Meal Prep and What I Buy

The weekend is coming to a close, unfortunately we lost a dear friend and we have spent most of our time this weekend with his family who we adore and consider family. As I wrap up the weekend I will be meal prepping and then going for my long run. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping for staples in our house and thought I would share where I shop and some of my staples.


Aldi's is one of my favorite stores to shop because I can save lots of money there and they do have organic options.

- Fresh Fruit
- Fresh Vegetables (I do check them because sometimes they can be towards the end of their life)
- Spreadable Cheese Wedges: Garlic or Pepper Jack (Like Laughing Cow)
- Cheese: Shredded, blocks, and string (If it is on sale somewhere then it can be cheaper at that store)
- Naan Bread (Love these for Pizza Fridays!)
- Caramel Corn Cakes (Great with Peanut Butter)
- Ranch packets
- Flavored Water with no sweetners (Like La Croix)
- Flatbread Wraps (Similar to Flat Out Bread)
- Eggs (We prefer cage-free, but I can only get those when I can get to Kroger because they are more economical)
- Fit & Active Bread (Just found this and it has great macros! 16C/0.5F/5P)
- Canned Goods (I honestly do not purchase a lot of canned goods, but needed these to try Poppy's Mexican Crockpot Chicken.)

Things not listed:
- Pretzel Thins
- Never Any! Turkey Sausage
- Greek Yogurt
- Organic Salsa
- Seasonal Items like their Seafood Ravioli or some of their yogurt flavors



Wal-Mart is not my favorite place to go, but sometimes I can only find things there so I suck it up!

- Flatout Bread Foldits (Love these for burgers or breakfast sandwiches.)
- Low Carb Tortillas
- Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt (I love all their flavors, but was craving some coffee and caramel.)
- Pico De Gallo
- Salsa Verde (I put this on my egg bowls every morning.)
- Greek Yogurt (I plan on trying this as a sour cream for our fajitas and for my lunches this week.)


I meal plan and prep so that I am successful throughout the week. It removes frustrations for me and makes it so much easier as I run from work to the gym and home everyday. I planned the following for this week...

Meal Plan for this week:
Breakfast: Egg Bowls
Lunch: Buffalo Chicken from Well Plated loaded on top of roasted potatoes with ranch nonfat greek yogurt and roasted broccoli (I did 30 grams butter, 30 ml of hot sauce, 1/2 cup of broth, 1/2 T garlic power, and 1/2 teaspoon with paprika)
Dinners:
- Fajitas from Skinnytaste
- Stuffed Meatballs
- Naan Pizza
- Cajun Ranch Turkey Burgers

I have a recipe for the Cajun Ranch Turkey Burgers, but I  am still working on recipes for the meatballs and I will do a link to both of those soon.

Love,

 

Jamie Lynn 

 



Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Happy Monday!

I am enjoying my last few days of eating all the food since my favorite girl just upped my macros! But that all ends this week when I go back into a cut. I doubt I will be fitting two doughnuts and steak into my cut numbers, but I am ready to slim down for summer. Regardless of whether I am cutting or reversing I can always fit today's recipe into my macros. Being a girl from the deep south that loves to celebrate Mardi Gras is a great reason to celebrate and eat. I want to share with you a recipe that is delicious whether you are celebrating Fat Tuesday with all the foods or if you are starting to slim down for summer.


Let me tell you about this Etouffee....

It is my favorite, I really am partial to this tweaked version from Strictly Paleoish. I found this recipe when I was Paleoing last year after a Whole30, I had been in a food rut and this took me out of it! I tweaked it because I am not only lazy, but now that I calculate macros I do not use the bacon grease. You can swap out the coconut and almond flour for regular flour and you can still use the bacon grease if you would like. The meats are your choice and mine vary based on what I need to hit my macros or budget. I like adding two meats each time and those vary between chicken, shrimp. crawfish, and sausage.

Paleo Etouffee (Macro-Friendly Style)
Serves 8

2 T (30ml)              Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil
3 cloves (10g)        Garlic Cloves
3 stalks (100g)       Celery
1/2 (100g)              Bell Pepper
1/2 (100g)              Onion
1 T (8g)                  Tapioca Flour*
2 T (18g)                Almond Flour*
2 T (20g)                Coconut Flour*
1 1/2 c (360 ml)      Chicken Broth
1/2 T -1 T               Garlic Powder
1/2 T                       Onion Powder
1/2 t                        Paprika
1/2 t                        Tabasco Sauce
2 or 3 pounds         Meat of your choice (I used Cajun Chicken Sausage by Johnsonville and cooked chicken breast)
                               Salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning to your taste
                               Cooked rice of your choice

* Could substitute these for 5 tablespoons of all purpose flour


1. Take your bell pepper, celery, onion, and garlic and put it in the food processor or Ninja and pulse it until you like the consistency. Do not skip out on these vegetables it is mandatory in Cajun cooking and is called the Trinity.

