Coach G - Fit Family Fun!

This weekend has been quite hectic with lots of running around. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to work on my garden and I'm getting antsy that I haven't planted much yet. Meal prep also took a little longer than it had in the past few weeks but that's because there was some marinating and slow cooking involved. It all got done in about four and half hours. That all paid off in the end because everything came out so delicious! There have been times where I've prepped and honestly haven't been too enthused by all dishes. This time is not one of those times.  I first started working on the Grilled Thai Curry Chicken Skewers with Coconut-Peanut Sauce and   left it to marinate in the fridge as I prepared my other meals. Next came the Slow Cooker Carnitas. Nothing better than that for taco Tuesday. I grilled some bell peppers and got some avocados to add to those tacos. I found another one pot chicken meal, the One Pot Italian Chicken And Ri...

Back to the grind after spring break! There is no better way to get back into the groove than starting the week off with a good meal prep session. I also did some prep for my Ezekiel bread which I'll cover in my Tuesday's Tip in two days. The prep took around two hours which left me a lot of time to work in my garden! Gardening makes meal prep even more fun as my menus are based on what I pick. It also encourages the kids to eat more fruits and veggies because they get so involved in the growing process. The first dish I made was a One-Pan Chicken Thighs with Cilantro-Lime Black Bean Rice dish. I decided to take the skin off the chicken before cooking it so as to reduce the amount of fat. The rice came out nice and tangy. I'm really looking forward to eating this. After this all my inspiration went out the window so I went with some quick favorites. The Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf Muffins are great and we usually have them with some steam veggies. Then I made some ki...

Another week over and I beat the bread once more! 4 dinners and lunches done in 2.5 hrs. I had quite a busy weekend so I'm glad that meal prep didn't fall through the cracks. Next week there will be no meal prep because it's my son's spring break. I try to use my time as efficiently as possible. I've written in past about ordering my groceries online and how it has saved me time, sanity, and even money. I try to get my menu done on Friday or Saturday so that I pick up my groceries Sunday morning after taking the kids to their swimming class. Saturday my daughter has a 45 minute ballet class and parents are not allowed to sit in on the class. Since she's very young I sit in the hall during her class and wait until it's over. Just in case there is a potty emergency! I decided this week, instead of just sitting there like a bump on a log, I would use that time to make my menu. I went through my Pintrest boards and found new recipes and gradually ad...

I always start my meal prep by getting the bread maker going and my goal is always to try to "beat the bread". By that I mean that I try to finish cooking before the bread is done baking. Ezekiel bread takes 3 hours 25 minutes from start to finish in the bread machine. Today I was done with about 50 minutes left on the clock! The secret was that I made two recipes that requires cooked chicken and for that I use rotisserie chicken. It's easy and delicious. I made some zucchini enchiladas where I used thinly sliced zucchini in lieu of tortillas. The recipe required me to roll the zucchini around the filling. Well, let me tell you, it didn't quite work out that way. The zucchini kept breaking so, to make my life easier, I laid it out like I would a lasagna. My taste will never know the difference. Using more rotisserie chicken, I made a cold fighting chicken soup. None of have a cold but I love the soup and I decide what we eat so there you have it! It's...