7 Tips to Clean Week Challenge Meal Preparation
7 Tips to Clean Week Challenge Meal Preparation
How about doing the Clean Week challenge with Megan Davies? This will mean eating clean and exercising for 7 consecutive days! Sounds like not much of a challenge right? Just give it a try, it’s an awesome program and you can do it for FREE. All you have to do is go to Free Clean Week Workouts, click the blue “Do Clean Week for free” button and enter 135296 where it asks for Coach ID. (then shoot me a message and I can add you to a free support group) You will get a meal planner for a week and 7 workouts, one for each day of the week. Clean Week or not, you can make a new habit out of preparing your meals the convenient way if healthy living is your goal. The trick is to be able to plan ahead and strategize as to what you will exactly do to triumph over this challenge every week of your life. You will see how meal preparation is going to make reaching your goals easier and even more enjoyable if you are up for it. You can make eating clean simple with these fun and delicious tricks.
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Tip #1: Cook ‘em by batches.
Your efforts in cooking can be multiplied when you batch cook instead of cooking them as you prepare to eat them like you usually do. Batch cooking can certainly save you time and bring consistency to your diet plan. After you batch cook, you can simply mix and match them into recipes that you prep for the whole week. There are different kinds of foods that can easily be cooked by batch. For one, there’s roasted vegetables that you can add to a scrambled breakfast or tossed into your salad for lunch. There’s also the nutrient-packed quinoa that you can add to your soup at any time of the day or made into a healthful side dish with baked salmon. Chicken breasts can be baked and paired with sautéed vegetables for one meal and then added to some noodles for another meal as a pasta dish. So much that you can do with hard-boiled eggs as they’re an easy snack or mix them up with your avocado salad toast. Finally, steam some brown rice and portion them with numerous recipes and meals as they can last for 4 to 5 days in your fridge.
Tip #2: Repeat, rewind, and enjoy it.
When it is your favorite food, wouldn’t you want to keep eating them? It can be daunting to think about what to eat each and every day and at every meal at that that – not to mention your snacks. But you see, there is really no need for you to make entirely new meals for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can have the same comfort recipe for multiple meals spread throughout the week and surely, you will be more than happy to eat them again. So when you are planning for the week, just pick three to four of your well-balanced and delicious recipes and you will be all good.
Tip #3: Take them all to the freezer.
Your must-eat vegetables and fruits can be stored in the freezer and yes, they can be as good as fresh. Meal preparation is such a breeze when done this way. When it comes to vegetables, you just gotta have them cooked first then microwave them as needed. Pair it up with some of your batch cooked chicken breast and cooked quinoa and you have yourself a healthy, well-balanced meal. As for your frozen fruits, they are great as refreshments, snacks, or added into your Shakeology as your replacement meal.
Tip #4: Set your portions before you plate
It is easy to get tempted when you put everything on your plate. Almost always, you go beyond your portions when they are already in there. As such, portioning your meals ahead and then putting them on your plate will allow you more self-control and make you feel satisfied and successful at the end of each of your meals. Simply set a day in a week where you can make all your meal preparations and make sure to portion and store them. Make meal prep containers your newest best friend so portioning can be made fun and easy. You will have to spend a few hours to batch cook and portion on that day but you will save more hours the whole week when you simply have to open your fridge and grab a container at every meal.
Tip #5: Get the right containers
As mentioned in the previous tip, containers are your newest best friend. It is very important to have them on hand since you have to prepare for lots of separate meals for the week. You will find many options out there in the market but there are certain factors to watch out for. For one, they have to be absolutely BPA-free to make sure no harmful chemicals get to your stored food. They also have to be both leak-proof and airtight with 4 latches so you can bring them anywhere. Of course they have to be safe to use for the freezer, fridge, microwave, and dishwasher as this is going to be your daily routine. Some fun things to look for in your containers are color coordination, write and erase lids, and stackable designs. You will find that some even offer a limited lifetime warranty. When it comes to your Clean Week prep, make sure to choose the right containers.
Tip #6: Take advantage of some shortcuts
We aren’t talking about cheating. We are talking about shortcuts that put you at an advantage faster and easier. The trick is to make it easy on yourself so your chances of success are also amplified. If you can find chopped vegetables or diced fruits at the grocery stores, then why not right? If they have pre-cooked proteins such as chicken, tempeh, and fish, then these are great ideas as well. Pre-washed salad greens aren’t a bad idea and so with pre-riced cauliflower rice. However, there are just some things that you have to do the old-fashioned way and that’s fine especially when you have to finish some meal preparation tasks at night. If you have to wash fresh fruits before eating them to ward off molds, then do so – no shortcut to that. Some delicate greens also have to be chopped right before eating so they do not wilt and that’s okay. Herbs likewise have to be added fresh for maximum flavor and to minimize oxidation.
Tip #7: Food safety first!
Yes, you want it to be fast, easy, and convenient but before anything else, you have to ensure the freshness of your food so you are assured it is still safe and healthy to eat. You can keep your foods in the fridge for as long as 3 to 5 days. If you plan to consume them for more than 3 days, then put them in the freezer first then defrost them in the fridge a day before. Moreover, there are certain foods that do not freeze well such as sweet potatoes and eggs so you will need to schedule meals accordingly and be able to cook less during the week.
Are you ready to lose weight, build muscle, or feel more fit? Join Beachbody On Demand, and get unlimited access to Beachbody’s world-famous programs, including 80 Day Obsession, 21 Day FIX®, Insanity, P90X® and 100’s more. Don’t miss out on your chance for amazing results. Sign up today!
