Let me just take a side bar to say, I am so lucky to have such a supportive husband. He is so supportive and encouraging of me, and I don't give him near enough credit. He motivates me to go to the gym, always asks what he can do to help me around the house (honestly, he probably does more than I do in that department), and is so encouraging and supportive. He is tough on me when I need it, and doesn't ever let me give up. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a husband who isn't so supportive. When they say you and your spouse have to give 100% to make it work, I got lucky with one that gives 110%. I'm so lucky to get to do life with him.
Ok, back on subject. This meal prepping thing is really the most amazing thing ever! It's so nice to be able to pull a bag out of the freezer, throw it in a slow cooker, set the timer, and several hours later have a healthy dinner. All we have to do is cook a little brown rice, or a side veggie and dinner is ready. I prepped 6 meals, and we only ate 3 this week. Who knew that you could eat like 4 meals off each one prepped? Of course the week got thrown off a little due to Auburn playing on Thursday night (WAR EAGLE! 1st SEC win of the season), and Gill's birthday today (we celebrated this weekend with family).
This week we ate the Cilantro Lime Chicken, Spinach and Salsa Chicken, and Sausage Peppers and Onion.
First up was Cilantro Lime Chicken. I enjoyed it, however, I think it needed a little more seasoning. We ate on this for 3-4 meals so it makes a lot. It might be better to divide into smaller portions if you are single, or don't want leftovers. We ate generous portions so it really does make a lot. I always take what I'm cooking out of the freezer the day before so it can thaw out. Here is the recipe:
3 chicken breast
1/2 white onion ( I used a sweet onion instead)
1 red bell pepper
1 can of black beans
1 cup of frozen corn
4 oz can green chilis
1 jalapeno
juice of 2 limes
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup of cilantro
2 tsp cumin
Directions
Place thawed contents in slow cooker and cook on Low for 7-8 hours and serve with tortillas or rice.
I didn't really taste the cilantro, or lime juice so I would recommend adding a little more of each. I also, think it needed a little salt added to it. Next time I cook it I will make these changes.
Next we cooked the Spinach and Salsa Chicken. Hello! It was wonderful. By far the easiest meal prepped and definitely one of my favorite meals. It will definitely be cooked pretty often. Gill said it reminded him of Gumbo when we added rice. It was delicious. Here is the recipe:
3 chicken breast
2 cups of Salsa or pico de gallo ( I used fresh pico from the deli)
1 bag of frozen spinach
2 Tbsp Mrs. Dash garlic and herb
Directions
Cover and cook on high 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours
shred chicken (I learned if you have a hand mixer, use it to shred chicken. So quick and easy)
serve with tortillas, rice, or salad
The last meal we cooked this week was Slow Cooker Sausage Pepper and Onion. Honestly, I wasn't really a fan. If I cook this again there will have to be several changes made to it. Here is the recipe:
1 lb package of sausage
1 red, green, and yellow bell pepper
1 onion
1 can diced tomatoes (I chopped my own)
4-6 garlic cloves
pkg Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
Directions
Cook on low for 6-8 hours
Some of the changes I would make to this recipe would be to double the meat (or half the veggies), and cut the garlic in half (very strong garlic flavor) Like I said, we didn't really enjoy it, and it will be a while before we make this again.
So the other part of getting a healthy lifestyle back is going to the gym. The first day was definitely the hardest. It is so intimidating going into a class, not really knowing what to expect when you haven't worked out in as long as it had been for me. I started out with Zumba. I thought that it would be a fun workout to start with since it had been so long. It was so much fun that it didn't feel like exercise, but I definitely got my heart rate up and sweated. All 3 Zumba classes I took were a lot of fun, and a good cardio workout. The other class I took was Pound. I wasn't a fan of the format because it didn't really feel like it flowed, and I hate squats and lunges which is what most of the class is. I'm not sure I will take this class again, unless it's my only options. I learned I do much better when I have the organization of class instead of trying to do it on my own.
This weekend we celebrated Gill's 31st birthday. Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch for Mackenzie's (and apparently Gill's according to him) 1st time. Griffin Farms in West Blockton is great. They have so much to do that it would be easy to spend the entire day there. Mackenzie pretty much slept the entire time we were there, but she did get to pet a cow.
The last meal we cooked this week was Slow Cooker Sausage Pepper and Onion. Honestly, I wasn't really a fan. If I cook this again there will have to be several changes made to it. Here is the recipe:
1 lb package of sausage
1 red, green, and yellow bell pepper
1 onion
1 can diced tomatoes (I chopped my own)
4-6 garlic cloves
pkg Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
Directions
Cook on low for 6-8 hours
Some of the changes I would make to this recipe would be to double the meat (or half the veggies), and cut the garlic in half (very strong garlic flavor) Like I said, we didn't really enjoy it, and it will be a while before we make this again.
So the other part of getting a healthy lifestyle back is going to the gym. The first day was definitely the hardest. It is so intimidating going into a class, not really knowing what to expect when you haven't worked out in as long as it had been for me. I started out with Zumba. I thought that it would be a fun workout to start with since it had been so long. It was so much fun that it didn't feel like exercise, but I definitely got my heart rate up and sweated. All 3 Zumba classes I took were a lot of fun, and a good cardio workout. The other class I took was Pound. I wasn't a fan of the format because it didn't really feel like it flowed, and I hate squats and lunges which is what most of the class is. I'm not sure I will take this class again, unless it's my only options. I learned I do much better when I have the organization of class instead of trying to do it on my own.
This weekend we celebrated Gill's 31st birthday. Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch for Mackenzie's (and apparently Gill's according to him) 1st time. Griffin Farms in West Blockton is great. They have so much to do that it would be easy to spend the entire day there. Mackenzie pretty much slept the entire time we were there, but she did get to pet a cow.
We also went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with friends and family to celebrate. Our parents came down to visit and my Granddaddy and his wife also came. We really enjoyed it, and it was great getting to spend some time with everyone from out of town. Of course Gill enjoyed the fact that he didn't have 1 but 2 birthday cakes.
Hopefully this week there will be no distractions and we can do this clean eating. We love when people visit, but it always seems to throw off how we eat.
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