Coach G - Fit Family Fun!

I'm back after a two week hiatus! Happy New Year everyone! Like a lot of people I've made a resolution to lead a healthier life this year. Life has been a little hectic and I need to get back on track. I have my eye on a couple of family 5Ks I'd like to participate in and I'll be going for my black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I've therefore resolved to start a new round of Beachbody's 21 Day Fix. The program has always worked well for me so I'm giving it another go. I've attached the meal plan I'm following with the container counts in case any of you want to give it a try as well.  We all came back from Montreal with the sniffles so there was no better time to make a delicious Cold-Fighting Couscous Chicken Soup. I found this Brown Rice Lasagna Skillet and thought it was very interesting. Using brown rice instead of pasta, who'd have thought! On Friday I'll be making a Blackened Tilapia with Cucumber Avocado Salsa. I don't like t...

After 4 days off from work and taking the weekend off from meal prepping last weekend, it's back to the routine now. My stomach also needs a break from all the thanksgiving leftovers we've had over the past few days, This meal prep was a very simple one and took about two and a half hours to get done. I was done before the bread and the slow cooker were! It seems my husband was missing his lunches, he requested stuffed spuds for lunch. Dinner Prep   Swedish Meatballs - I made this using fat free half and half and extra lean ground beef. Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry Crock Pot Cashew Chicken Vegetarian Three Bean Chili Lunch Prep Stuffed Spuds I also always bake a bread and it is a delicious Ezekiel bread. The machine bread recipe can be found  here As always I encourage your comments and look forward to hearing from you

Ingredients: 2 C baby spinach and arugula mix 1/4 C chopped cucumbers 1/4 C shredded carrots 1/4 C chopped red bell pepper 1 chopped green onion 5 cherry tomatoes 1/2 C cooked steak Your favorite dressing. I like an oil and vinegar dressing on this. Instructions: Layer the ingredients in the order given above and enjoy!

Ingredients 4 large whole wheat tortillas 4 tbsp Fire Roasted Artichoke and Spinach Hummus 2 oz baby spinach and arugula mix 2 C cooked steak, chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped Instructions Layer the ingredients on 1 tortilla in the following order: 1 tbsp hummus, 0.5 oz greens, 1/2 C steak, 1/4 of the red bell peppers. Fold two sides and roll the tortilla Serves 4

Daylights saving time gave me an extra hour today since I woke up early. I had time to go buy a new bookshelf for my daughter, build it (I actually enjoy doing that), and re-organize her room. After I was done I started with my meal prep. I discovered 4 new recipes this week and seem quite good. I also like that they include a starch, protein, and veggies. I ended up going for kale salads for lunch because I doubled up my kale order last week. I wanted 3 bunches and didn't realize that each "bunch" was actually two bunches. Kale overload!!! As usual I tweaked some of the recipes to make them a bit healthier. Dinner prep  C rispy Parmesan Garlic Chicken With Zucchini -This looks really delicious but requires 8 tbsp of butter! Instead of using 4 tbsp butter to dredge the chicken I used egg whites.   Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna. I've made some modifications to this recipe and I'm working on a video to add. Slow Cooker Sausage, Spinach A...

To be quite honest I wasn't really feeling the meal prepping this weekend. I had had a long week where I spent many nights working late on a cake for my son's birthday and by the time the party was over yesterday I was completely exhausted,  hadn't done my recipe list, and therefore hadn't done my grocery list. I was seriously considering dipping into my planning ahead stash in the freezer downstairs. Finally I decided to suck it up buttercup and sat down to think of recipes that were healthy and really quick to make. The four recipes I came up with ended up filling the bill quite well. As part of my grocery list I bought a 10 ounce container of fresh baby spinach and therefore I wanted to use it all instead of letting it go to waste so a lot of the recipes have spinach in them.  Popeye would be so proud! the beans and rice recipe was big enough to feed us for dinner on Sunday and I have enough for another dinner during the week, I also pre-cook my rice so I won'...

Ingredients 4 large whole wheat tortillas 4 tbsp hummus 2 oz baby spinach 2 C cooked chicken, chopped 1 large avocado Instructions Layer the ingredients on 1 tortilla in the following order: 1 tbsp hummus, 0.5 oz spinach, 1/2 C chicken, 1/4 avocado. Fold two sides and roll the tortilla Serves 4

Ingredients 4 medium sweet potatoes 1 tbsp olive oil 2 C cooked chicken, chopped 2 oz baby spinach 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese Instructions Preheat oven to 450F Slice the sweet potatoes in half and place them face down on a baking sheet. I use a silpat so that I don't need to add any fats for them not to stick. Put them in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping them over midway through. Let the potatoes cool down and scoop out most of the flesh. Heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes, chicken, spinach, paprika, salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes. Put the mixture back into the potato skins and top with mozzarella. You can put the spuds back in the oven for a little bit to melt the cheese. serves 4. Nutrition Cals Fats (g) Carbs (g) Prot (g) 381 8 42 37

This week we are still on the lookout for high protein, low fat recipes. I found a very interesting enchilada recipe where instead of using tortillas it requires the use of egg white omelettes. Looking forward to trying that one out. I also made Korean barbecue wraps. It was a large portion so we had some for dinner on Sunday and it was delicious! The wraps are made of lettuce and are filled with an Asian slaw and marinated and grilled pork. You can also add rice to the wrap but we opted against it. I made some cheese and spinach stuffed chicken. It's fairly easy to make. Finally the last dish is a modified General Tso's chicken. For lunch I went half simple and half not so simple! The simple one is quinoa salad with cucumbers and tomatoes plates with a hard boiled egg and some roasted sweet potatoes. The not so simple is a chicken taco salad in a jar. My husband contributed to the meal prep this week with a make-ahead oatmeal breakfast. Dinner prep    Heal...

