Meal Prep Monday- Our New Breakfast FAVE!

 

 

 

Our new breakfast favourite

I know that I have already posted many breakfast recipes but I just cant help it! Breakfast is my absolute favourite, especially when it is something warm and flavourful. MMM.

So I have a new breakfast favourite and wouldn’t you know it…my daughter LOVES them too. Like refuses to eat anything else (I think I may have created a breakfast monster).

Instead of just plain hard boiled eggs or even egg muffins or peanut butter melba toast that I have been eating previously, I decided to make Lentil and Egg Breakfast Burritos. They are SO versatile, can be made with healthy alternatives and WHO doesn’t love a burrito of any kind?? The lentils add the extra protein that you need and will keep you full and it covers that craving for meat and that I get at breakfast time.

Another reason that I love these Breakfast Burritos is that you can freeze them! This makes it easy to grab them out of the freezer the night before and they are ready for you in the morning. Grab N Go! I made a big batch so we are good to go all week, into next week.

I have made them twice now and I will include both variations just for an idea of how to change it up!

Ingredients:

This is only about 1/4 of the burrito left after I started eating it lol

 

• 8 12” Tortillas OR 12 6” tortillas (I used whole wheat)
• 10 eggs
• 1tsp oregano
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped small
• 1 onion, chopped small
• 1 zucchinni, chopped small
• 1 cup lentils uncooked or about 2 cups lentils cooked
• 1tsp Olive oil
• S&P to taste

Directions:

1. Cook 1 cup of lentils (follow package directions) or use canned.
2. Let lentils cool.
3. Heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat.
4. Cook onion until starting to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.
5. Add your pepper and zucchini and cook until soft, about 5 minutes (this is where you could use your variations).
6. While your veggies cook, scramble your eggs and oregano. Normally you would add water or milk to scramble eggs but I don’t because I find it gets too watery when you re-heat your burrito later.
7. Once veggies are cooked, add in your scrambled eggs AND lentils
8. Scramble until eggs are cooked through. I sometimes will use a lid if the eggs are not cooking as quickly as I would like.
9. Once everything is finished cooking let it all cool. Shred your cheese while you wait.

Building Your Burritos

1. Lay out your tortillas
2. Place about 3-4 rounded table spoons of egg mixture onto the tortilla
3. Add a pinch of cheese
4. Roll them up. I use the fold two sides in, then fold down the top and fold the bottom up. But whatever works best for you so that all of your ‘stuff’ stays INSIDE the burrito.
5. Wrap them with saran wrap and either put them in the fridge or (if you won’t be eating them all right away) put them ALL in a Ziploc freezer bag and put them in the freezer.
6. Take a frozen burrito out the day before you want it or you can heat from frozen. I usually do about 30 seconds per side for my thawed burritos, add an extra 30ish seconds for a frozen one!

Variations I have used besides this recipe include: red peppers and mushrooms with cheddar and feta cheese, spinach and mushroom with mozzarella cheese. Throw in whatever veggies you love to eat and I am sure it will be good!

Let me know if you try this and what you think. Or if you have any tried and true meal prep recipes that can be FROZEN let me know that too!

Cooking Lentils for the 1ST TIME

Lentils are actually really good

I still have not taken a picture of a fully wrapped burrito. I keep forgetting until I’ve already eaten half of it.

They are SO delicious!

Meal Prep Monday-Chicken Fajita Bowls

Ok I know its Tuesday BUT I was busy yesterday so you get this post today instead!

I LOVE Buddah Bowls…or anything that can be mixed into a big bowl of goodness. That is what inspired this dish and my Meal Prep for this week and let me tell you…these were AMAZING! I actually did NOT get sick of eating this AND I was sad when I had eaten them all. That’s saying something after eating them for 4 days in a row haha.

For breakfast I had 1 package of melba toasts with 2tbs of peanut butter spread between them and a piece of fruit, usually an apple or orange. The melba toast and peanut butter gave me the carb and protein that I need and the fruit is great for giving me a little more fiber and carb as well as balancing my meal and keeping me full longer. For lunch I had my Chicken Fajita Buddah bowls.