2. If you need to cook your chicken go ahead and cook it now with a little salt and pepper. 

3. Put the oil in a large heavy pot and get it warm on medium to low heat. Add the Trinity mixture and sauté them.

4. Mix the three flours together in a small bowl and add it the flour mixture to your pot and stir until it has a golden look to it. This can burn, so watch it carefully.

5. I like to add my spices at this point, only adding a little Cajun Seasoning since I can add more at the end.

6. Add the broth to your pot stirring vigorously, you can add it one cup at a time if you want a thicker etouffee. I like an etouffee that soaks into my rice, so I leave mine a little thinner.

7. Add the Tabasco Sauce and the meat at this point. I leave it on the stove on low for a couple of minutes to heat up the meat and let everything come together.

 8. Place over rice or rice or spaghetti squash and enjoy!

This day I added Cajun turkey sausage and shrimp.

 Let me know if you make this and what you think!

Love,

Jamie Lynn

Meal Prep Sunday's: Breakfast Bowls

Breakfast this week will be my Egg Breakfast Bowls. I love how much protein they have and how easy it is to make 5 for the whole week. I have topped these with smashed avocado when I have the fats, but most days keep it simple with salsa verde on the top.

 

 

The recipe for these are super simple and very adaptable for what fits your eating habits. I start by browning a roll of turkey sausage, there are tons of brands out there and the fats range with each one. I absolutely love my Mix N' Chop for when I am cooking my turkey sausage or any ground meat, it helps to break the meat apart and keep it in more easy to eat pieces.  

 

Mix N' Chop Pampered Chef



 I weigh the meat before I cook it and enter that total into a recipe into My Fitness Pal and after it has cooked I weigh it and divide that weight into 5 different glass bowls that have been sprayed with cooking spray. I love the Pyrex 4 Cup Glass Storage Bowls. I have found some similar bowls for a dollar at Dollar Tree that I like for the fact that if I drop them in the back parking lot as I am trying to leave work and they break it is not the end of the world. (Not that I have ever dropped and broke one, I am not a klutz!)

 

 

 

 

Next, I use a small mixing bowl to add in one egg, 3 egg whites, 28 ml of almond milk, and seasonings. I mix those ingredients and then pour it over the sausage. I continue this process 5 times weighing everything. You could skip the separate bowl and just mix it in the glass bowls, but I find that once cooked it sticks more and you have to scrub the bowls. I bake all of them at 350 for 25-30 minutes, this time will depend on the size of your bowls and what ingredients that you add to yours. I have added tomatoes, spinach, cheese, paprika, garlic powder, mushrooms and more to them. Be creative, it is like an omelet in a bowl.

 

 

I hope this helps to simplify your life like it has mine! Let me know if you come up with any great healthy combinations.

Love,

Jamie Lynn

Getting my Chipotle Fix

I love easy throw in the crockpot meals for during the work week. I prep all my breakfasts and lunches on Sunday so that all that I have left to deal with is dinner. I really only "cook" a few nights a week because I prepare enough of that meal to last us a few nights worth of dinners.

A few years ago I was shopping at Trader Joe's and their sample for the day was carnitas with salsa verde on their tortilla chips, I never turn down a sample at Trader Joe's, but to this day I think it was my favorite. Fast-forward to this year and now their is a Chipotle near my work and we are hooked. We love Chipotle, like too much! I am drooling just thinking about the carnitas and their fresh salsa: I love to load mine down with all the good toppings that they have. We seriously would eat there every night if our wallets would let us, but unfortunately we can't. A few weeks ago I knew my week would be a little crazy between teacher snow days, school delays, and Report Card Night so I planned to place something in the crock pot that would allow us to come home to a warm meal. I found this wonderful recipe that I tweaked from Harper at Paleo Grubs.

 I wish I could say that I had time to sear it since the day I did it we were on a school delay, haha! I just tossed the seasonings that she suggested with the meat in the crockpot and turned that baby on low and called it a day.

Easy Pork Carnitas adapted from Paleo Grubs 

Ingredients:

2 lbs Boneless Pork Loin

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

2 Tablespoons Onion Powder

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/3 Tablespoon Chili Powder

2 cups Chicken Broth

Salt to Taste

Frozen Onions and Bell Pepper Mix (optional)

Directions:

Place the Pork Loin in the crockpot and sprinkle all seasonings on top of meat, add the frozen onions and bell peppers, and pour broth into crockpot.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, mine cooked a little longer since no one got home in a timely manner, but it was still delicious. I saved the "broth" that it made to help warm it up since to me pork dries out when reheated.

I did not crisp mine up like suggested in the recipe because I was being a little lazy since by the time I got home I was ready to eat.

Both the hubby and I loved them just straight out of the crockpot. I topped mine with lettuce, cheese, and salsa verde.

Have you ever had Carnitas? If not give this easy recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Love,

Jamie Lynn