Growing up, my favorite thing to eat was waffles with brown sugar and cream. Holiday dinners would often come and go without a single vegetable dish being prepared or served. I lived off of saltines and cheese whiz in high school. I didn't know how to cut open an avocado until I was in my mid-20's. Eating a nutritious diet just wasn't part of my early years, but I got away with it for the most part because I had a teenager's metabolism. Fast forward just a couple years and I got really overweight in college. I was miserable, but I was taking 18 credits plus working part time so there was no time to focus on weight loss. I told myself that I would just get through graduation and then would focus on eating better...and that's what I did. Or so I thought.
You see, I cleaned up my diet a little, but still I was working so hard in the gym to maintain a healthy weight. And that worked for me (sort of) when I was younger and had the endurance to do that. But in my mid 30s through now (my early 40s), I have had to take a closer look at my diet in order to be gentler with my body. Figuring out how to eat healthier has taken some trial and error. This is true especially because when I get hungry, if I don't have food prepped, I grab whatever junk food is easily accessible. But now I am in the swing of things with my food prep Sundays!
I have been talking about food prep Sundays for a couple of years and so I regularly get questions on "what do I prep?" And here is the answer:
· Organize Tupperware cupboard
· Wash apples / grapes, etc. for easy munching.
· Wash, peel (as needed), and dice veggies (onions, sweet potatoes, kale) and pre-cook bacon (yes, I eat bacon). Veggies and bacon are used for breakfast (usually egg scrambles or simply sautéed veggies with avocado).
· Cook side veggie dishes such as Brussel sprouts and / or beets baked in balsamic vinegar or mashed cauliflower with coconut milk. Nom nom.
· Cook chicken breast on the BBQ or in the crockpot for use on salads & in veggie scrambles.
· Pre-make five salads (one for each workday) - but leave the dressing on the side.
· Pre-make one soup (I try to stay away from cream-based soups or use a coconut milk substitute).
· Desserts (and, yes, I eat desserts too). Here are my favorite recipes: Coconut Milk Sorbets and/or Paelo Pumpkin Bars (I substituted Tigernut flour with Cassava flour which I found at our local Walmart).
Many of the women I train with are in their 20s and 30s, so although this post is for anyone of any age, my hope is to help those younger generations figure it all out more quickly and easily than I did! If you have any favorite food prep pointers, I would love to hear from you! XOXO, Mindy
Article by Mindy Cochran. Mindy is a practitioner, teacher, and performer of aerial silks, aerial hammock, and aerial hoop; as well as a health columnist for Montana Woman Magazine. Her column shares expertise for elevating health & wellness which she has acquired through her certifications as a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and life coach. To connect with Mindy on Instagram, please visit: www.instagram.com/aerial.mindy; or visit her Linktree here.
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