Meal Prep Monday

One of the goals I have for 2014 is to be more consistent about prepping my meals for the week. I’ll talk more specifically about health/fitness/lifestyle goals in another post, but I wanted to share a little bit of my meal prep for the week with ya’ll. In the future, I will most likely prep on Sunday nights, but with the way our schedule is for the week, it worked out that I did my shopping on Monday night instead.

Here’s our dinner menu for the week:

Monday: Whole-wheat spaghetti with marinara. ( I like to add lots of veggies to the sauce!)

Tuesday: Lighter Loaded Baked Potatoes ( Loaded with veggies, a sprinkle of cheese, and salsa.)

Wednesday/Thursday:  Balsamic Crockpot pork loin, kale, and brown rice with gravy. (I’m Southern. Sometimes I have to have gravy.)

Friday/Saturday: Betty’s Bean Casserole , cornbread. (This is a recipe from my Mother-In-Law that I need to tweak a little bit before I share with everyone. It’s not really a casserole, more like a stew/soup thing and it is seriously so good.)

Breakfasts are usually oatmeal and fruit for me. The boys will often get a Jimmy Dean sausage biscuit and fruit, or a waffle and fruit, something that they can munch on while we drive to school.  

Lunches will consist of either blackbean or chickpea burgers, cucumber salad, and other items such as yogurt, string cheese, carrots and hummus, or nuts. Also, I love to throw in a square of Ghiradelli Dark to help me keep cravings for sweets under control. My husband eats a little bit differently than me, but he has the luxury of being 6’3” and having a very physical job. So yeah, I’m jealous about that.

I’m excited to use my 6-pack bag again. This thing is a tank. Naturally I’ve lost most of the accompanying tupperware, so I’ve stuffed some stuff in baggies and shoved it into the little compartments. Cause that’s just how I roll, baby!

Do you pack lunch? Do you prep ahead of time or the day of? I’d love to hear any tips for staying consistent that work for ya’ll!

Holiday Indulgences

Hey ya’ll! I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas. I know I definitely did. The kids woke up early to open their gifts and then we all pretty much sat around in our pajamas and ate chocolate all day. I’m actually not kidding. Bri, my former stepmom, stuffed our stocking with some of my favorite chocolates: Dove and Ghiradelli, so basically it was over before it started for me. And you know what? I don’t feel guilty. I’m not looking up how many burpees I need to do or how long on the treadmill it will take me to burn all of that off, and I am certainly not weighing myself. I’m just moving forward. I saw something posted on Facebook by one of my favorite pages, Lean Bodies Consulting, that said

“Exercise should not be done as a punishment for what you have consumed. Doing extra cardio in an attempt to offset a dietary deviation represents a dysfunctional relationship with both food and exercise.” –Coach Mark

Wow. That is so powerful, true, and simple, and yet how many memes do we see on Facebook, Twitter, IG, etc, that are of the exact opposite nature? I for one have stopped following pages that promote that kind of thinking, because it is the type of thinking that I was enslaved by for so long, and am working hard every day to be free from. Also, that is why one day, should I ever be able to afford them, I will be going with either Lean Bodies Consulting or Curls and Whey, their “sister site” for diet and training plans.

Have you indulged this holiday season? I hope so. Do you feel guilty? I hope not. Let it go.

Life lately...

Lots has been going on in our household over the past month or so. We moved back into Roanoke, and finally into our apartment last week. We are in the final stages of unpacking, and the boxes of stuff to throw out/give to Goodwill are now outnumbering the boxes that need to be unpacked. Whew! I will tell you this, moving a week before Christmas with a 4 year old, 16 month old, and being 22 weeks pregnant is no small feat! We were lucky enough to have the boys go stay with their Grandma and Aunt for part of the weekend, and we were able to get a lot done in that time. We also had some help moving stuff in from some friends earlier in the week, and my dad came and helped move furniture on Saturday. Everyone has been earning their sleep!

Chad and I were able to go out to dinner without the kids this weekend, which is something that rarely ever happens. It was awesome. We had plans to go to a favorite restaurant of mine, Wildflour, because I had a gift card from my secret Santa at work (who turned out to be my officemate!), but by the time we were actually ready for dinner the restaurant was only open for another hour. We opted for a trusty standby: Mexican food. We had a go to Mexican place by our old apartment, and have lucked out this time as well; one of their sister restaurants is just right down the street. I have to say that I thought the food at this location was actually better than at any of their other locations! Chad had a margarita, while I looked on longingly.

This weekend was the first time that I have actually felt pregnant. Of course, I have realized that my body is growing and I have been feeling Baby Boy moving for quite some time now, but other than early stage morning sickness, I really have not feltpregnant. That all changed on Saturday in the shower. I had this moment where I was like, Oh my God, here we go. I am like, pregnant pregnant. Unless you have had a baby, you probably won’t be able to relate to this sentiment. I was kind of like, hmm, maybe I can just order in and put my pajamas on and we can go to bed. I was glad I forced myself to get dressed and go out though, and I know my husband appreciated it as well!

We were able to do some child free shopping this weekend as well. We picked up some things for the apartment, and I got a new water bottle. If you know me well, then you know that I have a problem when it comes to water bottles. I collect them. I have to. I say I have to, because I always end up breaking them. Who breaks a water bottle, you might ask? I do. I drop them and they break. I personally prefer to have a water bottle that has a straw, that way I can just drink water hands free at my desk while typing and talking on the phone; however, I have not been able to find an indestructible, pink, water bottle that has a sipper, so I went back to the only water that I know that even I cannot break: a Nalgene. I already feel more outdoorsy/preppy. But seriously, I love it. I love knowing that when it inevitably drops out my hand, I will have the last laugh. Because it can’t break.  No really, it is pretty much impossible to break. Look it up on YouTube. 

Am I the only one who has a specific water bottle or cup that they must use?