Staying consistent with meals is just as important as getting your workouts in. One thing I hear a lot from clients, friends and colleagues is that they don’t have enough time to prepare meals. I have always been a planner, so it came easy for me. Most aren’t able to do this. This is why I am going to help you all by giving you some tips, tricks and ideas! This is what I personally do and it also helps my clients, friends and colleagues.
I have recently become best friends with my crockpot! This saves my life, because I have recently stepped into an amazing role at David Barton Las Vegas as fitness manager. So this means longer hours at work with shorter hours to prep meals.
Crockpot recipe: Mexican shredded chicken
Ingredients:
6 chicken breast (fat trimmed)
lemon juice
garlic powder
sea salt
cumin
salsa
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
Directions:
Add chicken and put all ingredients in your crockpot. If it’s going to be a long day at work or too busy, leave it on low and it will cook it 8 hours. When you get home the chicken is tender. Start to shred chicken with your fork. This is simple, fast and delicious.
Cooking Proteins in Bulk
Preparing weeks worth of food in a day sounds impossible, right? WRONG. This is what I do when I know I have a few busy weeks ahead of me: I will cook all of my proteins in bulk. Literally my oven, grill and crockpot are in full force cooking all of my meats and fish. When everything is done cooking and cooled off, I will grab individual bags and put weighed proteins in them. Then when everything is sealed up, I put them in the freezer. When I’m ready to eat them I will take it out the night before and let it thaw or when I’m running out of the door I will just grab and microwave when I get to my destination. It tastes as if you just made it! It preserves the taste from the minute it came out of the oven.
One thing that has helped me is making my fish into burgers. I have come up with the most amazing tilapia burger recipe. This not only tastes great, but when frozen and then reheated/thawed it doesn’t have that fishy taste. My clients and friends who cannot stand fish can now eat fish with this recipe.
Ahi Burgers
Ingredients (all according to taste):
garlic powder
sea salt
Asian chili paste
chili powder
Bragg’s aminos
rice vinegar
lime
green onions diced
Directions:
Set oven to 425. Dice tuna into chunks (be gentle). Cut into as many small pieces as possible. Throw into a mixing bowl. Fold ingredients in and mash slightly with your hands. 50/50 ratio of cubes and mash. Make into burger-size pieces and set on a baking tray. (Same applies for tilapia burgers) 20 min. of cook time.
(Ahi burger goes great with my Spicy Thai Peanut Slaw- Recipe in notes)
Italian Tilapia Burgers
Ingredients:
lemon juice
white wine vinegar
garlic powder
sea salt
basil
oregano
Directions:
Set oven to 425. Dice tuna into chunks (be gentle). Cut into as many small pieces as possible. Throw into a mixing bowl. Fold ingredients in and mash slightly with your hands. 50/50 ratio of cubes and mash. Make into burger-size pieces and set on a baking tray. You can season however you like! Just follow directions in making the burgers. It’s fish, so be careful when cutting. ENJOY!!!
Veggies and carbs are easy to prepare for the weeks to come. I also buy organic, pre-packaged already cooked bowls from Costco or Whole Foods. Just 90 seconds in the microwave and it tastes amazing and beats the heck out of my home-cooked rice. I bake yams and cut up into cubes. I use large yams, skin them, add 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil, add stevia and cinnamon. They are amazing!
Proteins are always the hardest to prepare. I have found this very successful for my everyday life. I hope it will do the same for you!