Prepping for the Week Ahead

Sundays are my day to get myself together and be prepared as best I can for the upcoming week. 

Some Sundays I can get this all done first thing in the morning but today like most Sundays I do a little bit here and there and pull it all together Sunday evening.  No matter what though, I will not go to bed on a Sunday night until I have it all done.  The reason why is because I have found when I have a plan in place I stick to it and am so much more productive!! When I leave  it go (and yes I have done this a time or two in the past) my week does not run as smoothly as I would like.  So, I take the time to get it done!! One of my weekly non-negotiables!! 

If you want to be successful you have to take the steps to get there!!

What exactly is it that I do to prepare? 

I get asked this question often so this time I am spelling it out for you and honestly it takes very little time to do this all.  

1. Make sure I know what is going on this week and know where my family and I are suppose to be and when. I do this by comparing our calendars and making sure all is written down or make a note to follow-up.
2. I check out what I have in my fridge (don't want to let any food go to waste!) and what is on sale this week at the grocery stores SO I can do my next task and that is to meal plan!
I fought meal planning for a while but when I finally started doing it I could have kicked myself for not starting sooner - WHY? because I dropped close to 9 pounds in no time! It was yet another reminder of the importance of food and weight loss.
3. MEAL PLAN - I put it all down on paper what we are going to eat this week. If I need to, I look for new recipes based on what we are in the mood for. Um hello Pinterest, I love you!! along with some of my other clean eating websites, and my Les Mills Pump Nutrition guide (in my 12th week of Pump -eeek, only 1 more left!).
4. Monday is Produce Market, Tuesday is Grocery Store and Costco. After each trip I prep as much food as I can for the remainder of the week's meals. Slice and dice veggies, fruits, thaw meats (if needed), cook what I can ahead of time, etc.

and here is the finished product, my meal plan for the week...

Do you have a day each week you use to get yourself together and ready?

If not and you are you interested in healthier eating options or want to do an overhaul on your diet.  Let me know!  Together we can determine what is the best action plan for you.  See I am a Beachbody Coach and I help people reach their health and fitness goals - WHY? because I needed help at one point too and now it is my turn to return the favor!! Whether you want to learn how to eat healthy and/or want to incorporate exercise into your day - 

I have a solution for you! Join me!!

Have a happy Sunday!!

Now is the time to learn how to live a 

FIT, HAPPY, and HEALTHY Life 

and we will do it 

TOGETHER!!!!

~Alyson

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Homemade Quinoa Protein Bars

Who knew there were all these different recipes for this amazing food called Quinoa.  The more I use it, the more I love it.  So why is Quinoa so amazing you might ask?? It is very high in protein and has every one of the nine essential amino acids  These nine amino acids are the ones that your body cannot synthesize in quantities sufficient to sustain good health, so they need to come from food sources. Quinoa is the only plant-based protein to contain all 9 essential amino acids.  Many people think that quinoa is a type of grain, but its not.  Quinoa is actually the seed of a plant related to spinach.  Huh?  Who knew??  Another piece of information I found was Quinoa is grown in the mountains of Ecuador and was once called "the gold of the Inca's" because of how it increased stamina.  Little did the Inca's know "the gold" was also jam packed full of nutrients and amino acids. 

So if you haven't tried Quinoa yet, I would highly recommend it.  If you can cook rice, you can cook quinoa.  The proportions are the same: two part liquid to one part quinoa.  Bring water to a boil and add quinoa.  The only difference is time (which is another thing I love), quinoa only needs to simmer for 15-20 minutes.  You can substitute quinoa in any recipe that would use rice.


Okay, Okay enough about Quinoa, lets get to a new recipe I tried today.  I received this recipe from a friend and I am so thankful she shared it with me because these bars were delicious. Easy to make, packed with protein and nutrition, and perfect for our mid-morning snack. 

                 HOMEMADE QUINOA PROTEIN BARS

Ingredients...

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 rolled oats

1 banana

1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut*

1/2 cup chocolate chunks or go for a healthier variety and use 1/2 cup dates, raisins, or nuts**

Directions

1. Mix cooked quinoa, peanut butter, honey, and sea salt well

2. Add in oats, banana, egg, coconut, and chocolate/dates/raisins/nuts

3. Mix well and spread out mixture on parchment paper lined pan

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

This is what the bars looked like after taking them out of the oven

(well with the exception of what we ate)

*If you don't like coconut (which I personally love but could not taste it in this recipe) you could use 1/4 cup ground flax seed and 1/4 cup wheat bran as a substitute

**You can use anything you like.  The original recipe calls for chocolate chunks but I wanted to make a healthier variety so I choose raisins (my kids love raisins and I wanted this to be a snack for all of us).  

ENJOY - these are sure to become a family favorite.  

I have already written out the recipe card and it is now in our recipe box!!!!

Are you looking to eat good food but also want it to be healthy food?

Look no further - check out my other Clean Eating recipes HERE.  If this is not enough for you and you want to make a lifestyle change by incorporating Healthy Eating and/or Exercise CONTACT ME today.  I can help you learn how to eat healthy the clean eating way.  I have support groups that I put together to help provide the extra motivation, support, meal planning, and so much more to keep you moving forward!!

MESSAGE ME to learn how to lose weight, gain energy, improve regularity, decrease blood pressure, and oh FEEL GREAT!!!!

Whether you like working in a group or one on one, if you are even the slight bit interested,

GET FIT, GET HAPPIER, GET HEALTHIER

WE CAN DO IT TOGETHER!!!!

~Alyson

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