I had enough fixins left over for another bowl (minus the chicken) so I added 1/2 an avacado instead. YUMMO!

Ingredients:

• 3 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
• 1tsp Mrs. Dash Southwest seasoning
• 1 jar salsa (I like mild but you can use whatever you want)
• 1 LARGE red onion sliced in skinny strips
• 2 bell peppers sliced in skinny strips
• 3 cups (uncooked) Tru Roots Sprouted Rice and Quinoa blend
• 1 cup frozen corn
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Cilantro
• Salt and Pepper
• Cooking spray
• 4 bowls or containers that can be put into the microwave to re-heat!

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F or 200C
2. Spray sheet pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken breast in the middle with the sliced peppers on one side and the onion on the other
3. Sprinkle Mrs. Dash Southwest seasoning on both sides of chicken (add any other spices you may want) and salt and pepper on everything, including peppers and onion.
4. Pour salsa, evenly, over the chicken breasts.
5. Bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through (about 25 minutes).
6. While the chicken cooks, make your quinoa blend by following the directions on the package.
7. Once everything is cooked start layering all of the items together in containers!
8. To layer I start with my quinoa blend (1 cup) in each of the 4 bowls.
9. Put ¼ cup of corn into each bowl on top of the quinoa.
10. Divide peppers and onions evenly between the bowls and put them beside the corn.
11. Then I slice up my chicken and divide that into the bowls.
12. Top with a pinch of cheddar cheese and cilantro (optional).

These will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator so stack them up and grab 1 on your way out the door!

I feel like this looks like a lot of steps but I promise its not and it is SUPER easy! Like the easiest recipe I have made while meal prepping! Only 1 pan and 1 pot are used to make the WHOLE THING! You cannot beat that lol

Finished product!!

Are you doing any awesome meal preps? Please share! I am always looking for new ideas 🙂

Meal Prep Monday! Egg Cups and Tilapia Recipes

WOAH! I have been slacking on my meal prep blogging lately.

Even though the blog has been lacking that does not mean my meal prep game is not on fleek! Because it is and has been since I started cracking the whip 2 weeks ago.

My goals the past few weeks, in terms of my diet, are to decrease my carb (starch) intake and increase my protein intake. Easier said than done because, lets face it, I LOVE me some CARBS. Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, CHIPS, all the starchy goodness lol BUT I need to cut back on them (not eliminate them completely) so that I can put less insulin into my body and HOPEFULLY lose some damn weight!

I am back to my Zumba classes twice a week and with my Fit with Type 1 Diabetes challenge I also have 2 other nights that I work out as well. Maybe this will be exactly what my body needs to kick start this weight loss that I so desperately need.

My breakfast last week was ham and egg cups. These were SO good and kept me full all the way to lunch. I ate them with melba toasts as my starch as they are a great lower carb option.

For the ham and egg cups I placed slices of ham into muffin tins, pushing them in so that they were at the bottom of the tin and right up against the sides like a cup. Once the ham was in, I added some chopped mushrooms and cracked an egg into each muffin hole. I sprinkled the tops with salt and pepper and green onion, then I baked them at 325F for about 20 minutes or until the eggs were set. Once they were completely cooled I stored them in an airtight container in the fridge. Each morning I would grab 2-3 and pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds and ate them warm because we all know I love a hot breakfast!

My lunch last week was tilapia with Brussel sprouts/yellow squash and PC brand quinoa, corn and black bean blend (yes from the frozen food isle).

I put the tilapia in tin-foil with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper and put it on the barbecue for about 20 minutes. It was delicious.

The Brussel sprouts and squash were steamed and then mixed in with PC brand quinoa corn and black bean blend.

The quinoa blend was a little bit spicy all by itself BUT onces the Brussel sprouts were added in, it was perfect. Quinoa is a great carb choice as it has a lot of nutrients and is considered a ‘good’ carb. It is a great replacement for white rice or pasta.

My snacks consisted of cut up oranges, nectarines, and cucumber with a mini babybell cheese!

