The Meal Prep Series this week focuses on vegetables. I happen to love vegetables and don’t mind incorporating them throughout the day. If you struggle with how to incorporate vegetables into your diet, then check out today’s Mel’s Clean Eating Meals. I tried to add them into several clean eating meals throughout the day to show you how easy it is to add them in when they are already cooked!
If you haven’t read through Meal Prep Series – Week 2: Prepare Vegetables then check it out now. If you have questions about how I prepared some of these foods (such as meatballs and hamburgers, then check out yesterday’s Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep Ideas Week 35 post.
In our bootcamp class, we are being assigned weekly goals to try to incorporate. This first week was to drink 60-100oz water each day. Honestly, that is SUPER easy for me because I drink a TON of water. I ended up drinking 1 liter first thing in the morning, then 4 1/2 liters throughout my workday. I try to drink minimal amounts of water after 5:00pm because otherwise I will pee all. night. long.
4:30am – Pre-Workout:
Most weekday mornings I have half a liter of plain water, followed by half a liter of water mixed with 1 scoop of MusclePharm Assault, my pre-workout supplement for focus and endurance. However, we had weigh-ins at bootcamp this particular morning, so I skipped taking my pre-workout knowing we wouldn’t do any heavy lifting during the class.
Instead I drank the entire liter plain and had 1 BCAA capsule to prevent muscle breakdown since I workout early in the morning.
I still wanted to eat a little something so I had 1/4c 1% cottage cheese mixed with cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla crème liquid stevia and topped with 20g banana. #AdorablePhotoBomb
6:30am – Meal #1:
Breakfast involved a ton of vegetables! Since this week’s Meal Prep Series task was to prepare some vegetables to eat all week long, I wanted to show you how easy it is to incorporate them into breakfast!
First I measured out the vegetables including 30g broccoli, 30g zucchini and 30g Brussels sprouts. Obviously if you don’t track your calories or macros then you can just grab a variety.
I heated a saute pan over medium heat and once it was hot I sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray. Next, I added the vegetables and let them heat up for about 5 minutes.
Next, I cracked 6 eggs into a bowl. 5 of them were separated into just egg whites and one was left whole.
Then I whisked the eggs and egg whites with a fork until they were well combined.
After the vegetables were warm I added the egg mixture to the pan and began stirring them with a small rubber spatula until all the eggs were cooked.
I transferred the veggie-egg mixture to a plate and topped it with salt and Cholula.
On the side I had 1 slice Ezekiel bread topped with 1oz mashed avocado and 1Tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese.
Calories: 330
9:45am – Meal #2:
My mid-morning snack was 7oz 2% Greek yogurt mixed with 1/3 scoop MusclePharm Isolate protein (vanilla) topped with 1/4 cup blueberries (frozen, then thawed). I combined 1Tbsp pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) and 2Tbsp Uncle Sam’s Wheat Flakes in a plastic baggie to sprinkle on top as I ate. Such an easy snack, but yet sweet and FULL of protein!
Calories: 275
12:30pm – Meal #3:
Lunch was 4 homemade Italian meatballs, 1c spaghetti squash topped with 2Tbsp O Organics Tomato Sauce and 75g roasted broccoli. Surprisingly, spaghetti squash keeps me full for longer compared to other types of vegetables!
Calories: 255
4:00pm – Meal #4:
My mid-afternoon meal was a homemade lean beef burger with 3oz Brussels sprouts and 50g zucchini.
There wasn’t quite enough protein in this meal for me, so I also had 1/4c 1% cottage cheese mixed with cinnamon and 3-4 drops of vanilla crème liquid stevia.
Calories: 250
7:15pm – Meal #5:
I went to yoga after work, so I had dinner later than usual. Luckily I had extra chicken and veggies in the refrigerator to throw together!
I combined 4oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 3oz green beans, 3oz Brussels sprouts and 30g zucchini. Then I poured 2Tbsp of Pacific Natural Foods Cashew Carrot Ginger soup which gave the bowl a nice Asian flavor. I microwaved this for 90 seconds, stirring after one minute. Last but not least I drizzled some Sriracha on top. I would have added sesame, but we were out! Dang.
When I plugged the foods into My Fitness Pal I added 1/2c cooked whole wheat couscous, but then I forgot to actually add it to the bowl! I realized it after I ate the entire thing…. so I had a side of whole wheat couscous topped with an additional 2Tbsp of that same soup (pictured below). This was seriously delicious! Slightly sweet and amazing.
The Pacific Foods brand is organic, but they do add sugar to it. I don’t make eating/buying organic a priority, but I do try to avoid added sugars. However, this soup is really convenient, so I look for flavors that contain 1-2g of sugar.
Calories: 390 calories
Well that was everything that I had throughout the day in terms of Mel’s Clean Eating Meals. I ended the day consuming 1,580 calories, including 162g protein, 116g carbs and 52g fat. If you have any questions about my clean eating meals then please ask! Comment below or email me at eatliftplayrepeat@gmail.com.
I tried to get as many vegetables in as possible and honestly, the only way I was able to do that was by having some already cooked! Otherwise, I would have had oatmeal for breakfast and then come home from yoga and had cereal or yogurt for dinner!
Meal prep is great for everyday meals, but also make some extra vegetables and meats for last minute dinners or to add to your morning meal.
Don’t forget to check out Monday’s Meal Prep Series – Week 2: Prepare Vegetables for additional information about meal prepping vegetables!
