What I Eat In A Day

by with No Comment fitnessfoodhealthholidaylifestylerecipesvideowellness

I’m not sure what my current obsession with what everyone’s eating these days is all about, but it’s freaking me out. I genuinely am so curious about what everyone’s eating in a day, how much, what foods, how do they prepare it, what do they consider ‘clean’ eating? I hate the phrase ‘clean eating’ because it can be so confusing to me. Like 80 avocados and 17 bananas in a day, I wouldn’t do it, but to someone somewhere, THAT is clean eating and they don’t understand why they’re having digestive issues. Am I climbing the crazy tree alone here?

So I thought in the interest of keeping up with a trend that has piqued my interest, I’d share with you what I eat in a day. This is what I’m eating this week and the kind of meals I consumed last week as I’m in a Lacey Stone Fitness bootcamp, the last two week camp of the year and I’m all IN! You’ll notice I didn’t mention how many calories I have in a day because honestly it doesn’t matter. My caloric intake and my fitness goals are going to be different from everyone else’s so I thought I’d spare you the drama of explaining my daily breakdown of it all and just show you the food, when I’m eating it, and how I’m eating it…. the answer is with my fingers!

Here’s the video of my day <3

You’ll also notice I’m using My Fitness Pal (not spon, ha must disclose this just because) because I’m tired of ‘guesstimating’ what my eating habits are doing for me. How many calories am I consuming in a day? Where are my nutrients coming from? How many grams of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs am I having? WHERE IS IT ALL COMING FROM?! I had no idea, so I downloaded the dang app and decided that for two weeks I’d track my meals and give myself a more accurate layout of what I’m doing that’s both good and bad for me.

I personally love meal prep because of the convenience. And the fact that it saves me time and money. We did the math and for us 6 ladies to meal prep 4 meals a day for 5 days, it cost us $79 each…for the week! Whoa, hey babyyy yes count me in! On days like yesterday and today where I’m cleaning the house or plowing through a day of work and to-do’s it really does help me to just heat the meal up and move on with my life. My hand is raised right now because I’ve become that person who sets an alarm to eat every 3 hours or so. Honestly, I do it because I forget, or I get too busy that I’ll munch on a snack aka a sugary treat and then by the end of the day I’ve gone the entire day without eating real food. So this helps!

So it goes down like this: after a fasted workout I’ll have my breakfast, then lunch, then a midday snack, then dinner. Four meals a day, either over 12 hours (8-8) or over the entire day depending on travel and my intermittent fasting streaks.

Breakfast: Egg white frittatas, fruit, coffee

Lunch: Lean protein, complex carb, healthy fat (this is every meal actually) and on this day I had a turkey burger with a Portabella mushroom open faced ‘bun’, some grilled veggies, salsa, and sweet potato fries

Midday snack: Veggies with hummus (I did zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers)

Dinner: Lentils with brown rice, hummus and a spinach salad (I used the spinach leaves like a tortilla and wrapped the hummus in the leaves like a lil baby taco!)

*Also featured as another meal option to have is another meal we prepped, bbq pulled chicken with grilled veggies, corn and black beans, with sweet potato cubes (they had cinnamon on them omgawww noms!) Also not featured, the healthy snacks I’ll munch on throughout the day if I’m ravenous and don’t want to eat my arm off. 

And that’s what I had for the day. It may not sound exciting but honestly it was delicious and super nutritious, and I feel so energetic and good already just after this last week of eating this way. The bloat has gone away and I feel like my peppy self.

 

Have you meal prepped? Do you love it? Have recipes to share? Would you like the recipes for the meals I had today?

 

 

 

 

this Monday's meal prep MVPs

MEAL PREP MONDAYS – PAY FIT FORWARD!!!

by with No Comment charityfitnessfoodhealthwellness

Burpees. Mountain climbers. Jump Squats … forget calorie counting! How about you tell me how many repetitions of these exercies I’d have to do if I had that ice cream cone, and I’ll decide if it’s worth it or not! Ha! This is me welcoming you to #30DaysWithJess 2.0!

