Food Prep 101
One of my FAVORITE parts of the 21-day fix is the ample opportunity to create daily culinary delights, or the option not to. I’m talking about food prep, that magical time that combines my love of cooking, with my need for time saving practicality during the week. Traditionally, I food prep on Sundays (Saturdays during football season) setting aside 2-3 hours to prep for the week (not bad when you think about it). So whether you love to cook or hate it with a passion, 21-day fix has you covered, because in 2-3 hours, 75-90% of your meal prep and planning is complete!
Now I don’t go into food prep blindly, there are several factors that go into my planning. First, I choose 2-3 anchor ingredients (and honestly, it’s probably what’s on sale that week) usually a protein, it may be chicken breast, bison, spring mix, egg roll wrappers. Whatever they are, that’s what I’m going to build the bulk of my recipes around. Then I go to the market and see what’s fresh. Farmer’s Markets are amazing you guys, and you can get a lot of food for little money. Food prepping is the perfect way to use that huge basket of peppers (it was only a dollar, I mean, come on) before they go bad. From there, I create my shopping list and head to the supermarket to get the remaining food items. Budget is import to me, I’m sure you all agree, so again, I shop for deals. I get whatever cheese is on special, proteins on sale, take advantage of coupons, meal prep is the perfect way to help lessen your monthly expenses. You don’t need to run to the store or grab a lunch if it’s already waiting for you. The last thing I factor in is cravings. Oh yes, I get them. Sometimes I need pizza; I’ll want to kill for chocolate- my rule, if the craving is still there after 3 days, give in to it… as cleanly as possible of course. The point is, have a plan.
I personally like to make all my dinners at home that way I can choose which meal I’m making based on my mood. But breakfast, lunch, and snacks need to be ready to go. Working fulltime I like convenience, which is why most of my meals are just that. Either I can freeze or refrigerate and the night before, I shop my refrigerator for my meal.
Here is an example of my meal plan for the week:
Breakfast: Egg white mini quiche or banana with almond butter.
Lunch: power plate or stuffed baked potato and mason jar salad
Snacks: Shakeology with fresh in season cherries or carrots and cucumber slices or crackers and herbed ricotta and a mandarin orange.
Dinner: Bison: burgers or shepherd’s pie or tacos -Tuna: grilled or salad -Grilled Romaine Salad night.
I like to have options, without limiting myself, which is why this program is so perfect. Make sure you choose foods you like. For example, if you hate celery, but buy it and force yourself to eat it because it’s healthy, you are going to dread the meal made with it every day. This leads to cheats, which leads to goals not being achieved, which leads to you hating the program, which leads to failure. Choose flavors and foods you love and then enjoy them, you’d be surprised what is allowed (HELLO wine!) and what you can do with the foods on the lists.
Here’s this week’s food prep:
Baked Stuffed Potatoes:
Prep time: 5 min Bake Time: 40-60 min
21-day Fix guide: (for one half) 1 yellow, 1 green, 1-red, ½ blue
Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes
1 package frozen veggies, steamed
½ cup cheese of your choice (feta, cheddar, goat, etc.) plus 2 Tablespoons for topping
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon EVOO
1 table spoon salt free seasoning
4 dashes hot sauce, Franks or your choice
Salt and Pepper
First the recipe for Steakhouse baked potatoes. This is fail proof and so easy it will shock you, and the potatoes come out perfect every time.
Preheat oven to 375. Wash and dry potatoes, pierce several times with a fork to vent. Now drizzle the EVOO over the potatoes and rub into skin. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top and also rub into skin. Now place potatoes directly on the rack for 25-35 min, depending on size, or until the skin is crisp and a fork easily slides into it. That’s it.
Pro Tip: Do your daily workout while the potatoes are baking, when you are finished, they are too!
After potatoes are baked, remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Cut potatoes in half-length wise and use a spoon to scoop out, while leaving enough to provide a stable base.
In a mixing bowl, add the inside of the potatoes with the Greek yogurt and mash, keeping fairly lumpy. Then fold in veggies, ½ cup cheese, hot sauce, and spices. Gently scoop the mixture back into the skins and top with cheese. Broil or bake until cheese on top browns. These freeze great; I’ll often freeze them and then reheat for lunch.
Egg White Mini Quiches
These are super easy and versatile, they also freeze well.
Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 30 min
21-Day Fix Guide: (for 2) 1 red, ½ blue, 1 green
Ingredients:
5-egg whites or 1 ½ cup egg substitute
½ cup spinach, drained if frozen
1/3 cheese of your choice
½ veggie of your choice (broccoli, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.)
Salt free seasonings or salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350
Spray a cupcake tin with nonstick spray. Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl, mix in cheese, veggies, spinach, and seasonings. Pour evenly into cupcake tins and bake 30 min or until edges brown.
My Favorite Varieties:
Sundried tomato, spinach, and feta
Mushroom, spinach, goat cheese
Turkey bacon (add a red), spinach, cheddar
Fresh basil, mozzarella, and sundried tomatoes
Mason jar Salads:
Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 0 (10 if you are adding a protein like chicken)
21-Day Fix Guide: 1 green, 1 orange (1-blue if adding cheese, 1- red if adding protein like hardboiled eggs or chicken.)
For these there are no “set ingredients”. Choose a salad mix of your choice, veggies of your choice, cheese if you like a protein if you like, and one of the 21-day fix dressings.
This week mine is: 21-Day Fix balsamic dressing (on bottom), cucumbers, carrots (shredded with a peeler), tomatoes, then spring mix, and Humboldt fog cheese (like a cross between a blue and goat cheese).
Just make sure to always layer as follows: (starting from bottom) dressing, veggies, nuts/seeds,lettuce, cheese.
