Tupp’ Life – Prep is Key

There are some things in life that we have no control over. I am 100% guilty of spending too much time trying to gain control of things out of my reach. When I let go of the things I couldn’t control, I focused on the things I could. One of the most important things we have control over is what we put into our bodies. With every choice, we either fight or feed disease.

Being successful in most things requires preparation, practice, and consistency. The same goes for eating balanced, healthy meals. Not everyone has a few hours each night to put on their Gordon Ramsey apron and go to work in the kitchen. We’re busy. What we can do to ensure that we’re not skipping/missing meals or resorting to running through the drive thru is taking 1-2hrs a week and prepping meals and snacks for the upcoming week. With proper time management, these 1-2 hours can always be found. 

First, you must take a trip to the grocery store. Make a list beforehand that lists the products necessary that fall under the categories: protein, starch, dairy, veg, fruit. Optimal protein options would be lean sources of chicken breast, fish, ground turkey, or steak. (I limit red meat to once or twice a week, personally). Starches are usually sweet potatoes, quinoa, and brown rice. Plain greek yogurt and almond milk are my usual sources of dairy, but low fat cheeses are good too. 2 of my must-have veggies are spaghetti squash and cauliflower (if you couldn’t tell).

Seasonings are key to keep everything from becoming monotonous and boring tasting. We cut the chicken into cubes and used 4 different Pampered Chef seasonings for our chicken this week: buffalo, applewood smoked, chipotle, and lemon garlic. Baked in the oven for 25 min at 425.

I put the spaghetti squash in the oven first and usually leave it in there for 50min-1 hr. Then, simply scrape the insides out with a fork which creates the spaghetti-like texture.

 

While prepping the chicken, the oven was working on cooking the spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes, roasting some asparagus and chickpeas (at 425 degrees). Cauliflower was steaming on the stovetop. Also hard boiled some eggs on the stovetop.

On the kitchen table, the is overnight oats station.
1/2 cup of oats
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp greek yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon
Almond milk (enough to cover layer of oats)
Strawberries
1 scoop TLS vanilla nutrition shake powder
Mix all together and place in the fridge overnight.

Load up the fridge and call it a night! You’ll be glad you did.