My Hapa sister Nikki is holding me accountable for the next 8 weeks as we embark on a fitness journey together! We’re on a full blown lifestyle plan that consists of 30 minute workouts, meal prepping, and acronyms like HIIT and LISS! So today I’m sharing with you how I’ve been staying on track by meal prepping and how my new partner My Fit Foods has made that so easy. You can join too with their #PayFitForward initiative!

this Monday's meal prep MVPs
this Monday’s meal prep MVPs

This week with Joe coming back from Maryland, my schedule taking on two new projects, and Corrine starting a drivers ed program, I was pressed for time to cook and plan! So I prepared a few lunches and dinners here at home, and then I supplemented the other meals for the week with ready-to-go meals from my local My Fit Foods store. The beauty of ready-to-go meals like this is that it takes the guess work out of it for me. I don’t have to think about ingredients, measuring, or macros. I just pack and go- 6 meals a day, that’s a lot of meals.

Think of it this way, our metabolisms are like a beautiful camp fire, and you have to keep feeding the fire with slow burning wood so that it is fueled throughout the day. This is my attempt at giving you a fitting analogy. The fire is your metabolism and the slow burning wood is good, clean, whole foods.

On the go I'm packing MFF breakfast, a smoothie, and grab-and-go snacks
On the go I’m packing a MFF breakfast, a protein smoothie, and grab-and-go snacks

So about every 2 1/2- 3 hours you should be fueling your body with a serving from each of the food groups, and contrary to the no-carb fad I’ve seen, I am a HUGE fan of carbs! It’s our energy and our brain’s fuel! As you see in this week’s preparation photo, along side our MFF meals there is quinoa, sweet potatoes, and fruit. With each of my meals I try to also include a protein, a carb, a healthy fat, and some vegetables. MFF meals already incorporate the ingredients I prepare for myself, so it’s a no brainer to conveniently add them into our plan!

Corrine and I enjoying lunch at our local MFF
Corrine and I enjoying lunch at our local MFF

Preparing meals in advance can be a bit daunting, even if you’re only cooking for 3 days at a time like I do. So it makes my life a whole lot easier that My Fit Foods prepares each of their meals with a variety of options for each, even for Corrine! As the mother of a Vegetarian child, it can be difficult to find places that accommodate her, so it’s really nice to have a selection for her to choose from also!

Since our breakfasts were prepped with snack grabs, protein smoothies, and MFF veggie omelets, Corrine and I enjoyed our lunch at our MFF store while we stocked up on meals for the rest of the week. I knew we’d be on the road for the majority of the week, so I got 3 dinners for each of us, some more GF oat bars (also available at MFF woot!) for Corrine, and some peanut butter packets.

Plated up our MFF dinner and even lit some candles!
Plated up our MFF dinner and even lit some candles!

Dinner time is my favorite time of the day because it’s the one time we’re all at home and can sit down to enjoy a meal together. I plated up our MFF dinners and even added in some baby carrots and a side salad. I had the almond crusted chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans, while Corrine and Joe savored the shrimp tacos with guacamole. To enjoy some more crunch I tossed in some additional sliced almonds, and I completely recommend you do this and add your favorite ingredients with your next meal!

When we went into our local My Fit Foods store on Friday we were happy to learn that the meals we purchased were a part of the #PayFitForward initiative! Get excited because you too can try our their new dishes AND give back! 

Every Friday during the month of September when you purchase a meal from your local My Fit Foods, you’ll get a FREE meal to donate to a participating food bank, or to give to a friend! We volunteer with Earth Angels who participate in Meals On Wheels so we are beyond happy to #PayFitForward each week and spread the love! It’s not only promoting health and wellness, but giving back, and community.

It really does help to involve your family with your health and fitness goals so that you can all do it together. It also really really helps when a friend holds you accountable and checks in with you each week! So grab a friend and create a buddy system! Plus, you can treat them to a healthy meal with the MFF initiative as a thank you for keeping you on track! Win, win!

I hope you join us in #30DaysWithJess 2.0, you still have 3 weeks and if you get stuck on the whole meal planning thing, head on over to your local MFF store and stock up! It’s all about getting your body moving, choosing healthier meal options, and having fun while doing it!

Have a be-you-tiful week!

 

Jess Lizama

 

 

 

 
This post is in partnership with My Fit Foods and their #PayFitForward initiative. We’re proud to share this awesome philanthropic campaign!

 

proats1

Meal prep made easy! Dessert for breakfast!

by with No Comment beautyfashionfoodlifestyle

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