Ingredients 1 tsp vegetable oil 2 C cooked chicken (I use rotisserie chicken) 1 packet, taco seasoning 1/2 C wate ½ C non-fat plain Greek yogurt ½ C salsa 4 C chopped romaine lettuce 1 C black beans drained and rinsed 1 C corn 1 C halved grape or cherry tomatoes 1 C shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese Instructions Mix together yogurt and salsa until completely combined, set aside. In a medium frying pan heat the oil. Add the chicken and saute for 2 minutes. Add taco seasoning and water. Mix well for 5 minutes. Place an equal amount of the yogurt and salsa mix at the bottom of each jar. Divide remaining ingredients among the jars, layering in the following order: chicken, black beans, corn, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce.  Makes 4 servings

Ingredients 4 eggs 2 C sweet potatoes (about 2 medium), diced 1 large cucumber, diced 2 green onions, chopped 1 C sliced cherry tomatoes 2 C cooked quinoa (I used red) 2 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil (divided) 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp (divided) 1/4 pepper + 1/4 tsp (divided) Instructions Preheat oven to 420F degrees. Hard boil the eggs. My preferred method is to cover the eggs with water and bring them to a boil. Then I set a timer for 10 minutes. The eggs always come out perfect. Mix the sweet potatoes with 1 tsp of olive oil and salt and pepper. Place them on an oven pan and place in the oven for 20 minutes. For the salad: mix the quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings

With the weather beginning to change, I was inspired to make fall comfort foods. I made those crazy soups again for lunch and updated the pasta e fagioli recipe. My husband and I have ranked the soups as follows: Italian wedding soup first, followed by the Pho Ga, then the Thai coconut and curry, and finally the pasta e fagioli. I will have to tweak the Morrocan chickpea soup for it to make a comeback. The spaghetti sauce recipe yields about 3 full meals. I freeze two thirds of it in 2 separate containers and pop it in the microwave when we are ready to eat it. I always buy spaghetti boxes in threes since my sauce will last for 3 meals so I always have both on hand. Dinner prep: Chicken pot pie Beef and vegetable stew Spaghetti sauce Zucchini lasagna Lunch prep: Soup in a Jar - Italian Wedding Soup in a Jar - Pasta e Fagioli Soup in a Jar - Pho Ga Soup in a Jar - Thai Coconut Shrimp The bread as always is a delicious Ezekiel bread. The machine bread recipe c...

I created this blog in order to help others with ideas for Sunday meal prep and as such I have linked to the recipes that I used today.  I always make four main dishes for meal prep. This way on Friday we eat leftovers and the kids have a chance to "pick what they want to eat." It's really exciting stuff when you're 4 and 7 years old. For lunch prep I tried my hand at creating my own Soup in a Jar. I worked with some Italian classics like and Italian Wedding soup and a Pasta e fagioli soup. Then I went halfway across the world to Asia for a Pho inspired soup. Dinner prep: Vegetarian three bean chili Turkey and Sweet Potato Burgers Chicken, Broccoli, and Pesto Pasta Lemon Chicken with Veggies Lunch prep: Soup in a Jar - Italian Wedding Soup in a Jar - Pasta e Fagioli Soup in a Jar - Pho Ga The bread as always is a delicious Ezekiel bread. The machine bread recipe can be found here . As always I encourage your comments and look fo...

Ingredients 1 oz rice vermicelli, broken into small pieces 1/4 C chopped mushrooms 1/4 C bean sprouts 1/2 C shredded chicken 2 tbsp chopped green onions 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 chicken bouillon cube 1 tsp chopped cilantro sriracha to taste Instructions Layer vermicelli, mushrooms, bean sprouts, chicken, green onions, garlic powder, chicken bouillon cube, cilantro, and sriracha. When you're ready to eat, fill the jar to the top with boiling water. Stir carefully, cover and let stand for 10 minutes, until noodles are tender. Season to taste and enjoy! Nutrition Facts Calories     Fats (g)     Carbs (g)     Protein (g)     162             0                29                   12

Ingredients 1/2 C cooked orzo 1/2 C baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped 1/4 C shredded carrots 1/2 C cannellini beans 2 tbsp marinara sauce 1/4 veggetable bouillon cube Instructions Layer orzo, spinach, carrots, beans, sauce, and bouillon cube. When you're ready to eat, fill the jar to the top with boiling water. Stir carefully, cover and let stand for 2 minutes. Season to taste and enjoy! Nutrition Facts Calories     Fats (g)     Carbs (g)     Protein (g)     218             1                43                  11

Ingredients 1/2 C cooked orzo 1/2 C cooked mild Italian sausage (shaped into mini meatballs) 1/2 C baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped 1/4 C shredded carrots 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/4 chicken bouillon cube Instructions Layer orzo, sausage, spinach, carrots, garlic and onion powder, and the bouillon cube. When you're ready to eat, fill the jar to the top with boiling water. Stir carefully, cover and let stand for 2 minutes. Season to taste and enjoy! Nutrition Facts Calories     Fats (g)     Carbs (g)     Protein (g)     372           22               27                   18 Substituting turkey sausage for regular sausage Calories     Fats (g)     Carbs (g)     Protein (g)     251            9         ...