Hey guys! I know I am not the only one when I say that sometimes I am so clueless when it comes to what to make for dinner. Well, I have taken a personal pledge to "Get it together" and make my weekly dinner plans ahead of time. So this morning, I spent all of 30 minutes figuring out some simple yet, HEALTHY recipes I can throw together in a pinch. I checked some of my favorite meal planning, go-to sites:
Self
Food Network
Real Simple
These recipe databases are ideal for me. I like them merely for their easy to follow recipes [for the amateur cook in me] and their nutritional information they provide. What more could you ask for?
Here are couple of recipes that I am incorporating in my kitchen this week:
Lean Lasagna - I have been craving a comfort dish! This recipe looks like it will satisfy my cravings while not undoing all my hard work at the gym ; ) I am also banking on leftovers for a lazy or late night when I just can't get home fast enough to even throw a sandwich together. I can also freeze leftovers and just whip 'em out for nuking!
Chicken and Bok Choy Stir Fry - A healthy alternative to our favorite japanese and asian dishes. I am really looking forward to this dish! It's hardly a damper on the daily calorie allowance!
Taco Salad - With the help of Real Simple, I am making a take on my own version of this taco salad. All the same ingredients sans sour cream, cilantro and tortilla add extra salsa! Not because it necessarily makes it "healthier" but I am just not a huge fan of those ingredients on my ideaaaal taco salad!
A lot of these websites (especially Real Simple) have a ton of tools to help you in your kitchen. It's ultimately fool proof; With grocery lists for your selects recipes, meal planning and cooking tips!
Get cookin'!
Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts
Monday, June 7, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
It was an Upset
The challenge turned out good but started terribly for me! I went to take my butternut squash out of the container and it was GROWING MOLD! Can you believe it? It's not like I had it sitting for a while, I just bought it Tuesday night!
I was SO looking forward to this meal!
So, I had to find something to take it's place...
thank goodness for my polenta----->
So here's what I came up with...
Same ingredients sans butternut squash!
This meal is coming in under 500 calories (approximately, from my good judgment and according to portions and product nutrition fact labels)
Let's Talk Tips!
Lately, I have been struggling with the clock. I am a big stickler when it comes to people saying they have "No time!" I hate that excuse and sadly, I have found myself thinking it lately. Everyone has time; we all have the same amount of hours in the day it's just called time management.
It's a huge part of success when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle! Finding time for yourself; to plan your meals or get to the gym, de-stress or enjoy a hobby.
Some tips for finding that time [especially for physical activity]...
- Break it up! If you have 10 minutes in the morning you can walk around the block, do a short exercise video or hop on your exercise machine, do it! 10 minutes is better than nothing!
- Add it up! 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch, 10 minutes at night...and you've already done 30 minutes of physical activity for the day.
- Beat the clock! Go in the AM before work/school. This will guarantee a workout! So much happens during the day that something may come up (or you may decide to hit happy hour with some work buddies) and you can't make it that evening. If that means you may have to forgo your favorite prime time show because you need to get to bed earlier, then make it happen. Hello! That's why we have DVR these days :)
-Find time! Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away in the parking lot, you get the point ;)
I was SO looking forward to this meal!
So, I had to find something to take it's place...
thank goodness for my polenta----->
So here's what I came up with...
Same ingredients sans butternut squash!
Not too shabby, right?
We've got parmesan polenta, pan seared turkey burger and sauteed spinach with sun-dried tomato and onion.
Parmesan Polenta:
Bring water to boil, add polenta, stir vigorously (it's pretty much a workout in it's self!) and add in Parmesan once cooked.
Sauteed Spinach:
Parmesan Polenta:
Bring water to boil, add polenta, stir vigorously (it's pretty much a workout in it's self!) and add in Parmesan once cooked.
Sauteed Spinach:
Splash pan with a little canola oil (not much because the sun-dried tomatoes are packed in oil too), brown onion, add sun-dried tomato and let them soak a bit. Add spinach and let it ride from there!
Turkey Burg:
My burger was frozen so I took it straight from freezer to pan. Cooked it for about 20 minutes total, flipping it every so often. I added some Worcestershire sauce for extra bang! This meal is coming in under 500 calories (approximately, from my good judgment and according to portions and product nutrition fact labels)
Let's Talk Tips!
Lately, I have been struggling with the clock. I am a big stickler when it comes to people saying they have "No time!" I hate that excuse and sadly, I have found myself thinking it lately. Everyone has time; we all have the same amount of hours in the day it's just called time management.
It's a huge part of success when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle! Finding time for yourself; to plan your meals or get to the gym, de-stress or enjoy a hobby.
