28 DAYS TO A LBD – WEEK 1

Six months and counting babes! I have just under six months to prepare for our wedding in July, plan a honeymoon, AND gear up for the 4 other weddings also happening this year. Talk about a whirl wind next few months full of travel and partying!

So to keep myself in check, balance out stress, and get shredded for our wedding, I’m participating in my gym’s 28 day challenge! For the next month I’ll be fully immersing myself in meal prepping and HIIT workouts and I want to share with you our week one! I’d like for this to become a lifestyle and not just a quick fix 28 day trial, but a real thing! So do it with me OR you can hold me accountable for when the snack monster gets the best of me at midnight 😀

Here is your week one and how to prep for the next seven days. You can either take it in bite sized amounts of time like I do, or prep for the full week, whichever coordinates with your lifestyle best.

On Sunday: 



I say Sunday because Mondays are usually really busy for me. I like to only prep meals for 1-3 days in advance, partially because I get bored easily and because after 3 days in the fridge/freezer I get grossed out.

So on whichever day you plan on taking an hour or two to prep, separate into freezer bags (or tupperware) your smoothie ingredients, salad mix, and grab-n-go snacks. My go to snacks are fruit with almond butter, trail mix, or veggies with hummus. In a bowl mix together ground chicken or turkey for meatballs, great for wraps, salads, and sammies. They’ll cook quickly in the oven! On a baking sheet I arranged my fish with a variety of vegetables so it was a one stop ‘set it and forget it’ and cooked at the same time the meatballs did.

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Monday through Wednesday is a variation of protein shakes, grab-n-go snacks, salads, and wraps. Protein, coconut/almond milk, spinach, and pineapple slices make up my favorite post workout smoothie. If you top it with chia seeds or coconut flakes it’s like ice cream! I mean, it DOES help if you pour it into a milkshake cup like I did 😀 Olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice make THE perfect salad dressing IMO, and hummus or tzatziki sauce are a wonderful addition to any wrap or snack. I’m all about those additions!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT PREP:
For Thursday through Sunday you can vary your meals if you get bored by adding in a chicken or tuna salad wrap. TIP: lemon juice and tzatziki sauce taste better than mayo 😀 I get really bored really easily and the thought of bland dry chicken with bland dry brocolli sounds BLAND and DRY. Luckily, our LBD meal plan is neither. So portion out your smoothies and salads, prep your overnight oats or protein pancake mix, and get cookin’ good lookin’!

In the oven will go your frittatas, kale chippies, and whatever fish or protein you choose. I’ve been leaning towards salmon and red snapper this week. Hard boil some eggs, make more trail mix or go-to snacks if you need to, and whip together some yummy dinners! I made a ground chicken chili with black beans, vegetable stock, veggies, and cumin.

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Tadaaa! That’s your week one at a glance! Though I didn’t take a photo of everything … like Sunday’s cheat meal – pizza and champagne. Yaaaas do itttt!!! No regrets, just don’t let your cheat meal turn into a cheat month *raises hand*.

I hope this inspires you to get familiar with meal preparation, it really does take the guess work out of it and when the snack monster attacks . . . you’ll be ready!

Do you meal prep now? Are you a daily or a one-time a week kind of cook? Share some recipes with me and good luck, we totally got this!

 

 

 

 

proats1

Meal prep made easy! Dessert for breakfast!

Dessert for breakfast…psshh how many times have you heard that and then the recipe calls for flax seed (which I don’t like) and gross protein or raw egg whites. No thank you, I’d rather have ice cream for breakfast, a real dessert. There are many ways I can actually justify having ice cream for breakfast but instead I’ll share with you my recipe for proats (protein oats) that is delicious, nutritious, and takes all of 60 seconds to prep! Bam, you wake up with breakfast already made and ready to go!

I usually make 5 or 6 of these jars so that I can have enough for the week or enough for Joe and Corrine. Both my boyfriend and my 16 year old daughter love these proats and eat mine if I don’t make enough. You can add whatever variation you choose, or how ever you decide to portion out your oats but I portion out these amounts so that it fits my personal meal plan. 

So in a mason jar, or jug, or sealable container, drop in your rolled oats, I just use old fashioned oats about 1/4 cup for myself and 1/2 cup for Joe since he’s a man and loves to eat both his and my proats if I don’t make enough. Then I put in half of a scoop of protein powder, this is a whey protein we got at whole foods and it’s flavorless- my favorite kind, and I only use half since I don’t feel the need to over do it on protein. Then I add in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of chia seeds, 1 teaspoon of PB2 (powdered peanut butter- more protein but I do it for the yummy flavor), and then lastly I pour in enough almond milk to saturate and cover the mixture. I place the top on the jar and shake it up a good 8, 9 times and then pop it in the fridge over night. 


I don’t pour in the milk unless I know it will get eaten in the morning since it’s all dry ingredients if I don’t use it then I will just store it for the week until I’m ready to pour in the milk and have it for breakfast. This is an awesome on the go breakfast, protein packed to jump start your day and/or your morning workout, tastes like Christmas, and for me is so much better than warm oatmeal. Though that is a staple for warm weather! 

I even sometimes use coconut milk whatever I have in the refrigerator, a drizzle of agave if I’m craving the sweet, and when I’m feeling crazyyyy I’ll throw in a dash of nutmeg and a tablespoon of dried unsweetened coconut flakes! Omg can you say amazing! This really is the most delicious meal prepping I’ve ever done, with the consistency of a parfait, and the nutritional benefits of a hearty breakfast. Try it out and let me know what you think and what alterations you make to the recipe!

Fall season is upon us so I’ll be adding in pumpkin flavored everything soon! 

Happy Monday to you and I hope the week treats you amazing!

xoxo- 

Jess