Meal Prep for Beginners
Stuck at Home? Let’s Start to Meal Prep
Boredom from being stuck in the house turns into snaking. If you don’t buy it, you will not eat it. Remember that, the next time you are food shopping walking down the chip and cookie aisle. This is the time that we need to be indulging in lean meals, not junk food. Healthy meals can taste great. Why people think that eating healthy has to suck is beyond me. Spend some time now to start meal prepping healthy meals. A friend of mine meal preps Oreos – that doesn’t count. Get into the healthy routine now while you have the downtime. Here is a great starter meal to prepare and the reasons why it’s one of my go-to macro meals for what I am trying to accomplish with my body. One first step when you get into meal prepping to ask yourself is, what am I trying to accomplish?
Roasted Garlic and Herb Baked Chicken
With jasmine rice, boiled Brussels sprouts drizzled with plant butter, and sautéed red/yellow sweet peppers.
Why Brussels Sprouts?
High in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, making them a nutritious addition to your diet. They may also come with added health benefits, including the potential to reduce the risk of cancer, decrease inflammation and improve blood sugar control.
Why Jasmine Rice?
Eating a carbohydrate-rich food like jasmine rice helps keep your glycogen in check and helps promote muscle recovery. This is why, for some athletes and bodybuilders, white rice is sometimes preferable to brown rice. And since you can get jasmine rice in either brown or white variety, it might be a great option for you.
Why Sweet Peppers?
Rich in many vitamins and antioxidants, especially vitamin C and various carotenoids. For this reason, they may have several health benefits, such as improved eye health and reduced risk of several chronic diseases. All in all, bell peppers are an excellent addition to a healthy diet.
We all know why chicken, but why baked chicken?
Baked chicken serves as a rich source of protein. A 4-ounce serving of chicken leg meat contains 27.5 grams of protein, while an equivalent serving of baked chicken breast contains 35 grams. You use this protein as a source of amino acids, which help maintain your tissues and allow you to heal after injury. A 4-ounce serving of baked chicken counts as 4-ounce equivalent of protein, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture food guide, and helps you reach the 5 ounces recommended daily for women or 6 ounces for men. I personally get in 8-12 ounces of chicken to try and maintain higher protein intake levels for muscle growth.
Why Plant Butter?
Plant butter is a dairy-free and gluten-free butter made with plant-based oils from olives, avocados, and almonds. With an increase in alternative diets like vegetarianism, veganism, and gluten intolerance, plant butter is a healthy non-dairy substitute for normal butter.
Ingredients
5 pounds boneless chicken breast
3 cups raw Brussels sprouts
2 medium sweet bell peppers
3 tbsp. roasted garlic and herb seasoning
1/4 cup light Italian dressing
2 cups jasmine rice
3 tbsp. plant butter
Directions
- Place defrosted raw chicken breast into a mixing bowl with light Italian dressing and garlic/herb seasoning. Mix chicken up well so seasoning is distributed evenly to each chicken breast.
- Cook chicken uncovered at 375 for 45 minuntes.
- Boil Brussel sprouts for 20 minutes.
Note: Overcooking vegetables diminishes a lot of important vitamins and minerals, so do not overcook – it’s better to have a little crunch then all mushy.
- Slice up sweet bell peppers and sauté them in a pan with 1 tbsp. plant butter until a little soft.
- Add 2 cups of jasmine rice to 3 cups of boiling water. Cover and simmer for 12 minutes.
Note: After everything is cooked I distribute food into meal-prep containers. I have a food scale in my kitchen so I weigh out each meal to be precise. You can eye it up; it’s not that important. You should be able to get six meals out of this. When meals are in containers I then heat up the rest of the plant butter and drizzle it over the vegetables in each container.
Meal prepping helps with portion control. It is one key way that food prepping helps people maintain a healthy weight or lose a few pounds. If you prepare your food, it’s easier to not only eat the right amount, but to avoid foods that are bad for you but oh-so tempting. Remember again, if it’s not in your house you can’t eat it. One important thing I do while meal prepping is I never prep more than six meals. Anything longer sitting in my refrigerator is too long for me, so six days is my max. I usually have one cheat meal a week for dinner so it works out perfect for a weekly preparation of meals.
Unless you have a nice size weight set at your home, this is a great time to lean down and stay beach-body ready. Personally, the way I feel when I am lean is way better than when I bulk. My goal is not to get huge but to stay ready for the beach year-round. Florida is one state that you can be at the beach pretty much year-round. Pray, love, and help others.
