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I have people ask me often how I handle meal planning.  I’ve learned over the course of my journey that I tend to gravitate towards the same foods for days at a time.  I know it sounds boring but really it’s not.  It actually makes things quite easy for me.

I can’t tell you what foods are right for you, but you can pretty quickly figure that out for yourself.  I go out of my way to eat fresh whole foods when I can.  But two of my packaged staples are brown rice and a variety of dried beans, usually pinto or black beans.  I bring the beans to a boil with a teaspoon of baking soda and them allow them to soak for an hour or two, then drain, rinse and cook with fresh water seasoned with onion, salt, and black pepper. For those who don’t know this little tip, the baking soda soak prevents the beans from making you gassy.  Talk about a cheap date?  I can eat for days based on my serving size.

Anyway, I chose to eat a small portion of both rice and beans in order to create a complete protein and this also allows me to have hot food meals.  I eat plenty of refrigerated foods so having the hot filling meal are wonderful.  In most cases I’ll also include a portion of chicken with my beans and rice.  But not always since it’s a complete protein.   Love the fiber that comes from both as well.  Some folks can’t tolerate beans or rice, so perhaps sweet potato and a veggie would suffice with your protein.  I’ll eat those on occasion as well.

I have a rice cooker that doubles as a slow cooker.  Sunday is spent with a pot of beans on the stove, chicken in the slow cooker and the rice being steamed after the chicken has cooked.

Then out come my containers, my scale and my measuring cup.  I do not measure my food all the time.  You learn over time to eyeball it, but my eyeballing grows so I like to measure to be a bit more accurate.

Most people don’t WANT to take the time to meal prep.  But then again, most people don’t want to be fit and healthy.  I chose to be both.

Step One:

Make a grocery list of the following weeks meal plan requirements.

Step Two:

Cook it all.

Step Three:

Measure into containers and put in the fridge.

Step Four:

Be confident in your ability to get the proper amount of fuel in your body.

It’s so easy to allow the rush of the holiday season to get you off track.  Bad weather convinces you to sleep in.  Before you know it the New Year comes and you’ve gained 10 pounds over the holiday season.  Don’t let it happen to you.  Meal planning is even MORE important during the holiday season because of all of the tempting treats sitting around.