I tried to evaluate what happened and how I got so far off course. It really came down to convenience and needing to eat on the go. Today marked my new starting point and I used the better part of the day to prep my meals and snacks for the next week as to prevent the temptation to run through a drive thru because I don't have time to make something. It's also much more cost effective! I ran to Woodman's last night and purchased a few things that I needed to assemble my meals and today I went to town prepping. I spent $49 and I got: raw agave nectar, dried cranberries, 60% cacao chocolate chips, 2 pints of blackberries, 2 pints of raspberries, 2 pints of strawberries, almond coffee creamer, rolled oats, 2 heads of romaine lettuce, 5 lbs of broccoli, 1/2 lb of jalapenos, 12 oz of feta cheese, 2 red onions, 4 lbs of brown rice, 1 mango.
When I got home from the store last night I made a jar of pico de gallo - 2 minced jalapenos, 3 diced roma tomatoes, 1/2 minced red onion juice from a small lime and some salt. Mixed it all together and it made the perfect addition to my rice bowl lunch!
This morning I prepped 2 cups of rice, 4 chicken breasts and 2 lbs of broccoli. I also made homemade granola bars. One of my other down falls is breakfast. I often skip it and being the "most important meal of the day" I figured I should probably start eating it. The granola bars are AMAZING, not to mention super easy to make. I'll share in detail what I did, in case you're interested.
Homemade Granola Bars - adapted from the recipe found here.
2 1/2 Cups Rolled Oats (old fashioned oats) - not quick oats
1 Cup Nut Butter (I used all natural peanut butter)
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
1 Cup Udi's Gluten Free Granola (Vanilla)
Handful of dark chocolate chips (Ghiradelli 60% cacao chips)
Combine nut butter, agave nectar and coconut oil in a sauce pan on medium low heat, stirring until smooth and melted. Add Granola and oats and combine well. Spread with spatula into a 9x13ish pan (mine was a tin foil 10 x 8 so my bars were just a bit thicker). Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Cut into squares or bars and store in the refrigerator - either individually wrapped in plastic or in an air tight container with wax or parchment paper separating the layers.
These were seriously delicious. I ate a couple small pieces with half a banana for breakfast with my coffee and I was stuffed until lunch time. I mean I was almost still too full to eat lunch, but my lunch was amazing so I couldn't not eat it.
This Califia Farms Almond Milk creamer is pretty awesome too. I used a little too much for my tastes, but it tasted just like having a vanilla latte with only 15 calories! I love that I can have my Starbucks(ish) coffee in the morning without the guilt of added empty calories. I NEED my coffee.
The rice, broccoli and chicken prep was surprisingly simple. Rice pretty much cooks itself - but I have to say I was nervous since the only rice I generally make is like instant rice or risotto. The suspense nearly killed me - you just put the stock and rice in the pot, cover it and don't touch it for like an hour. I about died because I like to have constant control over the status of things I cook, so this was really new for me. I know, I'm nuts. But seriously, I couldn't take it. While the rice was cooking I cut up a large head of broccoli into florets and preheated my oven for the chicken. I baked the chicken with just a little Montreal chicken seasoning and some kosher salt at 375 for probably 30 minutes. I baked them until the internal temp was 160. I steamed the broccoli in a large skillet filled with about 1/2 inch of water for like 10 minutes until it was bright green and cooked but crunchy. When my rice was done I spread it in a tin foil pan to let it cool, I put the broccoli and a storage container and let it cool with the cover off - same with the chicken.
I know a lot of people do meal prep in individual containers for each day, but since I'm mostly a stay at home mom I just did them each in their own large container and if I am going out at all I will just package myself up a box for that day. This way I can have the flexibility of making it for home or more than one serving if the farmer happens to want some of this deliciousness (instead of Taco Bell).
Today I used some of the pico de gallo that I made last night and the rice, chicken, black beans and an avocado to make a burrito bowl. O. M. G. It was fantastic. And it didn't even have sour cream or cheese! Who knew. I mean it was so good I had it again for dinner. Tomorrow I'm going to have chicken, broccoli and rice for lunch.
So there you have it, my recovery has been a success so far. Today was good. I ate well and until I was full and I was not tempted to run through a drive-thru at all. My fitness goals include running every day and doing some type of ab/strength work out. My goal is to continue getting up at 7 AM (the time I get up to take Jack to school) through the summer and do my workout from 7-8 AM before the farmer leaves for work. These sound lofty, but I think I can do it. After all, I have been getting up at 7 AM for the past 9 months and I KNOW I will have so much more energy and get so much more accomplished during my day if I take the time to work out and exercise.
Looking forward to tomorrow!
-The Farmer's Wife
