Meal prep: Major Key. (Side not, please follow DJ Khaled on Snap Chat if you're not already.) If you have close to zero time throughout the work week to cook, I have a few tips and ideas for you to make it a lot easier to eat healthy when time gets away from you!  I usually prep a few snacks, proteins and carbs to have throughout the week, but this weekend and last I've been really trying to make it easier on myself through the week and spend a couple hours on Sunday preparing healthy, wholesome foods that I can just grab and go in the morning. 

After I ran my first half in October, I kind of took it easy throughout the holidays and hit a little "slump," if you will, with my health and fitness goals. I never really set very specific goals because I've always had a very "go with the flow" attitude toward my health and fitness. I do what feels good and I eat what tastes good while making sure I'm still eating healthy for the majority of the time. The start of 2016 gave me some different kind of motivation that I've not felt before. I'm holding myself accountable right now and  I'm starting Jamie Eason's LiveFit training program. It's 12 weeks of workouts and clean eating and I'm totally ready for a challenge and to hold myself to it! I did Phase 1 of Jaime's program during my sophomore year of college and it's what fueled my love of weight training and kind of taught me the benefits of lifting - especially for women! 

I swear I have commitment issues when it comes to sticking to a plan! But following through with running 13.1 miles showed me that I CAN, I just need to DO. If anyone has done the LiveFit program before, have you seen results? Any tips? I'm excited to have a more specific plan to follow and also curious to see if it can kick my chocolate addiction even a little bit ;) Of course I'll still relax on the weekends and enjoy indulgences, but I'm going to try my hardest to stick to the plan during the week. 

Yesterday consisted of lots of cooking ahead and I know it's going to make things SO much easier this week! So I wanted to share what I made to give you guys some ideas! 

Turkey & Chicken Muffins

I adapted this recipe from Jamie Eason's - I just used one pound of turkey and one pound of chicken and added some different seasonings. 

I'll eat these for snacks! They're delicious - like little mini meat loafs. 

Sweet Potatoes

I prepared sweet potato portions for the week, about 4-6 ounces each. These will be great to have to bring for my lunch and for dinners! So easy. Just poke some holes in the taters with a fork, wrap in tin foil and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. 

Brown Rice

I made a batch of brown rice in addition to sweet potatoes to switch up the carbs. Sadly there's no cookies in this holiday cookie tin...

Carrot Cake Protein Bars

These came out GREAT!! This is another one of Jamie Eason's recipes and I can't wait to make these again. I can already tell they will be a staple snack before or after workouts. I added some chopped pecans for some crunch. 

Chopped Veggies & Salad Greens:

I didn't snap any pics, but I chopped up some onion, olives, peppers and tomato so that I can easily throw it onto my salads for lunch!

I'll report back at the end of the week to let you know how everything holds up! 

Happy Monday!

XO - Rach

Do you do any meal prep for the week? 

What's your favorite food to make ahead of time?

Have you ever thought of trying out a workout and meal plan?

 

Good morning :) Just some #MondayMotivation for ya...I started off today by teaching a 6 a.m. spin class and now I'm waiting for the train to work! A 5 a.m. alarm every Monday morning might make ya cringe, but teaching this class is one of my favorite parts of the week. There's something about starting the week off by putting smiles on other's faces and being the reason why they get out of bed to start the day. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Find what it is you're passionate about and get after it. 

Want a healthy snack that tastes like cookie dough? Don't we all! This is a really easy no-bake protein recipe that you can throw together in just a few minutes! Each bite has 135 calories, 5 grams of protein and 9 grams of healthy fat. 

These protein bites are perfect before or after a workout - they're easy to grab on the go. There's also something about pecans that always give a dish - sweet or savory - a decadent touch. Do you agree? Maybe this it's because I worked in a fish market/dessert counter (yes fish & dessert in the same vicinity) at a restaurant all through high school and whenever I would grab a new pecan pie from the freezer, I would grab any pecan scraps that were left in the box after I sliced it. And oh my goodness - that pie was incredibly rich. Isn't it funny how different foods or smells can bring back such distinct memories?

Anyway, the pecans in this recipe do add a nice touch and complement the banana quite nicely! 

 

[yumprint-recipe id='8']Now I'm spending the rest of this lovely Sunday afternoon working on some bloggy stuff, watching football, getting some things ready for the busy week ahead and studying my ACE personal training manual book!

I hope you had a great weekend!

XO- Rach

Let's chat...

What did you do this weekend?

If you have gotten your personal trainers certification, do you have any study tips?

What's your favorite nut?

Is there a food, flavor, smell, etc. that brings up a distinct memory for you?

These Gluten Free Sweet Potato Apple Muffins are the perfect snack before a workout, a healthy desert or even a quick bite to add for your breakfast! Made with only wholesome ingredients - sweet potato, apples, coconut oil & walnuts, they will satisfy your sweet tooth and give you a nice boost of energy!

I needed some serious baking therapy on Thursday night but I had very little ingredients in my apartment. Sometimes this is the best time to come up with new recipes because it forces you to get really creative with what you have on hand! And it's definitely the cheapest way to bake.

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