Prepping Sunday

I learned about Sunday food prepping years ago. Maybe it was at a Weight Watchers meeting. Maybe it was someone sharing in a 21 Day Fix group. Maybe it was a friend sharing her own weight loss success experience. Maybe it was watching Biggest Loser or My 600 LB Life. Maybe it was my therapist who was helping me with my food issues and one of our sessions about the importance of cooking versus relying on fast food. She was the one who encouraged me to use a crockpot. I also have a vivid memory of Jillain Michaels on television cubing sweet potatoes and placing vegetables in bags for easy microwave steaming. Yet, I am not sure who introduced me to Sunday prepping. The times I have had the most success maintaining a balanced, healthy diet has included some kind of prep time, whether it was planning, chopping and cooking the night before or on Sunday night for the week. One of my weekly prep, go to meals is beef vegetable soup (soup meat browned in olive oil, canned tomatoes, frozen or canned corn, frozen or canned green beens, fresh carrots sliced, beef broth). I cook it all afternoon in a large pot ( stove top. I prefer the taste compared to the crock pot.). Then, I let the soup cool completely before ladling it into containers (usually individual servings) that can be placed in the 'fridge or freezer for easy, quick re-heat in the microwave or on the stovetop. I have all the fixin's for vegetable soup in my pantry, 'fridge and freezer, but the meat hasn't been thawed. Sigh. Yep. I didn't prep for the prep day. So, I went on to plan B. Today I chopped a yellow onion, a green, an orange, a red and a yellow bell pepper. I also cooked chicken breasts in the oven (olive oil, water, salt and pepper) and made home made chicken salad. I know there will be preps I will need to do during the week, but today's steps will shave some time getting ready for my morning and getting out the door for work on time. It doesn't sound like a big deal or like a game changer when eating healthy, but it is. Weight Watchers and Beach Body (21 Day Fix) talk about the importance of planning ahead as much as is humanly possible. The times I am more prone to order and unplanned pizza or stop by a fast food place for greasy take out and a sugary soda are usually days of high stress and zero prepping. If you haven't tried doing night before or weekly prepping, maybe it's worth a try to see if it helps to keep you on track. I feel a lot more in control about starting my work week after a day of prepping today when comparing to last Sunday, when I didn't do the prep work and scurried in the kitchen Monday morning, trying to get out the door and get to work on time.

Walk in beauty and pace, my most excellent peeps.

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