dohnuts
Black Coffee with Skim Milk, hold the sugar
Turkey sausage and egg white on Flatbread (2, eat only one flatbread, hold the cheese)
Snack
RX bar
OR
Fruit and nuts
Lunch
Chic Fil a
Grilled Chicken nuggets (8 count)
Kale superfood salad
Fruit cup
OR
Chipolte
Burritto bowl or salad bowl
Chicken or tofu with all the veggies, pico de gallo, lettuce, about 1-2 TBs of beans, ½ cup BROWN rice
Hold the sour cream and cheese. Eat half your guac portion.
Dinner
Chili’s
Spicy southwestern salad Add Salmon or chicken
Fajitas on a salad
Steak with sweet potato

Busy working Gal’s meal prep Hack

Pick one night that works with your schedule. Make meal PLAN. Write down all ingredients you need to buy and what night you will eat what(use the chart I gave you of allowed foods). I usually grocery shop FRIDAY and meal prep SUNDAY night. I boil, peel and bag eggs, cook chicken, chop veggies, make tuna for breakfast and lunch…it only takes an hour. As far as prepping for dinner, I always PULL out of the freezer whatever meat we will eat the night before. You can even assemble the whole dish and store in the fridge until it is ready to cook. I also love the crock pot and dutch oven! You can also pre-prep dinner by precooking your dishes. (add 2 hours to meal prep, no more cooking the rest of the week!)

It is THIS simple:
Pick a protein
Pick a veggie
Add a carb
Add a sauce and seasoning
I always google or pinterest for cooking temps and different spice and sauce recipes.

Breakfast

A. Boiled eggs (salt, pepper and bag two at a time)
And overnight oats
OR
Whole wheat Toast/bagel ½, English muffin ½
OR
B. Plain, lowfat yogurt layered with fruit, oatmeal, seeds, nuts
Snack
Apple and peanut butter
or
Carrots and hummus
Lunch
Turkey Lunch meat slices on romaine with veggies
or
Tuna salad on Whole Wheat
Or
Quinoa Pasta Salad (oil and vinegar, TONS of your favorite veggies and turkey lunch meat! )

Dinner
Crockpot Meal!
Pulled chicken, beef or pork tenderloin (cook on high for 4 hours with a sauce recipe below!)
Add a Veggie and Sweet potato or brown rice (if you have carbs left!)
Or prepare sheet pan with veggies, meat, potatoes. Cook at 325 until veggies are tender and meat is up to temp!
Dessert
Frozen plain yogurt and strawberries


Oh Baby Barbeque Sauce
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Yields: 12 servings
Serving size: 1/4 cup
Ingredients
2 cups tomato paste
1 cup water
½ cup apple cider vinegar
5 Tbsp Molasses
½ Tbsp ground black pepper
½ Tbsp onion powder
½ Tbsp ground mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Asian Awesome Sauce
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 thin slice fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce (I use and prefer Liquid Aminos! Soy sauce substitute)
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. tomato paste, no added sugar
2 tsp. hoisin sauce (optional)
1 tsp. pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Skinny Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
• ½ cup milk or water (I used fat free half & half)
• ¾ cup of plain greek yogurt (I used 0% fat)
• ½ - ⅔ cup shredded parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional: ½ teaspoon dried parsley (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
• 8 ounces of your favorite pasta noodles, cooked
Instructions
1. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic powder. Stir in milk (or water). Remove from heat and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes. Gradually whisk in greek yogurt.
2. Add parmesan cheese to sauce and stir until melted. (If the cheese doesn't melt completely because the sauce is too cool, return to stove on low for a couple of minutes) Add salt and pepper to taste and toss with your favorite WHOLE WHEAT cooked pasta noodles.



Don't forget to measure and Track on a paper how much of what you've ate! I always forget if I had a piece of fruit, or miss veggies!!