There you have it. My first week back to meal prepping and I didn’t do too shabby (even if I do say so myself). I have saved money by not going out to eat WHILE eating a much healthier diet. I still eat out once a week but that’s ok. It is my treat to myself ❤

 

 

I Don’t Care How Long It’s Been Since You Ate That-Via Sass & Balderdash

I fell in love with this blog post. Everyone can relate to it. I know that I have had a time or two where I order my favourite thing on the menu (or an extra item because I love it so much) while out with people who are supposed to be your friends. The second you do, you get that look :0 like ‘are you seriously ordering that right now’, or they come right out and say it ‘do you really think you need the LARGE fry?’. My response? Yes I fucking do and no I will not fucking share. BAHAHA

Anyways, take a read. Its my new fave post ❤

Let me describe a situation we’ve all experienced. You’re with a friend, feeling confident enough to expose the ugliest, most-likely-to-go-viral-and-humiliate-you aspects of your life, and you find yourself wading into a story that includes a depraved episode of gluttony. Maybe you bought a tub of sour cream and ate it alone by the spoonful while watching…

via PSA: I Don’t Care How Long It’s Been Since You Ate That — Sass & Balderdash

Meal Prep-Breakfast Time!

What do you eat for breakfast?

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I am a savoury kind of girl so I love bacon and eggs. Or an omelette with sausage and mushrooms.

I was never one for breakfast. Even being diabetic I would adjust my insulin so that I didn’t have to eat it. It made my stomach hurt or feel sick if I ate but, knowing how important breakfast was, I tried to find a way to eat it anyways. What I realized was that if I wait until about 2 hours after I wake up, I can eat and not feel crappy and I am full for most of the morning.

Now I find that, without breakfast, I don’t have the fuel to get through the first half of the day. OR if I eat CRAP for breakfast I am starving before lunch is even close to being a possibility. By 10am I will be hungry and craving something like nobody’s business!

My solution for the past few months has been this:

Greek Yogurt Parfait

• ½ cup Vanilla Oikos greek yogurt
• 1 tbs Vanilla protein powder
• ½ cup Welch’s frozen strawberry/blueberry mix
• ¼ cup Oats and Honey, Nature Valley Protein Granola

Mix the yogurt and the protein powder together FIRST. Once smooth, add in the rest of the ingredients. Also, you can use any frozen OR fresh fruit that you like.

Don’t get me wrong, its actually REALLY good. Its packed FULL of protein, low in carbs (35 in total), and low in calories. It keeps me full ALL morning and I don’t even contemplate snacking. The issue that I have started to find with this is…someone can only eat Greek yogurt SO MANY days in a row before they get sick of it! I am totally Greek yogurt’d out! 

Being so sick of this Greek yogurt breakfast I have been having, I decided to change it up. For me, breakfast has to be something I can either grab and go or can be put together at my desk. That being said I went ahead and made THIS:

Zucchini and Leek Frittata with Bacon

• 8 eggs scrambled(I ate this for 3 separate meals)
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small leek
• 3 strips of bacon, already cooked

Cook up the zucchini in a frying pan with a little bit of EVOO. Once the zucchini is browned a bit, throw in the leek and cook for another minute. Once the leek has started to get really fragrant, throw in the cooked bacon and then the scrambled eggs. I like to scrape the bottom of the pan a bit when the eggs first get in there. This makes sure that the eggs cook a little more even. Throw the whole thing in the oven on 350F, or even just a LOW broil, until the top of the eggs have set.

My daughter and I both had a bit for snack the night that I made it, and they served as my breakfast for 2 days with melba toasts on the side. I separated them into separate containers and just tossed them into the microwave for a minute or two when I was ready to eat them. They were SO good and totally helped by giving me a healthy break from my usual breakfast and giving me that savouriness that I crave!

So, what do you eat for breakfast? Do you have any awesome breakfast meal prep recipes? I NEED MORE. Leave me a comment and let me know!

 

Plate Police Brutality: The Struggles of Eating in Public

I am re-blogging this from Sass and Balderdash. I just love her blog. But this specific post hit the nail right on the head. I know most women feel this way, I know that I certainly have on many occasions. I’ve actually had a friend not come to my daughter’s birthday party because she would be ‘too tempted’ to eat a slice of birthday cake. Its a slice of birthday cake! ITS NOT GOING TO KILL YOU! My opinion is…eat the damn cake…eat the brownie…eat the cookie. You only live once, and in this life I do not want to be deprived of ENJOYING those delicious tidbits.

