All about food prep!

Hi friends! How are ya?  I'm relieved it's Thursday and can already feel those Friday vibes heading my way.  In the epically long "finding the rosy in real life" post before this one I mentioned the subject of food prep.  My friend commented with an excellent question on the post so today I thought I'd share what kind of food prep I do!

Let me start by saying I've shared dozens of posts over the years about food.  You know this isn't always an easy topic for me.  Yet, I am learning food and exercise can be fun topics and treated with kindness and gentleness.  While you might not find me broadcasting my workouts live or getting a high from running, I am moving my body and fueling it from the inside out.  I'm feeling really, really good most days.  A HUGE part of this has to do with what I eat.  I heard once you can't outrun a bad diet.  While I cringe at the word "diet", I do get it.  On the days I eat more junk (usually when I'm tired if we're being totally honest) I'm much more likely to not exercise, feel sluggish, bloated, and foggy.  A good run on the treadmill can't overpower the awful feeling of too much sugar or dairy.  

So for me, what I'm eating truly has a powerful effect on my energy, mood, and overall well-being.  This isn't a weight thing.  In fact, I weigh more now than the "pie in the sky" number I feel like I should weigh, which is actually a completely ridiculous number unless I'm eating a teeny tiny amount and exercising a ton. Ummm...no.  I'll gladly give up bragging rights to a "pre-baby body! Skinnier than ever before!"  and instead shout from the rooftops "Great energy! Clear, focused mind at home AND work!  Level moods! Happy tears working!".  Life is short. I have some big work, personal, and life goals and if I let the scale suck all my good vibes I won't ever achieve anything except for a pre-baby number.  

Back to food prep.  At the beginning of the year I was taking a daily protein shake for lunch.  I kind of had a love/hate relationship with it.  It was super convenient, especially for work because I could carry it around and drink it and get full.  Yet, day in and out I felt kinda weird after drinking it and my energy wasn't quite where I wanted it.  So once I had the routine of conquering both work and home life I started adding in some food prep. 

Here are the types of things I'll prep on Saturday or Sunday (or even during the week occasionally):

1.) Boil eggs (these are breakfast every morning for Brett and I)

2.) Make a pot of quinoa (can go on salads, in a bowl of roasted veggies, in soup, etc.)

3.) Make a breakfast item (quiche, granola, muffins, breakfast cookies, etc.)

4.) Chop/slice fruits/veggies (I keep these in a snack drawer in the fridge for the girls so they can independently pick a healthy choice)

5.) Bake sweet potatoes (these are great to halve and top with a guacamole cup in my lunch)

6.) Prep work lunches (THIS IS A BIG ONE, see more below)

7.) Cook a whole chicken in the crockpot (take the meat off the bone and freeze to easily add to a meal, put the broth in mason jars for easy additions to soup)

WORK LUNCHES: 

I eat a salad and a little something (like mixed nuts, sweet potato, bean chips, etc.) every single day and I love it.  I prep them on Sundays and put them in plastic containers with lids.  I then dump the salad and dressing in a regular bowl in the teacher's lounge. The question I had was how do I keep the salad from getting soggy.  Because UGH.  Who wants to eat a soggy salad?! I don't. 

The lettuce you use matters so much.  I use kale, which is a rather hard, crunchy green.  I also add in things to my salad that won't get soggy, like chickpeas, olives, quinoa, broccoli slaw (you can buy this in a bag already shredded in the produce section at Wal-Mart), tuna, carrots (you can buy these already shredded!), sunflower seeds, peppers, etc. 

I also don't put dressing on the salad.  I package it separately in tiny containers and then add it in at lunch.  

I eat the same salad five days a week and then switch it up the following week. I never tire of this because the biggest game-changer in mixing the flavors up is the dressing.  It is SO easy to look up healthy dressings and whip up a batch on the weekend.  

Need some ideas to get started?

Here are a few of my favorites from my Pinterest boards: 

1.) Coconut Quinoa Coleslaw

2.) Spicy Potato Kale Bowls

3.) Chipotle Sweet Potato Noodle Salad

4.) Cashew Crunch Salad

5.) Quinoa Chicken Salad with Balsamic Dressing

That should get you started! Do you have a journey like mine, towards more energy and kindness as you get older?  Do you have additional questions for me?  Feel free to ask away! I'm not an expert, nor will I ever be! Just a very highly-sentive, feeling, passionate person who wants to be able to live life feeling well.