Sunday Night Lazy Meal Prep

Do you ever feel too tired to gear up for the week? Every now and then I feel unmotivated to meal prep. Like most people, I need to make sure that I prepare healthy meals well ahead of time and snacks ready to go. If I don't, I end up grabbing something unhealthy full of added sugars and other "natural ingredients." Spending 2-3 hours meal prepping every Sunday is not challenging to me and, in fact, I enjoy it most times. It's sort of therapeutic, but not today - I'm just not feeling it. No, it's not because I was super into the Super Bowl - I was teaching a spin class, then colored my hair (a post for another day) and wrote this blog while that crap was on in the background. Had to watch Gaga perform obvi.

So this Sunday, I decided that this week I am going to do the "Military Diet." This easy-to-prep meal plan is 3 days on, 4 days off. The 3 days on caloric intake is anywhere between 1,100–1,400 calories per day. The 4 days off consists of meals ideally under 1,500 calories per day, not as restrictive as the first 3 days. I only do it for 5 days though because I like to give myself freedom on the weekends. If you want to try it out all 7 days, go for it. I have provided some meal ideas and tips below that you can use for all 7 days. Also here is the link for the exact meal plan if you want to try it out: http://3daymilitarydietmenu.com

As you can see, it's pretty restrictive. I'm not a grapefruit person and eating hot dogs for dinner without the buns is freakin' weird so I opt for apples and bananas instead of grapefruit and chicken, ground beef, or ground turkey instead of hot dogs.

I've done the military diet before for prep convenience purposes (since it requires no more than 45 minutes total), and by the end of the week, I feel light and not so bloated. It's not some "miracle" diet despite those who boast "losing 10 lbs in a week," but it's a super easy meal plan that you can tailor based on your caloric intake needs relative to how active you are throughout the day and your daily exercise routine. I don't follow it exactly as designed since I workout quite a bit and need more food throughout my day. I add healthy snacks in the morning and/or afternoon if needed and I usually eat more for dinner than what it calls for.

Here is what I do and what you'll need:

2-3 eggs (I prefer organic brown - they just taste better to me)
1 loaf multigrain or oanut bread
Peanut butter (I like PB2, just mix with water - & I usually add some protein powder)
Fresh or frozen veggies: broccoli, carrots, green beans, etc.
1 lb. chicken breast, ground turkey, or ground beef
1 bag organic farro (I like Italian style), quinoa, or brown rice
1 can organic black beans
5 or so cans of 3 0z tuna (light, in water)
4-5 apples (on the smaller side)
2-3 bananas
Vanilla ice cream or plain greek yogurt (if you choose this option, I would get some dark chocolate chips and honey for toppings)
Optional: cottage cheese nonfat or 1%, protein powder (any whey protein mix should be fine just check the label to make sure it fits within your fitness goals i.e. low in sugar), plain rice cakes, raisins, chia seeds, mixed berries, anything healthy that you like and know you will eat

Prep (total cook time 45 minutes or less):

2-3 hard boiled eggs: preheat the oven to 350 degrees, coat a muffin tin with olive oil cooking spray, and throw the eggs in for about 25 minutes or so. Take them out and immediately put into a bowl of cold water for about 15 minutes. The cooking spray you put on beforehand helps the shells come off easier.
I do one of the following: bake frozen chicken breasts in the oven at 425 degrees for 45 minutes OR, in a frying pan with olive oil, cook either ground turkey (at least 95% lean) or ground beef (the leaner the better, doi).
In a frying pan with olive oil, cook some carrots and broccoli, 15-20 mins. I cut up almost a full bag of baby carrots and a head of fresh broccoli. Frozen veggies are fine and sometimes easier so if you want to wait and heat those up for dinner at night, that's fine too.
While all of that is going on, in a small pot, I make one of the following: organic farro, quinoa, or brown rice. I have been on a farro kick lately: rinse 1 cup farro with cold water and drain. Fill pot halfway or so with water and bring to a boil. Add farro, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes. I then add in 1 can organic black beans (make sure to rinse and dry first).
Separate the veggies and whatever grain you cook into different tupperware (I put 1/2 cup of each thing and 1-2 cups meat) Aaaaaand wa-lah. Meal prep done (your dinners anyway).