Plate Police Brutality: The Struggles of Eating in Public

Last week there was a holiday fair at the office. Several coworkers – many who work in other departments and fall into the “name rings a bell” category – sold goods like knitwear or jewelry that they made by hand. It was actually pretty remarkable to glimpse the unseen passions and hidden talents of the many near-strangers I see only in passing during elevator rides or pilgrimages to the corners of the office where a birthday cake is rumored to be found. It was refreshing to remember that everyone’s lives are much richer than the eight hours we spend conjoined in cubicles each day. That our perception of the people we work with is a snapshot of who they are with a business casual filter applied. The fair itself was lovely, but the baking contest was a sad reminder of how tense eating can be, especially as a woman. When emails about the holiday fair were sent out a few months back the cynic in me expected low participation, but the spread for the bake off alone proved me wrong. There was a huge assortment of desserts anonymously labeled and arranged atop a long stretch of file cabinets just outside the […]

Source: Plate Police Brutality: The Struggles of Eating in Public

 

Meal Prep Monday- November 23rd

This past weekend was crazy! So much to do, so little time to meal prep!

Saturday was spent with my beautiful girl ❤ We spent the afternoon Christmas shopping, went out for dinner just the two of us and spent the snowy evening at the theatre! The Little Mermaid (LIVE!) was quite amazing, and she was beyond ecstatic. Mommy + daughter days are our absolute favourite days ❤
 

 

I got an hour Sunday morning to get some of my Turkey Meat Balls made! Woo Hoo! They are amazing to make and freeze for the days that you don’t have a meal prepared, or your family is eating something awful for dinner, or even just as a high protein snack after the gym.

Sunday afternoon was spent grocery shopping for the week and enjoying my niece’s 7th birthday with the FAM. We did not get home until late (8pm for my daughter is late lol). I really was in no mood to prepare my lunches for the week, but I put her to bed and got down to work.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

This week I stuck to my usual breakfast of toast with avocado. It hasn’t gotten old yet! Plus, I got a great deal on avocados at the grocery store :).

For lunch I made something new, that I haven’t tried before. Baked Sweet Potato and Avocado Hash. I made an extra so that I could try it last night and let me tell you, it is yummy! I will post a recipe for this later on in the week.

For my snacks I have my usual apple, mixed veggies but I also picked up some rice cakes. I haven’t eaten a rice cake in YEARS so I am hoping that with a little peanut butter on top I will still like them lol

Well here it is. My Meal Prep for the week. Keep in mind that this only includes what I eat during the day. It does not include my dinner or if I have a snack after my workout of choice. Those are usually not planned (I need to start doing that) and might consist of a piece of whole grain bread with peanut butter or a Nutrigrain bar or something of that sort.

Breakfast: 330 calories, 40 carbohydrates

• 2 12-grain toast
• 1/2 avocado

Lunch:  320 calories, 30 carbohydrates

• Baked Sweet Potato and Avocado Hash
  • (It is literally 1 sweet potato, 1/2 an avocado, and 1 fried (or poached) egg on top!)

Snacks: I usually have 2. I almost always eat my veggies plus one of the higher calorie snacks.

• 1/2 Cucumber, 1 stick of celery 12 calories, 0 carbohydrates
• 1 rice cake with 1 tsp of Kraft Smooth peanut butter 80 calories, 10 carbohydrates
• Apple 60 calories, 18 carbohydrates

Did you meal prep this week? What are you eating? What is on your menu tonight?

Meal Prepping and Recipe Sharing

I always have to write my meal prepping posts after lunch because if I don’t, people around the office ask me why I am salivating so much lol. This week my meal prepping was on the ball! I prepped all of my breakfasts, lunches and snacks on Sunday as usual.

My breakfast was a new take on my usual toast (instead of peanut butter I used avocado). I mashed 2 avocados on Sunday, and separated into air tight containers for each day, in hopes that they would make it through the week without browning too much. I must say that this was pretty much a success. By the 4th day my avocado was beginning to brown a little just on the top so next time I’ll squeeze a bit of lemon juice on the ones that I will eat later in the week.

