Food preparation for weight loss and fitness success

"Every Business will be more successful with a business plan"

Fitness or Weight loss, just like business. 

If you fail to plan, so you plan to fail.

Today I will introduce " 1 day food prep for success" 

Eating food from the source every 3-4 hours will help you to get better and 

faster results.  

Your food preparation is simple, and completed in a few hours, one day a week. 

Vegan bean soup

Let's break it down. Once a week, you will do your grocery shopping. That same day, you can do all your food preparation so that during the week, all you have to do is reach into the refrigerator and grab a few things to toss in your cooler or in your plate. It really is that easy! 

Step 1 Plan

Build up your menu plan for upcoming week. If you receive store mailers or coupons gather them together with your cookbooks. Then plan out what will you eat for the whole week. 

 

I usually make 3-4 dishes for lunch & dinner. Every week is different (for my husband and I) but I make grilled chicken or roasted chicken every week since it's easy to build up so many dishes from cooked chicken.
View my food collections
Homemade food, Gastronome, A date night with noodle, Coco(nut) lover,  Food Prep July 2012

My breakfast options - oatmeal and egg, flax seeds bread with egg, protein shake with fruit and/or oatmeal, Greek Yogurt Parfait, protein muffins and egg muffins.

My snack options - homemade protein bar, Greek Yogurt Parfait, protein shake with fruit and/or oatmeal, chia seed pudding, edamame and a no-guilt dessert (if I have time). 

Complex carbohydrate for lunch and dinner options- brown rice, sweet potato, yam, quinoa, whole wheat or multi-grain wrap noodle and couscous. 

Step 2 Grocery List

Protein Muffins

Go through each recipe and meal to log what you need. Besides that, check your pantry shelves, and fridge for anything else you might need. Shop seasonal! You'll save a ton of money if you buy your fruits and veggies in season. 

What's in season is what's on sale. I also buy chicken breast and stock them in the freezer if I see it 's on sale.

 

Step 3 Shop

Go to shop wherever you need to go. Get it done and head back home. Don't put anything away!  Leave it all out on the counter (now you get the Counter of Chaos - It's all right, it's only one day of the week).

Step 4 Prep

Ready? Set and go! 

I usually wear my knee braces and back braces since I had some problem with my knees and lower back.  

I like to dance with my favorite music during my food prep. Time flies and get some cardio too. So grab an ipod or/ and iphone and headphones if I'm not alone in the house.

Bring all recipes and the details of grams, ounces and pounds according to step 1

First thing, prep the meat for grilling or roasting and make marinade according to recipes.

Second, move to starch carbohydrates of the week. If I am making quinoa or brown rice or couscous. I will use the rice cooker and add beets on the top of steamer, so my grain will be colorful and save time for cooking the beets. 

Third, prep the meat according to recipe
Fourth, clean-cut-slice all vegetables for cooking and the meals

Last, cook. It's the easiest part since all prep is done

Chinese chicken salad

Brown rice with spicy lean beef garlic & basil

Step 5 Portion

Portion it out according to my plan’s step 1. This is not only the food that I cooked, but it's also oatmeal and snack.

Step 6  Put it away

Once you have done all the meals. put them away in the fridge, freezer and cabinets for dry food like oatmeal or cereal. 

Chicken and meat will be good for the whole week in the fridge. I will put the meals that have cheese in the freezer for the last 4 days and leave the first 3 days in the fridge. Beans and chickpea dishes I make for 8-12 serving, so I will leave only what we plan for the week in the fridge and the rest I will put in the freezer for other weeks.

Step 7 Cleaning

Since you made a big mess in the kitchen, now clean up but remember it’s only 1 day.

Now you are done! Your food is prepped for the whole week! You can grab a meal and heat up or put in the cooler to go with you in a second. 

Vegan brownies

The hardest part is step 1 since you will want to eat a balanced meal in order to keep blood sugar stable and for a lean body and good health. 

 

If you have weight loss & fitness goals and are health &  calorie conscious in your mind then food prep is the solution to guide you to success.
 Contact me if you need my food prep service.

A Simple BBQ Chicken

Sunday - food prep day. Prep one day for the whole week. I always cleaned and cut raw vegetables for salad and an extra to have with meals.

The menu this week

- Quinoa

- BBQ Chicken

- Spicy Salmon

- Salmon burrito

- Spicy Grilled Squash

- Steamed beet

- Beef with garlic & Pepper (My delicious Thai Food)

This week I would like to share my delicious BBQ Chicken. These chicken are brushes with a simple barbecue glaze, which can be made in minutes, but will be enjoyed by all.

Ingredients

- 5 chicken breast or 1 chicken, cut into 8 portions

- 3 tbsp tomato paste

- 3 tbsp pomegranate concentrated juice or brown fruity sauce

- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

- 1 tbsp agave nectar 

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp garlic clove, crushed

- salad green to serve

Direction

1) Remove the skin from the chicken if you want to reduce the fat in the dish
2) to make the barbecue glaze, place the tomato paste, pomegranate concentrated juice, white wine vinegar, agave nectar, oil and garlic in a small bowl. Mix the ingredients together until they are thoroughly blended.
3) Brush the glaze over the chicken and grill over hot coals for 15-20 minutes.
4) If the chicken begin to blacken before it is cooked, raise the rack if possible or move the chicken to a cooler part of the barbeque grill to slow down the cooking
5) Transfer the grilled chicken to warm serving plates and serve with fresh salad greens.

Let me know how you like it.

Seven Exercise and Diet Motivation of July

Who doesn't want this round and firm butt?

Mediterranean Chicken

Sunday is food prep for my home. This week I would like to share one item from the menu.  

Mediterranean Chicken

This recipe uses ingredients found in the Languedoc area of France. 

where cooking over hot embers is a way of life. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 tbsp low-fat plain yogurt

3 tbsp sun dried tomato paste

1 tbsp olive oil 

1/4 cup lightly crushed fresh basil leaves

2 garlic cloves, chopped roughly

4 chicken quarters (or chicken breast)

 salad green to serve  

1. Combine the yogurt, tomato paste, olive oil, basil leaves, and garlic in a small bowl and stir well to mix

2. Put the marinade into a dish large enough to hold the chicken quarters in a single layer. Add the chicken quarters. Make sure that the chicken pieces are thoroughly coated in the marinade .

3. Leave the marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove and leave covered at room temperature for 30 minutes.

4. Place the chicken over a medium-hot barbecue grill and cook for 30-40 minutes, turning frequently, until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the chicken is pierced with a skewer.

5. Serve hot with a green salad. (It's also delicious eaten cold)