Here's the meal plan break down (the way I do it):

Day 1 (amounts to around 1,400 calories)

Breakfast: toast, 2 tablespoons peanut butter; 1 cup tea or coffee (if you choose coffee, drink it black to cut out added sugar from creamer and sweeteners)
Lunch: toast; half cup tuna (3 oz); cup coffee black
Dinner: 3 oz serving of meat; cup green beans; small apple; banana; cup vanilla ice cream or greek yogurt (I opt for Fage 0% plain greek yogurt and add a little honey, protein power, and dark chocolate chips - lately Hershey's dark chocolate kisses)

Day 2 (amounts to around 1,200 calories)

Breakfast: toast; hard-boiled egg; half banana (psh just eat the entire banana like I do because, honestly, the other half won't save and that's just a waste); cup black coffee
Lunch: hard-boiled egg; cup cottage cheese (add mixed berries if you want); 5 saltines; cup black coffee
Dinner: 4 oz meat (I usually cook 2 small salmon filets or eat whatever left over meat I had the night before); half cup carrots and half cup of broccoli (I eat however many veggies I want); half cup vanilla ice cream or greek yogurt

Day 3 (amounts to around 1,100 calories)

Breakfast: 5 saltines; 1-ounce slice cheddar cheese (I do LOVE cheese, but this seems odd for breakfast so I sub the cheese and saltines for a slice of toast with PB2); small apple (I save this for a morning snack with left-over pb); cup black coffee
Lunch: toast, egg, cup black coffee/tea
Dinner: 4 oz meat; 2 cups mixed veggies; cup vanilla ice cream or greek yogurt

I drink as much coffee (probably too much) and tea as I want. As long as you don’t add any calories from creamer or sugar, even if it is Splenda, Truvia or whatever other crap you use, nix it. I love my pumpkin spice creamer as much as the next basic b**** (*hair flip*) but I let myself have it on the weekend. (No pain, no gain amirite?) Drink plenty of water too throughout the week. Hydration is key. Duh.

The Remaining Days look something like this:

Day 4

Breakfast: toast, 2 tablespoons pb; 1 cup coffee black
Snack: apple (with left-over pb from bfast)
Lunch: toast; 3 oz tuna; cup coffee black
Dinner: 5 oz meat; 2 cups veggies (green beans, sweet corn, broccoli, carrots, etc.); 1/2 cup farro and black beans; 2 cups raw spinach and red cabbage mix with 1 tbsp olive oil

Day 5

Breakfast: 2 organic brown eggs with 1 cup spinach, cooked; 1 cup coffee black
Lunch: toast, 2 tablespoons pb; cottage cheese with chia seeds + mixed berries; cup coffee black
Snack: apple (with pb2)
Dinner: 5 oz meat; 2 cups veggies (green beans, sweet corn, broccoli, carrots, etc.); 1/2 cup farro and black beans; 2 cups raw spinach and red cabbage mix with 1 tbsp olive oil
^I usually have tacos or a healthy taco bowl version of Qdoba or Chipotle tbh. That, or a turkey sub on rye from Wawa. Nix the mayo - get oil+vinegar and load that sucker up with veggies. Boom. Healthier than pizza (although that is exactly what I had the last time I did this. Woops).

Anyway, the remainder of the week involves low caloric intake, as you can see above. You can obviously snack on the "days off" - a banana, apple, rice cakes (plain) with pb + top with raisins, maybe add some protein powder to the pb, cottage cheese with mixed berries + chia seeds thrown in... You get the idea.

The main take-away is to limit portion sizes and keep total calorie intake under 1,500 per day - depending on how active you are. If you are super active (and busy) like me and don't feel like putting much effort into your Sunday night meal prep, this meal plan is ideal. We can get fancier next week.

Let me know your thoughts and happy prepping, friends!