My lunches were really flavourful and delicious, especially the Mexi Bowl (YUM). I was actually really disappointed that I didn’t make enough of these for each day of the week lol. But the other choice for my lunch was an avocado wrap and soup. This did not disappoint either.

My snacks were the go-to staples that I have been using for a few weeks. Maybe next week I will change it up a bit.

This week my prepared meals consisted of the following:

Breakfast: 224 calories, 30 carbs

• 2 pieces of multi-grain toast
• 1/2 of a mashed avocado
• sprinkle of salt

Lunch: 400 calories each

• Mexican Bowl

OR

• 1 avocado wrap
• 1 cup of Campbell’s Healthy Request chunky chicken noodle soup

Snacks: totalled 90 calories, 25 carbs

• cucumbers and cauliflower
• 1 medium apple

Now my favourite part…the recipes. I am going to grace you with BOTH of the recipes that I used for my lunches this week, as each day I could not wait to eat either one. Clearly I was on an avocado kick this week but that’s ok because avocado is so good for you. It is higher in calories but as long as it is eaten in moderation it has way more positive benefits than negative.

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I stole the recipe for the Mexi Bowl from The Wanna Be Chef. You can check out her blog here. It is super easy to make (you just dump everything in a bowl and heat up when your ready) and it’s really yummy. This recipe makes 1 serving, I tripled it to get 3 lunches. It was 400 calories and 70 carbs.

Mexi Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked brown rice (I used Uncle Ben’s but you can use whatever kind you like)
• 3/4 cup black beans, washed and drained (I found 1 can was enough to make my 3 lunches)

  

  All mixed up and ready to eat!

• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, layer the rice, beans, vegetables, salsa, and cheese.
2. Store with a tight lid until ready to eat.
3. When ready, microwave on full power for 3-4 minutes.
4. Stir and eat!

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As for my avocado wrap it is 300 calories and 30 carbohydrates. You can eat just this wrap without the soup for lunch but I was freezing and soup sounded wonderful :). This makes 1 wrap. I cut up my cucumbers and onions, stored my mayo and 1/2 avocado in separate airtight containers to bring to work. My avocado I slice at my desk before I put it in the wrap.

Avocado Wrap

Ingredients:

• 1 tortilla
• 1/2 avocado (sliced)
• 1-2 rings of red onion diced
• 1/4 cucumber sliced and then quartered
• 1/2 tbsp Hellman’s mayonnaise

Directions:

1. Layer ingredients on top of tortilla
2. Fold
3. Eat!

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How is everyone’s meal prepping coming along? What are you struggling with? If you’ve tried any of my recipes let me know what you thought!

Sesame Salmon—Recipe

I am happy to report that I have officially lost 3 pounds since my 2 pound weight gain! And I’ve done it in a matter of 2 short weeks! WOOHOO

Working out and building lean muscle is obviously very important in a weight loss journey but I really think that the most important part of my journey is what I eat. I don’t call it a diet because that is NOT what my journey is about. It is a life change. It is not all about eating salad every day or only veggies or only protein for the rest of your life, I still eat really yummy food and have snacks and treats. I just choose healthier options and smaller portions. I also count calories (limiting my daily intake to a certain amount determined by a discussion with my doctor) and carbohydrates. This helps me to still eat things that I want and not binge when I am craving something. It’s still hard a lot of the time, especially the portion control and not being hungry! But I try my best and I am pretty happy with it so far.

Today I am posting a recipe from this week’s meal prepping session! I love salmon and it fits in really nicely with my healthier lifestyle. Salmon is a lean protein which is a good change from red meat. It also is full of the great Omega-3 fatty acids which are nature’s heart medicines. So my recipe for today is a Sesame Salmon that I made to go with my homemade Sesame Lo-Mien and Grilled zucchini and Carrots. Its yummy!

