My Meal Prep Essentials!

Something I learned a lot about in 2021 was meal prepping. I did a 12 week program with a coach (Allisonlloydfit on Instagram) who helped guide me through a reverse diet, and she helped me find some awesome foods that were still tasty, but macro friendly! When I first started the program, Allison being able to see what I ate every day was one of the scariest parts. I did not have a good relationship with food, and I thought everything I ate was bad. It turns out one of the main reasons eating proper foods what is difficult for me was that I never planned what I was going to eat. I didn't have any idea on how many calories or carbs I was supposed to be eating, and learning that through my program was easily one of my biggest takeaways.

I am an extremely picky eater so when this program started I was spending so much time grocery shopping and trying a bunch of different foods trying to figure out what would help me hit my protein, carbs, and fat goal. I wanted to share with you guys some that I found that I became an essential to my every day eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

BREAKFAST

My typical daily breakfast includes egg whites + one egg, paired with either a bagel with cream cheese or the buttermilk vanilla Kodiak Cake protein waffles! Whatever one I don’t have in the morning will be a snack later in the day! I also might add a serving of strawberries or a banana.

LUNCH

On my days off I don’t typically have a lunch meal, maybe a smoothie paired with a few of these items as snacks. When I'm packing my lunch for work, these are a few items I always have packed.

I always have a protein bar from ZonePerfect. My absolute favorite is the fruity cereal bar! I’ll keep this in my fanny pack for when I need a snack before my lunch break. You can find them at Target.

I have never been a yogurt fan. I had actually tried before, and I think the texture was what I didn’t really like. I found the Chobani flip yogurts that have little toppings to put in, and I've become obsessed with the cookie dough. I definitely have one of those every single day. They have so many flavors and that makes it easy to switch it up through the week!

I love packing a fruit salad with me for work as well! Aiming to eat three fruits was something I started with Allison and continues to be a daily goal for me. It’s also a great way to get in some good carbs! I will usually weigh out a serving size of things like strawberries, grapes, watermelon, pineapple, or take an apple! Throw any of your three favorites in a cute container and you have a super refreshing and super filling snack!

Learning proportion sizes was another huge takeaway from Maximize You! If you don’t have a food scale, order one immediately!

Turkey burger is typically how I get my main chunk of protein for the day in my lunches, besides a protein smoothie. I weigh them out at 4.5-5 oz with my dandy little scale I just mentioned. I was on a chicken kick when I first started my program but I got tired of it pretty quick. Recently I switched it up a few times for a plain hamburger just for a change.

DINNER

I’m a big breakfast for dinner girl. I love making an egg and cheese sandwich on an english muffin and adding either my waffles or bagel with it! If I don’t end up taking my break at work, I will have the burger when I get home at 3-4 and then my breakfast food I eat later in the night.

I also typically have my protein smoothie sometime in the evening or after whenever I workout. I use 1st Phorm Ignition as a quick carb replenishment so if I’m not drinking it right after a workout I’ll leave that out or do half a scoop! If I know I still need the extra carbs I’ll do the full scoop!

My go-to post workout smoothie!

• One cup of sliced strawberries

• One banana

• 1st Phorm Vanilla Milkshake Protein

• 1st Phorm Ignition

• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds

• 2 tablespoons of PB2 powdered peanut butter

The last time I went to Kroger I picked up some spinach to add into my smoothies because greens is one thing I think my diet is missing. I also need to continue focusing on hydrating again like I was this time last year! For those who follow my Instagram, you know I love my gallon water bottle. Sadly it was leaking so bad so I threw it out and haven’t ordered a new one. I have a few huge bottles I take with me and try to at least get a few liters in each day.

I hope you enjoyed this little post about the things I have found that really helped me get a good reverse diet going and now I have been focusing on maintaining, while still training hard during my workouts! I’m no expert but I definitely recommend following Allison (again @allisonlloydfit) on Instagram because she shares awesome knowledge every single day!