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?

Although the name of this recipe is not so appealing, this Pea Soup & Homemade Croutons is extremely easy to make and so delicious! The soup is filled with fiber to fill you up and the croutons make it feel a little fancy without the fuss. It's still hot here in Philadelphia, and I made this soup right after I was DRENCHED in sweat from a humid run on Sunday morning, so I have really no clue what urged me to make soup, but I was flipping through a cookbook and came across a pea soup recipe and it just called to me. Of all things? Like usual, I didn't follow the recipe. I don't like following recipes, I just like creating them and hoping they come out great - it keeps it fun.

Here's what you'll need:

For the croutons: 

• 2 slices of cubed wheat bread
• Olive oil or olive oil spray
• Kosher salt & pepper

What to do:

• Preheat your oven (or toaster oven) to 300 degrees
• Lay out the cubed bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil/spray with olive oil spray
• Sprinkle salt and pepper
• Bake for 25 minutes

For the Soup: 

• 2 bags of frozen peas (told you I like to keep things simple.) I used 2 10 oz bags.
• 1 white or yellow onion
• 6-7 cloves of garlic (you can tone this down, I just REALLY love garlic.)
• 5 cups of low sodium chicken broth (or veggie broth if you are not a carnivore.)
• Salt, pepper, paprika to taste
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons butter

What to do: 

• Melt the butter in a big dutch oven pan
• Add the chopped onions and garlic (rough chop)
• Saute until the onions become slightly transparent
• Add in the broth
• Let it come to a boil
• Add in both bags of peas and lower heat to simmer, covered, for 10 minutes
• Season to taste
• Turn off the heat and let everything cool
• Once cooled a bit, add to a big blender or food processor to puree
• Lastly, add in the sour cream and blend

That's it! Told you it was easy. I can't wait until the weather cools down a bit so I can try out new soup and crockpot recipes.

I ventured out for a 3 mile run this morning and it was HUMID. The humidity really affects how I run. My legs feel like cement pillars and my lungs feel like they can't hold enough air. Does anyone else feel this way or do you like running in the humidity? I stopped to walk a bit. It's crazy to me how our bodies respond differently to different times and temperatures. I don't get how I can run a nice 8 miles one day and then 3 miles another day feels like crap. OY.

But I guess that's life, sometimes we win and sometimes we don't :)

Alright I need to go make breakfast and get myself together! I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

XO - Rach

What's everyone got planned for the long weekend?