Sesame Salmon

Ingredients

• 5 Salmon Filets (1 for each day of the week)
• toasted sesame seeds (I toast mine myself, explained in first step)

Sesame Sauce

• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 c soya sauce-low sodium
• 2 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs rice vinegar
• 3 tbs sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp hot chili oil
• 4 tbs canola oil
• 4 green onions

Directions:

1. First, if you have raw sesame seeds, you need to toast them. All you have to do it throw them in a pan on medium and stir them constantly until they begin to brown. If your sesame seeds are already toasted, skip this step!
   
2. Pre-heat your oven to 400°F
3. Arrange salmon on a baking sheet that is lined with tin-foil, making a bit of a tin-foil boat. This helps to keep the salmon in the sauce.
4. Whisk all of the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl until the oil and the soya sauce combines. Its pretty leaky but that’s ok.
5. Using a spoon, spread a few table spoons of sauce on each of the salmon filets
6. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily.
7. Half way through baking, put a few more table spoons of the sauce on each salmon filet
8. Once the fish is done, plate on top of lo-mien or brown rice. Top with toasted sesame seeds.
9. You can use any left over sauce to coat your lo-mien noodles or some brown rice.

Sesame Sauce mixed and ready

My lunch all packed and ready 🙂

My mouth was watering just typing this today. I have already had this for lunch 2 days in a row and I still cannot get enough of it! If you love fish and a you are a sweet and salty lover like me then try this recipe out! Its my new favourite and a great alternative to red meat.

Do you meal prep? Which meals do you prep and what are your favourites? Let me know 🙂

No Pain No Gain

No pain no gain. That’s what ‘they’ say right? Well I am definitely feeling the pain today.

Last week I went to Zumba and nailed it, but as for getting to the gym I only made it there once. So I felt like, while I ate great and stuck to my meal plan for the week, I was really slacking in the workout department. I didn’t have the motivation to go by myself, I went to bed early most of the nights instead of heading to the gym and was just lazy. But I started this week off much better and I am feeling pumped!

I spent the better part of an hour at the gym last night. This is the very first time I have gone to the gym by myself in years. If you know me, or have read my previous blogs, then you know that this is huge for me. As I stepped out of my car I could feel the familiar tightening in my chest. The dreaded panic attack. It’s so bizarre. I can walk into the gym without feeling like this when I am walking in with a friend or my sister, but the second I try to walk in by myself it shows its ugly head. It took me a few minutes to get out of the car and put my feet in motion but once I got started I didn’t let myself stop until I was on the treadmill to warm up! Once in and working I am ok, no panic. It’s just the getting there that trips me up.

I am happy to report that I killed it at the gym last night, all by myself 😀 . I did cardio for 15 minutes, a deep stretch, upper body workout including weights (Im only comfortable lifting around 5 lbs with free weights but I’ll get up there eventually lol), and then I finished up with 10 more minutes of cardio. I felt like I really worked hard, gave it my all and didn’t slack, which I find happens when you aren’t working out with a partner. This really was a great workout and I definitely feel it in my shoulders biceps today.

Meal prep yesterday went really great as well. I will give you a summary as usual, and later this week I will be posting a recipe because honestly, my lunch today was delicious and I cannot wait to eat it again tomorrow!

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Breakfast: 165 calories, 22 carbs

• 1 toast
• 1/4cup of cottage cheese
• 4-5 mini cherry or grape tomatoes
• COFFEE (this is always included in my breakfast even if I don’t write it lol)

Lunch: 400 calories, 37 carbs

• 1 Sesame Salmon filet
• 1 cup Sesame Lo-Mien
• ½ Grilled zucchini and carrots

Snacks: each around 100 calories, almost 0 carbs

• 1 cup Mixed fresh veggies (few carrots, cauliflower and cucumbers)
• 2 tbs Pesto basil hummus

OR

• 1 tbs Peanut butter (if Im really hungry Ill grab a table spoon of peanut butter to tide me over between meals)

OR

• 1 Greek yogurt (oikos is my favourite)

Dinner:

We all know that I don’t cook dinner during the week SO hopefully I can control my calorie intake during this meal.

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At the gym with my SEESTOR. Being cool taking selfies ❤

I am feeling great this week with my meal prep and workouts. I hope everyone else is doing well with their Journeys, whether it be weight loss or life in general! Let me know how you are doing and what steps you are taking towards a better you!