However, I also find that added stress is not good for my waistline even if I am eating super healthfully, so I know that it's just a bad combination to neglect my diet while my cortisol levels are up. And since I am prone to the dreaded belly fat, I must actively find ways to maintain good health and eat mindfully and wholesomely during this time!
Recently a link to a ton of 3-ingredient recipes came across my inbox and I thought this might be something interesting to review, even if it was just to kill some time at work. However, while most of the recipes did not appeal to me, there were a few that did and the concept got me thinking about how I could use this to my advantage. So, sifting through the recipes that seemed reasonable and tasty (and that Bryan would eat), I began to compile a short list of meal ideas that would work on week nights when we are both very tired and, in my case, have way too much going on (working out for the second time that day, reading my endless supply of nutrition books, writing my first case study, reading my pile of library books...yes, I think I take on too much).
Maintaining the idea of simple yet healthy meals that could be consumed throughout the week, I opted to choose three 3-ingredient recipes to build upon for this week. In addition, I began creating some lists: lists of protein options, lists of vegetables, lists of spice rubs, lists of marinades, etc. It's very true that I enjoy trying out new recipes but sometimes, when I am especially tired, the thought of pulling out all the ingredients and preparing a meal, even if it only takes 20 minutes, pushes my past my breaking point. And this is when the pizza gets ordered!
Anyway, so far this week is going well with my attempt to reduce my effort creating meals while still maintaining a clean, wholesome diet throughout the week. With the exception of tonight (we have been invited to attend the opening of a new restaurant for free), I think I have a good handle on achieving my goal. I thought I would share my Weekly Menu Plan as well as my take on some of the recipes.
The Menu Plan:
- Monday:
- breakfast - sweet potato, spinach, egg 'hash'
- lunch - chicken avocado sandwich
- dinner - chili
- Tuesday:
- breakfast - sweet potato, spinach, egg 'hash'
- lunch - chicken avocado sandwich
- OUT
- Wednesday:
- breakfast - sweet potato, spinach, egg 'hash'
- lunch - chicken avocado sandwich
- dinner - marinated salmon and steamed broccoli
- Thursday:
- breakfast - sweet potato, spinach, egg 'hash'
- lunch - chicken avocado sandwich
- dinner - chili
- Friday:
- breakfast - oatmeal with raisins and hemp seeds
- lunch - chili (if leftover)
- dinner - baked chicken, sweet potato, sauteed garlic spinach
What makes this an easy meal plan? The recipes, plus the time and effort it takes to actually 'cook' or 'heat up' the dinners!
Breakfast Hash Recipe: Peel and chop into 1/2" pieces 2 medium sized sweet potatoes. Roast at 400 F for 25-30 minutes, until tender. Meanwhile, sautee 1 bag of baby spinach in a bit of olive oil, until wilted. Set aside. Cook eggs to your liking (I scrambled 8 eggs to use across the 4 days of work this week). I then layered egg, spinach and sweet potato in my little 1 1/2 cup glass container, added a couple of squirts of hot sauce and heated this up at work (2 minutes 30 seconds on power 8 did the trick).
Lunch Sandwich: Cook 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts as directed in the oven. Chopped 1/4 cup of cilantro and cut up 1 avocado. When chicken is cool enough to handle, finely shred it and mix with avocado and cilantro (my avocado was still hard so my 'salad' was not sticking together, so a more ripe avocado may work best). Place 1/4 to 1/3 of the mixture between 2 slices of whole wheat bread, add any vegetables or sauces (I used lettuce and grainy mustard) and wrap tightly to keep it together. Very tasty!
Chili: The original 3-ingredient chili included ground beef, 1 can diced tomatoes, and 1 can kidney beans. My chili recipe began with a cooked package of ground bison. I cut up 1/2 red onion, 2 cloves garlic and 2 celery stalks and sauteed until tender. I added the bison, 1 large can of crushed tomatoes, 1 can drained and rinsed kidney beans and 1 cut up sweet pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes and add spices as you desire. Super easy!
Baked salmon takes minutes to cook, and broccoli is steamed to perfection with 10 minutes. Thawed chicken breasts cook faster than frozen, and sweet potato chunks are ready in about 30 minutes. Sauteed garlic is literally the easiest vegetable dish ever!
As you can see, each of these meals is super quick to make but what takes the stress away even better is to prepare as much as possible on the weekend before!
I spent 2 hours on Sunday getting everything ready:
- Cut up and roasted sweet potato
- Cut up onion, garlic, pepper, celery, cilantro, avocado
- Cooked bison and made chili
- Cooked chicken breasts and assembled chicken avocado salad
- Pre-made a soy-ginger marinade to be used on the salmon
- Cooked spinach and egg and separated into containers
Figuring out how to make mealtime interesting as well as healthy can take some practice, and I admit that dedicating time on the weekends to food prep is not (yet) my favorite thing to do, but I do know how positive I feel when I am able to maintain a clean diet throughout the week. Let's see how I manage this week and whether my plan for next holds up! If it does, I will certainly share my menu plan again.
Until then, eat clean and wholesome and enjoy the benefits! Your body will thank you.
