Coach G - Fit Family Fun!

So I have to admit it. This week I was not at all motivated to do meal prep. We went to the pool in the early afternoon and after taking a shower I felt so drained form being out in the sun for two and half hours. Still, I powered through it knowing how frazzled I'll be during the week when nothing is ready. Not to mention how guilty I feel when I have to go out and buy lunch. The guilt comes from not always making healthy decisions and spending more money than if I had made lunch ahead of time. Thankfully the meals I had planned were very quick and easy to make. Rotisserie chicken for the win! I used it in  a Garlic Chicken & Kale Spaghetti dish as well as a Asian Chicken Chopped Salad. For the chopped salad, I didn't add the dressing. I made it and saved for when we will be eating it this way it;s not soggy by then. Then I went on a made a kid favorite and made the turkey and sweet potato burgers. Then I felt that the dishes were too poultry heavy so  I m...

Whoa! It's been over 3 months since I last posted! I'm sorry to those that were following the posts but life seems to have gotten in the way. Really that's the whole reason I meal prep, to reduce the hectic pace of the day as lunch and dinner are two things I don't have to worry about. One things I've been doing these past few weeks is to  buy 4 bags of steam-in-a-bag veggies and, as I'm putting the groceries away, I pop a bag in the microwave and let it cook. Then I empty it in a container and keep steaming and adding to it. Then I have a container full of veggies ready to use as a side for lunch or dinner. For lunch my husband and I have been eating grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. We mix it up from time to time by adding a bit of sauce to the chicken. For dinner I've prepared some spaghetti sauce, crockpot Thai pork, chicken cacciatore, and pesto Caprese chicken. I just noticed, in typing all this out that my menu is very Italian excep...

This week meal prep was inspired by some kale recipes suggested by Pinterest. I also had a lot  going this weekend so I only had a maximum of 3 hours to prep on Sunday. Except for the slow cooker meal these dishes took around 20-30 minutes to create. Trying to keep the fats down and the protein up so the kale and potato soup was made with turkey sausage and light cream, the creole chicken and sausage had smoked turkey sausage, and I used Barilla protein plus pasta for the spaghetti. I have a colleague coming in from the Netherlands to work with me all week so I didn't prep any lunches for myself. My husband is really enjoying those spuds so he asked for them again. They are so yummy and easy to make. Dinner Prep   Slow Cooker Creole Chicken and Sausage   Sausage, potato, and kale soup     Sweet Potato, Kale and Shrimp Skillet   Spaghetti Sauce Lunch Prep   Stuffed Spuds  The bread is a delicious Ezekiel bre...

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'...

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...

My husband usually goes with whatever I make for lunch and dinner but lately he's been paying more attention to what he eats. He's been wanting more protein and less fat so that was my focus this week... except for the spinach lasagna... I just really wanted spinach lasagna.  The ropa vieja recipe is for 12 servings so it makes it a perfect recipe for planning ahead  as I explained in the last Tuesday's Tip.  I also broke off from the soups in a jar just to shake things up a bit and made quinoa salads instead. Here's the menu: Dinner prep Spinach lasagna  (video to come) Meatloaf meatballs and roasted vegetables (video) Ropa vieja Chicken and stir fried vegetables lunch prep Thai quinoa salad Mustardy Quinoa With Sausage, Potato, and Tarragon The bread (not pictured) 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. ...

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 8oz any shape pasta, uncooked 1-2 C pasta water 1/4 C pesto, divided 2 C grape tomatoes, cut in halves 2 C cooked chicken (I like to use rotissery chicken) 1/3 C sun dried tomatoes, thinly sliced 4 C small broccoli florets 1/2 C (2 oz) Parmesan cheese, shredded 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground black pepper Instructions Cook pasta per package instructions, reserve 1-2 cups of pasta water, drain and set aside. Preheat large deep skillet on medium heat and add the pesto. Stir for about 30 seconds then add the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add the chicken and sun dried tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook another 1 - 2 minutes.  Remove skillet from heat and add salt, pepper, pasta and pasta water. Stir gently and let flavors marinate for a few minutes. Do not cover because broccoli will become too soft. Add Parmesan and serve.

I had found this recipe on Pintrest last year but unfortunately the blog it was in went off line. I've recreated the recipe from memory here. This is a kid favorite. They gobble the burgers up soooo quickly! Ingredients 1/2 lb ground turkey 1 C shredded sweet potato 6 strips of turkey bacon chopped 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper Instructions Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook the bacon in a pan using some vegetable oils spray. Set aside. Put the shredded sweet potato in the microwave for 1 minute to soften it. One the bacon and the potatoes have cooled down a little mix them with the ground turkey, salt and pepper.  Make 4 patties and place them on a baking tray in the oven for 25 minutes flipping them over midway through. I serve these on a bun and grill some zucchini as a side.

This recipe is a modified version of a regular chili recipe. My sister-in-law was coming over to watch the kids and I wanted to make something that would fit her dietary needs since she is vegetarian. Also I had to dial down the heat in the recipe because the kids were going to eat it as well. Now this has become one of the kids' favorite recipes and my vegetarian friends seem to enjoy it as well. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 medium onion, diced 12 oz veggie protein crumbles or tofu (I like to use Lightlife Smart Ground Original Crumbles) 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons brown sugar 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 (14 ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste 1⁄2 teaspoon salt 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper 2 cups vegetable broth 1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans (rinsed) 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (rinsed) 1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed) Toppings: s...

Meal prep always starts with a research session, either on Pinterest or in my cookbooks, and making my grocery list. I found a handy-dandy pad to make it a little easier. The trick to a successful meal prep is to find recipes that complement each other. For example, if I have a recipe that uses 0.5lbs of ground turkey I'll try to find a second one that also needs 0.5lbs. This way I use it all while it's fresh and don't have to worry about freezing 0.5lbs and forgetting about it. The setup: A little prep goes a long way. 6 bowls for 6 different dishes and a post-it for each. Post-its tell me what goes in each bowl so that I don't have to go back and look at my recipes each time. I rinse all the veggies and put them in a colander in the sink for easy access. My kitchen is not very big so I have to use my space wisely. One of the biggest headaches in a meal prep day is clean up. If you do one meal at a time you'll have to clean up over and over again...

I like a good routine but I easily get bored if I have to eat the same thing every day. This week I found some interesting recipes in the September issue of Shape magazine. These are make ahead soups and they function like a cup-a-soup. After all the initial prep work is done of course, all you need to do is pack one of these bad boys in your lunch and just add hot water and voilà! Fresh soup for lunch!  There were three recipes: a Moroccan Chickpea Soup, a Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup, and a Lemony Chicken and Orzo Soup. Each soup contain veggies, a starch, and some protein. They were fairly easy to prep, each container took at most five minutes.  Below are my reviews for each soup. During my next meal prep marathon I will reuse this idea using my own spin on some classic soup recipes.  Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup Layers (top to bottom): Crushed Peanuts Chopped Basil Cooked Shrimp Red Bell Pepper Shredded Carrots Grated ...