Sometimes, Simple is Best

Meal planning and prep can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t really have to be. When I feel myself overthinking grocery shopping and meals for the week, I go back to basics. For me that means making sure I have some Chicken Breast cooked up, a variety of veggies on hand, and some Protein (Chicken, Tuna or Egg) Salad made up for easy lunches.

I hadn’t actually planned a food prep day yesterday, but I ended up spending just a couple of hours preparing just a few simple things.

I baked Chicken Breast (brush lightly with Olive Oil, salt and pepper) and added a few carrots to the baking sheet. 425 for 25 minutes. Perfect.

 

 

Now I have plenty of Chicken to use for dinner this week and I have extra to freeze. The cooked carrots will be a handy side dish to heat up.

 

While the chicken was cooking, I cut up a few raw veggies to have for a quick snack or a crunchy side to eat with lunch this week.

 

When the chicken was done, I roasted up the Butternut Squash that I bought already peeled and cubed. Remember, this is simple meal prep.

 

I remembered that I had a great recipe for Brussels Sprouts and I knew that I had all of the ingredients. 

 

Yummmm

 

I made Tuna Salad the day before. I bulked this one up with Hard Boiled Egg Whites. I do love the yolk, but when I’m looking for more protein and a low SmartPoints option, this is the perfect way to do that!

 

 

This is a sideways picture of a bowl of Chicken Salad. Lol. I’ve edited a gazillion pictures. I’m tired. 

I added Celery, sliced Almonds, Dried Cranberries, S&P and Mayo. This will taste great on a bed of greens with some of those crunchy veggies on the side.

 

We had Turkey Burgers the other night. I cooked up 8 of them, so we have plenty of food for the week. I don’t think we’ll go hungry. We have healthy options to keep us on the right track, and it was all simple.

What are you cooking up this week? Are you keeping it simple?

Here are yesterday’s eats…

Breakfast – 6 SP

Scrambled Egg Whites topped with Bacon Crumbles and Avocado. just a few diced White Sweet Potatoes cooked in 1/2 tsp Bacon drippings and a Banana with 1 tsp of Almond Butter and 1/2 tsp Chia Seeds.

 

Lunch – 9 SP

Tuna Salad on a bed of Greens, Dill Pickles, Carrots, Plantains and Butternut Squash.

 

Dinner – 7 SP

Mixed Greens, Chicken, Red Onion, Butternut Squash, Diced Apple and Vinaigrette. 

 

Snack – 5 SP

After tracking my dinner, I realized that I still had points left, and to earn my Blue Dots (I need to eat between 27-37 SmartPoints) that I blogged about yesterday, I decided to have a snack after dinner.

Mixed Raw Nuts (15g) and Dried Cranberries (10g)  Sweetened with Apple Juice

I weighed the nuts and the cranberries. You don’t get much for 5 SmartPoints!

Daily SmartPoints Total = 27 SmartPoints
2017 Goals
Make time each week to Meal Plan
Drink 100 ounces of water each day
Exercise 5 days a week
Eat three meals and one snack daily
FOUR 100 Mile Walking Challenges this year!

“love the life you live, live the life you love”