Prepping for My Week Ahead

Sunday Afternoon Prep Time

It’s Sunday.  It’s cloudy. I have a cold that I am trying to get over.  It’s going to be a busy week ahead and I’ve decided to get a jump-start for my mornings.

I will let you know that I am not a nutritionist, I am not a personal trainer.  I am sharing with you information that can be found in detail many other places (Pinterest, Google, etc.).  I am letting you know what I found works for me, Kathy.  The recipes in this post are basic recipes.  Fill in the blank recipes.  I am not going to tell you what type of milk to use, what type of protein powder to use or anything else.  That is not what my post is about.

What I will share with you is that I am 52 years old and up until two years ago, I rarely took the time to eat breakfast.  It was drink my coffee down while getting everyone, myself included, out the door.  Two years ago I wanted make a change.  I was exercising more regularly, but I had hit a plateau. I spoke with a personal trainer I work with and the first thing she asked me was if I was eating breakfast.  I answered truthfully, no. She told me that I needed to kick my metabolism into gear in the morning by eating breakfast.

That may sound easy, just eat.  Well, I will share with you that I seem to not have that gene.  My father didn’t, my son doesn’t.  It’s weird.  I am not actually hungry in the morning, so simply eating wasn’t so simple.   She suggested I add protein in some form into my morning routine.  So I did.  It made the difference.  I can tell when I do eat and when I don’t now.  I also know that preparation is the key for me. Here are my two favorite morning to-go breakfasts preps.

Overnight Oats

Overnight Oats are a wonderful invention if you haven’t tried them yet.  They are really quite simple.  Mix your ingredients together, put them into a container and let them sit overnight.  Today, I made three of each: blueberry (for my hubby) and blackberry (for me).

1. Look up and find several recipes that you want to try.  This one is my favorite.  I am a huge fan of fruit.  Many recipes suggest sweeteners in the form of jam, maple, honey etc.  I prefer the sweet that comes in my fruit and in my yogurt. You may feel different and that’s ok.  Find what works with you and your body.
2. When making the overnight oats, mix everything in a separate container (see photo above) and then pour into your 1 cup containers.  Mixing it after you have it in the container will result in a huge mess on the counter.  Take it from me.  I tried.
3. I make more than one recipe flavor so I can mix it up during the week.  Strawberries, mango, bananas, blackberries, blueberries…so many choices so little time.
4. You can also alternate it with something else for breakfast.  I make three of one flavor and have something else on alternating days.
5. Try to warm them slightly in the microwave if you don’t like them cold.  That is what my hubby does.  Make sure it is a microwave safe container.  30-40 seconds should do the trick.

Protein Smoothies

Protein smoothies are just like overnight oats.  You can find and make so many varieties that life is never dull.  I also like that they are make and take.

For me, I have found the best way to be consistent and make something is to find the easiest route to get there.  Yes, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line and that includes making a smoothie.  I love my handheld blender.  It is even better that I found one that fits in my blender bottle.  I simply toss in my ingredients, blend and go! No putting together a blender and having clean all that mess up afterwards.  No pricey Ninja.  No offense, I am sure they are great, but my $25 Wal-Mart hand blender works just fine.

1. Yes, I actually like the leafy greens in my protein smoothie when I am making one with fruit.  Sometimes I skip the greens, dump in some of my coffee and some raw cacao (2 Tbsp).  It is really up to you!
2. If you are like me and want to blend and go and don’t have a Ninja, make sure that you have a blender bottle that does not narrow at the bottom.  It’s really hard to blend well when you can’t get to all the ingredients, especially the ice.
3. Experiment. Try new flavors.  Mix it up!  My favorite?  Strawberry Lemonade.  I mix 1/2 c of strawberries, juice of 1 lemon and zest of half that same lemon.  Yum!

That’s All Folks!  Enjoy Your Week!