Weekend Meal Prep for Weekday Meals- Links included for Some of the Vegan Meals

Having a general idea what I am going to make throughout the week is good.  If I actually take the time to prepared some of the meals ahead of time that is even better.  Most of the time I concentrate on making my lunch and snacks for the week ahead on Saturday and Sunday so that during the week I save as much time as possible in the morning and the night before work. 

Typically I make a salad mix, energy balls/bars, hummus/bean dip, sometimes a soup, and sometimes chia pudding or overnight oats. This week I have decided to make:

lemony white bean dip 

ginger date nut balls

black bean and quinoa salad with lime cumin dressing (a favorite of mine)

vanilla chia pudding that I will add fruit when I eat in for breakfast or snack

In the morning I  make my smoothies for either breakfast or after workout snack. If the smoothie is for breakfast I add along with my typically 3:1 vegetable to fruit ratio, nuts/seeds/coconut to make it more calorically dense.  An example of this would be: 3 cup of leafy greens, 1 cup of frozen or fresh fruit, 1 tbsp of nut butter or 2 tbsp of nuts/seeds/coconut, 1.5 cups of liquid (mostly nut/soy milk, some coconut water or water to thin out), and 1/2 scoop of plant based protein powder-- I am loving the taste and price of MRM Veggie Protein Powder right now.  I buy mine from Vitacost and that is where that link will take you if you are interested in trying out their product. If the smoothie is post workout, the 3:1 vegetable to fruit ratio remains the same, but then I do not add nut/seeds/coconut, and will use coconut water and water as a base with 1/2 scoop of the MRM veggie protein powder. 

As of this Saturday evening I have a general idea of what the Lewis clan is planning for dinner this week, I do believe we will make bean, rice, veggie enchiladas that should last two days and Thai coconut curry tofu sweet potato broccoli dish that should also last two or three days. The Thai curry dish is something that Lee usually makes and the enchiladas that I make is inspired by Healthy Girl's Kitchen: Kitchen Sink Enchilada Casserole.  We have those two meals about twice a month.  

My last two links I will post tonight are a workout and the the link to my 

Vegan Meal Planning page on Pinterest, which is where I keep all my recipe inspiration located. 

Here is the workout I did two rounds of while I meal prepping and typing this post up :)

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/273312271111272270/

Workout of the Week for April 19, 2014

I would like to introduce my first (of what should be many) 

Workout of the Week.

Each week or so, I hope to share one of my workouts. I am not trained or certified in personal training, but I have seen results in the workouts I create for myself. 

Perhaps these posts will inspire someone else to begin working out at home and that would be terrific. 

This is a dumbbell workout, targeting these main muscle groups: chest, back, thighs and glutes. The core, shoulders, triceps, and calves are secondary muscle groups being worked. 

My home gym equipment I am using today: 
             A fitness ball, 2-15lbs dumbbells, and a foam roller

The Workout:

Warm-up: I did a 3 minute warm-up of alternating jumping jacks and high knees.  

                  20 repetitions before switching off to do the next, repeating for 3 minutes 

Superset 1: Dumbbell (DB) Squat and DB Stiff-legged Deadlift

                     3 sets of 15 repetitions for each exercise.  I rested about 1 minute before beginning the next superset.  

Superset 2: One-armed DB Row and DB Chest Press on Exercise Ball

                     *3 sets of 15 repetitions for each exercise.  I rested about 1 minute before beginning the next superset.

Giant Set: Exercise Ball Leg Curl with Upright DB Row and 

                  DB Curtsy Lunge with Alternating Push-up with Foam Roller

                 *I did these 4 exercises back to back for 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions each.  

                  At the end of the Giant Set I rested for about 30-45 seconds before completing the set again. 

    

    

And that concludes my workout.  This took me about 35 minutes and I did stretch afterwards for about 5 minutes.  

Post Workout Nutrition: 1/2 scoop of MRM Chocolate Veggie Protein Powder mixed with water and about 45 minutes a PB and Berry Jam sandwich on whole wheat.  

For the most part I try to limit how much wheat I eat, but every now and then, a PBJ is where it is at!. 

Stay tuned for next post as I will cover what foods I make over the weekend to help me save time preparing meals during the week.