Prepare your food for the week: Dinner

Ok, seriously, does anyone not have to face the challenge of feeding selves and children healthy at the end of a long day? On a budget, and with crazy schedules, challenging is an understatement.

Being prepared is KEY!

Grill, bake, broil, etc all of your meat for the week. Throw chicken on salads and leftover steak on sandwiches or in stir fry later on. If you make a bunch at once and cook it correctly on Sunday, you should be able to skate until Thursday.

Chop up veggies and pre-make salads, so they are quick and easy for everyone to grab. Fruit prewashed and cut up. I am a huge fan of the veggie tray with Ranch and Hummus.

Investing family time into food prep on the weekend ensures a healthy selection when hunger strikes, because it is an easy grab! Dinner doesn't have to be dramatic, just quick and healthy! :)

Prepare your food for the week: lunch

Saturday and Sunday are my days to replenish the family food supply and organize meals for the week. It isn't a perfect science, but as you find out what works for your family, you can incorporate more and more good lifestyle choices into the mix.

Kids are a challenge. My kids will pack a lunch again this year and here are some typical favorites:

Clif bars: quick easy and no chocolate mess.

Yogurt: whatever is on sale

Trail Mix: Purchased in bulk at Sprouts and then we fill up snack bags.

PBJ's: standard

Bagel and PB, cream cheese, or lunchmeat

Fruit

We are really liking the Hanson's Natural Soda right now, and they always bring water!

Everything is set up for quick grab and go in the morning.

For adults: Last night's leftovers and salads can be packed up quickly in plastic containers. Invest in a small flexible cooler and throw in a cold pack if necessary. I use cold water bottles to keep things refrigerated.

Remember! Last minute food decisions are NEVER a good idea!

Feeding Your Family

Ok, so anyone else struggling to make healthy food choices for the family and going broke in the process???

Feeding the family with nutrient dense foods is tough enough. To be at optimal health, it's almost impossible not to have your grocery bill a significant chunk of your monthly budget. I am going to spend the next several blogs on helping you navigate the choices, and prioritize your shopping list, with affordability and resourcefulness in mind.

Today we discuss getting organized:

Start designing your shopping list in sections of where you will buy your food. I have 3 places that I go. If you have only one, you may want to consider another stop per week at a Farmer's Market or Trader Joe's for some items.

Here is my typical week:

TRADER JOES: soy milk, hummus, frozen fruit, frozen dinners (healthier here), and CLIF bars are staples. Party supplies and munchies are good here as well. Smokin' deals on wine. If you don't have one close by, plan a once a month trip and grab everything you will need.

SPROUTS: (Or farmers market/coop:) Fresh fruit and veggies, fresh meat and fish.

NEIGHBORHOOD GROCERY: Weekly essentials, milk, eggs, bread/bagels, frozen meat.

I realize this may seem like a pain to do 3 trips, but I save a ton of money and it actually doesn't take that much time for each trip, because I know exactly what I need, which brands I prefer and it never takes more than 15 minutes in and out the door.

Ok, more on this to come, including organizing your kitchen. Please comment with helpful suggestions with what works for you!

Supersize your drive

Getting fit and coming back from injury is difficult and time consuming. Worth the time and effort, of course, but very overwhelming.

In order to not psych yourself out of success, grab a spiral notebook and pen and do this:

Write down 3 specific and measurable health and fitness goals. Look carefully and ask someone you trust if they are realistic.

Write down a plan for each one. Nobody gets anywhere without a map. Get as detailed as possible...but again, keep it realistic.

Day by day and moment by moment, live out that plan. The only step you need to worry about is the next one...get started and be ready for change to come your way.

Enlist in help, experts and good people who have your best interests at heart can keep you focused when you start to drift...

Do it now, it is the perfect time, that's why they call it the present.

Dreamsicle smoothie

1 scoop of vanilla flavored protein per person

4 oz orange juice per person

2 ice cubes per person

Blend until smooth and creamy

Healthy, easy, refreshing, smart, YUMMY!

Macadamia Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened, organic, shredded coconut

1/2 cup raw, unsalted macadamia nuts, crushed

1 cup coconut milk

a pinch of unprocessed sea salt

2 lbs of chicken breasts

1 teaspoon of organic coconut oil

Directions:

Marinate chicken in coconut milk for 3-8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350

Coat glass baking dish with coconut oil

Mix crushed macadamia nuts and shredded coconut in bowl

Roll chicken breasts in mixture and place in baking dish

Bake 35-45 minutes

Remove and place in broiler for an additional 1-2 minutes

Serve with rice or quinoa, and a fresh, lightly steamed veggie mix.

Don't hate me because I am fit!

So I am standing in line at the grocery store and the lady behind me says, "Wow, you look great, whatever you are doing, it sure is working." Now first of all, it is very rare for me to receive a compliment from a complete stranger who is female, so I promptly replied "Thank you." We were waiting a bit, so the conversation continued...

She asked what I was "doing" to look this way, as though I had discovered some miracle. I smiled and said "It's not really so much what I am doing right now" (me picturing the pizza I just sucked down with the kids the night before) "It's 25 + years of consistent exercise and taking care of my health." Her face clouded over. It wasn't the answer she was looking for...

I am sorry to tell you that YOU ARE THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER DONE TO YOUR BODY!

While you were managing your stress with junk and alcohol all these years, I was managing mine with exercise. While you were eating like food was going to disappear the next day, I was educating myself and others on what your body actually needs...

Does that mean it is too late to begin to change your habits? Absolutely not! But if you expect to look like an Oxygen/Men's Fitness cover model by going on a short term fad diet, getting injections, or a cycle of P90X, I have bad news...

The formula for looking great, and more importantly feeling great (and comfortable in your own skin) is as follows:

Exercise+health care+clean diet (MULTIPLIED times TIME) = SUCCESS

Anyone who tells you differently is trying to sell you something. So my message is this:

Next time you see someone who looks terrific, fight the urge to resent them because you don't. Instead, acknowledge their hard work by saying "Hey, you look great, I bet it's a lot of hard work to look that way." Because believe it or not, we rarely ever hear it.

DON'T WASTE ONE MORE DAY!

For information on how to get started looking and feeling better today, email me at mindyourbody@cox.net