Some tips for finding that time [especially for physical activity]...
- Break it up! If you have 10 minutes in the morning you can walk around the block, do a short exercise video or hop on your exercise machine, do it! 10 minutes is better than nothing!
- Add it up! 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch, 10 minutes at night...and you've already done 30 minutes of physical activity for the day.
- Beat the clock! Go in the AM before work/school. This will guarantee a workout! So much happens during the day that something may come up (or you may decide to hit happy hour with some work buddies) and you can't make it that evening. If that means you may have to forgo your favorite prime time show because you need to get to bed earlier, then make it happen. Hello! That's why we have DVR these days :)
-Find time! Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away in the parking lot, you get the point ;)
No matter when it is and how much it is...it just matters that it gets done!
A little bit can go a long way.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Motivation…where are you?
Last night I could have really used a gym buddy! I was just unmotivated and thinking about anything else I could do besides be at the gym.
More often than not, I am thinking about other people and how I can help them stay motivated and meet weight loss goals…well, that is my profession and passion, of course, but sometimes even I need a little motivation!
Getting back on track: Today I am going to start back to keeping a couple of food logs a week and logging my workouts. This way I have something to track and hold myself accountable for. The work out logs will serve as reminders of gym dates and goals (remember the goal strategies I had mentioned before) I have met to keep me on track throughout the week!
I am a firm believer that writing weekly goals and keeping food logs will lead to attaining weight loss/ maintenance goals. Let’s start writing….
More often than not, I am thinking about other people and how I can help them stay motivated and meet weight loss goals…well, that is my profession and passion, of course, but sometimes even I need a little motivation!
Getting back on track: Today I am going to start back to keeping a couple of food logs a week and logging my workouts. This way I have something to track and hold myself accountable for. The work out logs will serve as reminders of gym dates and goals (remember the goal strategies I had mentioned before) I have met to keep me on track throughout the week!
I am a firm believer that writing weekly goals and keeping food logs will lead to attaining weight loss/ maintenance goals. Let’s start writing….
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
If you fail to plan, then plan to fail!
What happens when you get home from work and there is "nothing" in the house to eat? Well, if you are like me it's off to a restaurant to satisfy the hunger! My guess is that most of us have done this at least once in the past 2 weeks. Well, planning ahead may help both your wallet and your waist line.
The most important thing to lose or maintain a healthy weight is to plan! Planning both meals for the week and times to exercise will help you to stay committed! One of the best ways to plan meals for the week is to sit down with your family once a week (usually Saturday or Sunday works best) and write down a few meals you would like to have the next week. If a particular food that you believe to be is unhealthy like pizza or burgers then look up lower fat alternatives (thin crust veggie pizza or hamburgers made with extra lean beef and low fat cheese). From the menu ideas make your grocery list...then it's off to the store! Most of your food should be fresh (fresh veggies, fruits, and meats). The canned and frozen alternatives do not offer our body as many vitamins and are usually loaded with salt and preservatives.
By planning ahead this will allow you to know exactly what to cook when you get home. Cooking your own food also allows you to know exactly what is in it whereas restaurants add a lot of fat and salt for flavor! An added bonus: much money can be saved by cooking food yourself instead of going out to eat.
Planning exercise times at the beginning of the week can also be beneficial. This will help you plan other activities around your exercise time. This allows you to prioritize exercise, instead of trying to sneak it in at inconvenient times which is a more difficult task!
Hopefully planning ahead will help keep you on track with your wellness goal. Keep up the good work!
The most important thing to lose or maintain a healthy weight is to plan! Planning both meals for the week and times to exercise will help you to stay committed! One of the best ways to plan meals for the week is to sit down with your family once a week (usually Saturday or Sunday works best) and write down a few meals you would like to have the next week. If a particular food that you believe to be is unhealthy like pizza or burgers then look up lower fat alternatives (thin crust veggie pizza or hamburgers made with extra lean beef and low fat cheese). From the menu ideas make your grocery list...then it's off to the store! Most of your food should be fresh (fresh veggies, fruits, and meats). The canned and frozen alternatives do not offer our body as many vitamins and are usually loaded with salt and preservatives.
By planning ahead this will allow you to know exactly what to cook when you get home. Cooking your own food also allows you to know exactly what is in it whereas restaurants add a lot of fat and salt for flavor! An added bonus: much money can be saved by cooking food yourself instead of going out to eat.
Planning exercise times at the beginning of the week can also be beneficial. This will help you plan other activities around your exercise time. This allows you to prioritize exercise, instead of trying to sneak it in at inconvenient times which is a more difficult task!
Hopefully planning ahead will help keep you on track with your wellness goal. Keep up the good work!
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