Don’t forget you can still enter the giveaway to try Naked Nutrition Protein Shakes, protein without fillers or preservatives!  Click here to enter; I’ll announce the winner tomorrow!

Can you believe it’s already week 8 in 2016?  Where did the last two months go???? Last week healthy habit was to create and stick to a meal plan.  How did it go? Some of you wrote in the comments how hard it is to stick to what you have planned.  To be totally and completely honest, I consider it a MAJOR win if I make 3 out of the 4-5 meals that I have planned for dinner, I don’t even worry about if it, it’s on the pre-planned nights. If I make 3 of the meals, I’m patting myself on the shoulder with one hand and pouring a glass of wine with the other.  What’s the secret?  You’ve got to be flexible.  Don’t force it cause you wrote it down, be the adaptable multi-tasking re-organization warrior I know you already are.  Don’t forget to download your meal planning template, though!

All that said, the number one thing that helps me stick to weekly meal plan is my weekend meal prep.  For a long time, I avoided the words “meal prep.”  It sounds like something the insane fitness bodybuilders do (love to all my body builder friends).  While this is true, do to their very specific needs they do dominate at meal prep, the fact is your meal prep does not have to be so intense or intimidating.

What should you prep?

Meal prep is all about saving you time so you can get past the cooking, stick with mostly healthy options, and on to staying fueled throughout the entire busy week! Here are a few things to try:

–  Pre-Cut and wash all veggies for all recipes—> really if you just do this you are ahead of the game.  It saves so much time in so many ways because the ingredients are ready, and you don’t have to pull out or clean cutting boards and knives.

–  Protein options?  sometimes I prep meat ahead of time and sometimes I make it early during the week and eat it over and over again

–  Smoothies planned? make smoothie packs ahead of time

–  Protein shakes for breakfast? see below

– Oatmeal? make overnight oats

– Eggs? make hard boiled eggs, egg muffins or crustless quiches to eat all week

– Salads? you can do the mason jar salad thing or what we do is just make all the salads except the dressing, we use disposable cups for dressings

– Need grains or sweet potatoes for a recipe?  If I don’t buy them pre-cooked, then I cook them ahead of time in my meal prep. Usually, I make leftovers and freeze them, so I don’t always have to cook these when I need them

– On the go breakfasts or snacks?  healthy baked or no baked goods to eat, cut and washed fruit, etc… (see 15 on the go breakfast ideas)

How to get started?

You don’t need to go for the whole shebang right away, just pick a couple of things to make your life easier and build on that each week!  As you realize how much time it saves during the week and how much better you eat, you’ll get in the meal prep groove of things. Let me know how it goes!

Looking for more ideas? I try to categorize and tag all my meal planning (also see under categories in the menu), plus I’ve recapped last weekend’s meal prep!

2/14 Meal Prep

• Cottage Cheese Egg Muffins My Breakfast/Snacks/Whenever—-> Recipe coming soon!

• Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast (affiliate link –>)(Practical Paleo Recipe) and Steamed Carrots for Mr. Hungry’s lunches

• Asparagus (clean and cut) – unpictured–> used it in stir fry
• Ultimate Superfood Bars (leftover from last week’s prep)

• Make Ahead Vegan Protein Smoothie/Shake

Not a smoothie and not just a protein shake, this is how I make Mr. Hungry’s AM protein drinks ahead of time so he can grab one and a banana on his way out of the door.

Ingredients:

(links below are affiliate links)

• 6 cups vanilla or original non-dairy milk
• Ten scoops (2 scoops = one serving) Naked Nutrition Brown Rice Protein ( or other protein)
• 1 big spoonful of sun butter (probably 1/4-1/3 cup) or whatever nut butter we have on hand
• Four scoops  espresso dynamic greens
• 1/4 cup  coconut sugar
• sometimes I add (affiliate link–>) chia seeds as well (1/4-1/3 cup) – this makes it considerably thick, borderline pudding status

Directions:  Blend ingredients and store in mason jars for up to 5 days.  Typically they separate a little bit, but a quick shake (even without a blender ball) and they are good to go!  I find the shake thickens a bit as it sits in the fridge, Mr. Hungry doesn’t like that, so he adds water and shakes its up.  He usually drinks his protein shake at home while playing with Nala, sticks the mason jar in the dishwasher and grabs a banana to eat for his morning snack.  Sometimes if he is busy or running late, he will take the protein shake and banana with him.  The point is that it’s there, he likes it, it’s filling, and nobody had to clean out the blender on a daily basis. Plus, we just ordered these which make them even more portable!

52 HEALTHY HABITS IN 52 WEEKS SERIES:

The 52 Healthy Habits Series is about ditching the diet mindset and making small changes to improve health overall naturally leading to a healthy body composition, increased energy and improved health. Please follow along and check out the past weeks!

• Week 52: Healthy Habits Wrap Up
• Week 51: Nightly Reflection
• Week 50: Limit Harmful Chemicals
• Week 49: Find Your Tribe
• Week 48: Cultivating Positivity
• Week 47: Healthy Thanksgiving Tips
• Week 46: Check In
• Week 45: Mobility – Foam Rolling
• Week 44: HIIT Training
• Week 43: LISS or Steady State Cardio
• Week 42: Limit Alcohol
• Week 41: Eat White, Wait What?
• Week 40: Eat Blue & Purple
• Week 39: Eat Green
• Week 38: Eat Yellow/Orange
• Week 37: Eat Red
• Week 36: Learn Which Foods to Purchase Organic
• Week 35: Read the Ingredient List!
• Week 34: Focus.
• Week 33: Chew Your Food!
• Week 32: Meditation
• Week 31: Gratitude Journaling
• Week 30: Plan & Revamp Dessert- 20 Healthy Ideas
• Week 29: Two fistfuls of veggies per meal
• Week 28: Get In Veggies At Breakfast
• Week 27: Healthy Veggie Snacks
• Week 26: Nourishing Fats for the Gut (Healthy Digestion Part 4)
• Week 25: Keeping Regular – The Other Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 3)
• Week 24: Feed The Probiotics With Prebiotic Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 2)
• Week 23: Amazing Health Benefits of Probiotics (Healthy Digestion Part 1)
• Week 22: Check In
• Week 21: What You Will Learn From Recording Your Meals (Intuitive Eating Series Part 4)
• Week 20: Eat Until 80% Full (Hara Hachi Bu) (Intuitive Eating Series Part 3)
• Week 19: Limit Distractions While Eating (Intuitive Eating Series Part 2)
• Week 18: Gaging Your Hunger Cues (Intuitive Eating Series Part 1)
• Week 17: 10,000 Steps Per Day
• Week 16: Assess Your Caffeine Intake
• Week 15: Decrease Sugar Intake
• Week 14: Healthy Coffee Creamers (upgrade yours)
• Week 13: 3 Month Check In
• Week 12: Sleep Enough & Sleep Better
• Week 11: Schedule Your Workouts
• Week 10: Pack A Healthy Lunch (5 Ways to Create Endless Combinations)
• Week 9: Prioritizing Protein
• Week 8: How and What to Meal Prep
• Week 7: Create & Stick To Your Healthy Meal Plan
• Week 6: Get Enough Omega-3’s (Fight Inflammation)
• Week 5: What Is A Healthy Fat & How To Get Enough (Include Healthy Fats)
• Week 4: How to Spot A Healthy Carbohydrate (Upgrade Your Carbs)
• Week 3: Tips to Increase Veggie Intake (Eat Veggies)
• Week 2: 15 Healthy On the Go Breakfast Ideas (Eat BF Challenge)
• Week 1: Tips to Drink More Water