Meal prepping, clean eating, and spending hours in the kitchen seem to be one of the most talked about topics in the fitness world. Today, I meal prepped in about 2 hours right before work and made two meals for the week. For 3 people. That’s insane considering that I would spend twice as much time (plus some) when I first started meal prepping.

Here, I will give my personal tips on what have worked for me on how to cut my time in the kitchen without sacrificing being able to use new recipes. The biggest tip that I could give you is definitely look into “One pan meals”. When I discovered these meals I realized that they were already meals that I was cooking but all at different times making my time in the kitchen a lot longer.

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*Please keep in mind, these are only suggestions and what personally work for me.*

Breakfast:

• Protein Smoothie

                                                                   (This one is my GO TO):

Chocolate Covered Strawberry

1 Frozen Banana

1 C Frozen Strawberries

3/4 C Rolled Oats

1 TBSP Whole Flaxseeds

1 Scoop of Chocolate Protein Powder

2 Spoonfuls of Peanut Butter

1 C Almond Milk

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• Peanut Butter N’ Jelly Oatmeal

Let this easy and quick recipe take you back to when you would eat PB&J’s for breakfast, I know it does that for me!

This recipe is hassle free and so kid friendly (or just anyone who loves the one and only PB&J’s). Just add some peanut butter to your oatmeal and enjoy it with a slice of whole wheat toast and jelly. We use Crofters Organic Fruit Spread, it is pretty low in sugar and is literally just fruit!!

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• Breakfast burrito

Who has time to make a breakfast burrito every morning? NOT this Mom! I usually either have Bikram Yoga at 5:30am or I go for a 45 minute run and than it’s hustle time when I get home. My Fiancé made 24 eggs worth of breakfast burritos and froze them. These burritos were life savers most morning that we were on the go!

This breakfast burrito contains: spinach, red and green peppers, eggs, goat cheese and kale. All in a whole wheat tortilla, yum!

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Snack: 

• Apple w/ 15 Almonds
• Protein Bar

I usually eat a  protein bar as a snack if I worked out in the morning or if I know that I will be working out after work. Oatmega Bars or Quest Bars are my favorite and go-to bars! I was so confused when it came to protein bars just because I kept reading articles on how protein bars could easily equal just as much sugar as a candy bar. Obviously, all of those articles scared me away from them until I took the time to read the labels and learn what to watch out for.

Here’s a video that really helped cancel out a lot of popular protein bars that you are probably in love with right now.

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• Veggie & Pita Box

This veggie box was so filling and  a great way to get your greens in. I bought the pita bread in whole rounds and just sliced them myself.

Cedars Roasted Red Pepper Hommus seems to be my favorite and it can be found at either Sprouts, Whole Foods or Target.

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Lunch/Dinner:

Avocado Turkey Burger with Sweet Potato Fries and Roasted Broccoli

Disclaimer: The sweet potatoes weren’t added in the meals when I took the photo. I was obviously too excited to take the picture before I was done!

This turkey burger was so different from any other burger i’ve made. It literally melted in my mouth!! The avocado IN the burger instead of it being added as a topping was different and delicious. Avocado has such  creamy texture which made it even easier to not add any extra condiments.

I made mine a little toasty and added a small spread of goat cheese (Of course you did, Marlyn). You need this burger in your life. Seriously.

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Cilantro Lime Chicken with Quinoa & Roasted Broccoli

The lime helped with making the chicken a lot more juicy than usual. It’s extremely easy to make and so delicious! How much easier could it get? It calls for dumping all of the ingredients in a gallon baggie, shaking it up and throwing it on a pan over your favorite veggies.

• Avocado pasta (Found in my “Recipes” tab)

*You can alternate and choose which ever for lunch / dinner.

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Snack:

• 0% Greek yogurt topped with granola

Pssst.. Fage is my favorite to grab!

• Plain rice cake with peanut butter & your choice of fresh fruit

• Sweet Tooth Killer (Pictured Below)

Here’s the nut spread that I used, it’s so tasty! I topped Caramel rice cakes (organic and super low in sugar) with fresh strawberries and a few dark chocolate chunks here and there. Also, Dark chocolate and dried strawberries granola by Nature’s Path Organic.

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Did you work out today? If so, make sure that you are taking in a little more protein than you usually would. This is so important especially after a hard day of training. Choose the protein shake for breakfast if you know that you’re going to work out that afternoon (or drink it post workout).

 

 

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What to expect on my next blog post?! 

One pan meals that i’ve tried and tweaked myself, they are such a great tool towards slimming down the amount of time that you spend in the kitchen. I promise! Please stay tuned and as always, thank you for taking the time to stop by.