Olympia 2015 is now over. Ashley Kaltwasser did in fact win the Bikini division for the third year in a row! Nicole Wilkins actually got beat. She took second place (which is still amazing!) while Latorya Watts took the top spot. This was her fist win and actually only her second time competing in the Olympia. Pretty impressive!
I actually tuned in Friday night to watch the Bikini results and found it pretty interesting. It was long…. they have each of the 30+ contestants walk out and pose and then have them all on stage and pose again in groups of six. I was not expecting that part, but I did learn a lot about the competition from Amanda Latoya who was one of the commentators on FlexOnline.com. She has competed in the Bikini Olympia before but did not this year. She was very knowledgeable and explained a lot about what the judges are looking for and why the girls did this or that.
I had a small amount of down time on Saturday so I decided to do a little research on my meal prepping. Last week was horrendous….Donny was out of town so I didn’t want to prepare too much food, plus we had been in the mountains all last weekend so once I got home I didn’t feel like cooking anything. I did not put forth my best effort and my meals were quite boring.
Apparently that taught me a lesson because my meals are anything but boring this week! I follow FitMenCook on Instagram and look at his website quite a bit. His photos are beautiful, plus he seems like he would be fun to hang out with! He has a great video online called “How to Build a Meal Plan – Tips & Hints“. It has great information for beginners that are just starting to prep their daily meals, but it is also pretty informative for those that have been prepping for a while.
One thing that caught my attention was his #3ColorChallenge. The goal is to have three different colored foods on your plate without counting your protein. For example, you could have chicken (which doesn’t technically count) with sweet potatoes (orange), broccoli (green), and roasted red peppers (red). Boom. Three colors and a beautiful plate!
I decided I was going to do this and I was going to do it with each meal that I prepped for this week. I happen to prep two snacks and lunch for the entire week, but have a lunch meeting every Friday so I prepared a total of 14 meals. It sounds like a lot, but I have so much fun doing it that I don’t find it a pain. I enjoy the entire process!
I did find it difficult to get the three colors in each one though. It sounds easy but if is different than what I usually do. I usually pack a protein, carb, and vegetable per container (I add my healthy fats in later). Well that was only two colors per meal so I had to prepare two or three different veggies so I could get my colors in! I ended up using some of the Maple Dijon Brussels Sprouts (recipe below), broccoli, grilled green beans, turmeric roasted root vegetables (carrots, parsnip, and turnip), and roasted cherry tomatoes. My carbs were quinoa, pinto beans, and grilled sweet potatoes. The proteins I chose were chicken, pork chops, and tuna. I did a little mix-and-matching to make each meal different.
For my mid-morning meal I like to have something breakfast-like (I find it difficult to eat chicken and broccoli at 10:00am). I mixed cooked quinoa with some protein powder, almond milk, and topped it with a few blueberries, strawberry chia jam (check out the grape chia jam recipe here), peanut butter, and some egg white (on the side, not mixed in). Everything is measured carefully (using a food scale or measuring cups) so that I eat the correct percentages of carbs-protein-fats. Getting those numbers accurate is also something I enjoy! I use the MyFitnessPal app to track my calorie intake and to make sure my macros are on track.
Today was a little more intense for food prep, but it will definitely pay off throughout the week. I like having everything ready so I can grab and go. I also like knowing that I have clean eating meals ready to keep me on track all week long. Definitely worth the time in my opinion.
If you haven’t tried prepping your meal before then take minute to watch that video. It breaks the process down and makes it pretty easy. He also suggests starting with prepping 1-2 meals per day at first so that it isn’t overwhelming. I’ve been packing my meals for a while now, and doing full blown food-prep days for a couple months now. You can work your way up to prepping 14 meals per week!
Let’s talk about this recipe. Poor Brussels sprouts. Back in the day I don’t think people knew how to cook them correctly so now a lot of people don’t like them. Boiling and steaming Brussels sprouts is off limits. Unless you are an experienced Brussels sprouts eater, then do not try them prepared either of those ways (especially if it is your first time). It will most likely ruin them for you for life.
Instead try to saute, roast, or grill the Brussels sprouts to make them tender, but crispy. Say no to mushy sprouts!
I chose to saute the Brussels sprouts for this particular recipe, but to be more hands-off while cooking, you could definitely roast them before tossing them in the dressing.
While I’m on the topic let’s talk about the dressing. I found a recipe in CleanEating magazine for chicken with a maple Dijon sauce. I decided to use both maple and Dijon mustard for the sauce, but to put it on a vegetable instead! Great decision if I do say so myself!
Do not substitute frozen Brussels sprouts. In my of my recipes frozen veggies can be substituted for fresh, but this is the exception. Frozen Brussels sprouts are very different than fresh.
While cooking the Brussels sprouts, put a lid on the pan for most of the cooking. You will want to take the lid off for the last few minutes so that the sprouts get nice and crispy. Sautéing them this way over medium-high heat also helps get that nice char on the outside of the Brussels sprouts. Slight char = more flavor!
These sprouts go great on the side of your favorite protein. You could even throw slices of your favorite protein in for a one-pan meal! For another way to enjoy Brussels sprouts (no steaming or boiling, I promise) check out my earlier post Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Sausage.
- 1 lb Brussels sprouts, sliced 1/8-1/4" thick
- 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbsp coarse ground Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
- Add Brussels sprouts and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
- While the sprouts are cooking make the dressing. In a small mixing bowl, combine the mustard, syrup, and lemon juice. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- Uncover and cook an additional two minutes. Add half the dressing to the pan and stir until the sprouts are evenly coated. Transfer to a serving dish and pour the remaining dressing over the Brussels sprouts. Serve warm.
- Use only fresh Brussels sprouts. Do not substitute frozen.
