Coach G - Fit Family Fun!

I'm back! After taking the summer off from blogging it's back to business this week. The kids are back in school and we are easing into a new routine. Both kids now go to the same school! This means one drop off and one pick up and a huge amount of time saved. On Saturday I went out to my garden and picked some beautiful veggies. This was the first year that I tried my hand at growing sweet potatoes and it was a resounding success! I also got a lot of carrots and they were huge. I was so happy that I was able to find a recipe that incorporated both those ingredients into a delicious soup.  We had a very busy weekend so I wanted some easy and quick recipes. On Sunday I my daughter went to a party that ended at 5:30 in the afternoon so I wouldn't start prepping until 6pm at the earliest. Using the slow cooker was therefore out of the question at that point. I ended up making lasagna, blackened tilapia with pesto orzo, cilantro lime chicken, and roasted pork t...

Today I realized that there are three things that I ALWAYS do before starting my meal prep. It's become such a habit that I never noticed it! It's a pre-prep prep of sorts!  Clean out the fridge - Get rid of the leftovers from the previous week. By now they've been sitting there for 1 week and for me that's the limit on keeping food. You make room in the fridge and you make sure that someone doesn't grab something that's on the verge of going bad by mistake. Do the dishes - I always make sure that my sink is empty when I start my prep. I start off by washing my veggies in there so I need the room and I'm constantly putting things to wash as I'm working. If you don't do this you will end up with a massive amount of dishes at the end and it will seems so overwhelming and might turn you off from prepping. Another way to avoid this is to clean as you go as well. Take out the trash - Again, I like to start out with an empty trash can. You don...

This is the easiest recipe it has 5 ingredients and it's a set it and forget it type recipe. Ingredients 2 lbs stewing meat cubed 4 large carrots 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 2 tbs lemon and herb seasoning salt and pepper to taste Instructions Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Serve over rice.

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...

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...

The weather is really cooling down these days. I was at the grocery store and saw some lamb shanks and was reminded of a delicious soup I used to make. Nothing better to warm the body and soul than soups and stews. The lamb and orzo soup has all the essentials, it is chock full of protein, vitamins, and iron. It's very fresh and filling. The polenta and beef stew warms you down to your toes it's so delicious. For nutritional purposes I decided to exclude the polenta and replace it with brown rice instead. The one pan honey garlic chicken and vegetables was very easy to make and smells so good! Finally for a pasta dish I made my lasagna because my daughter requested it and she gave me a literal thumbs up when she saw me making it :) I know I sound like a broken record but for lunch I made the ol' reliable spuds. They are easy to make, nutritious and delicious and my husband requested them. Meal prep was not difficult today but the dishes did take a long time 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