The Magic of Meal Prep

Everyone is reading the

and I'm about to write a book on the Life Changing Magic of Meal Prepping. Game changer! I have talked about

before but today I want to talk to you about something truly life changing... meal

prep

. I mentioned that I've been really working to get back in shape and to get my family eating healthy (you can follow along

here

) and one of the biggest keys to success has been sunday meal prep. Here are some tips for making it happen in the kitchen to set you up for an awesome week of healthy meals. This literally removes the thinking process during the week freeing you up to spend more time doing things you love instead of stressing over dinner at the end of a wild day.

Tip #1

: schedule this on your calendar. I'm working really hard to make sundays all about church, family and preparing for the week. This was the first weekend I've been able to really keep it to just that but the older I get the more I realize that "you run your calendar or your calendar runs you." You HAVE to schedule yourself and your family in.

Tip #2

: have a plan. I have been doing the Tone it Up

bikini series

and purchased the bundle which included their nutrition plan and bikini series plan. Some of the recipes I love, some I have tweaked and some I have replaced with tried and true Graham favorites. Here is what I made this past sunday:

Sweet Potato Breakfast cookies

- similar

here

(you could also make these bomb

egg muffins

- make a bunch and freeze them and then pop them in the oven when you are ready to consume)

Healthy Crockpot chili

- this recipe is a winner.

You will need:

+ 1 lb of turkey

+ 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

+ 1 can roasted tomatoes

+ 2 cups vegetable broth

+ 1 onion, diced

+ 6 hearts of celery, diced

+ 1 bell pepper, diced

+ 1 jalapeno, diced (optional)

+ 1 T cayenne pepper

+ 1 T chili powder

+ 4 glubs of liquid smoke

+ 2 dashes of oregano

Simmer onions and celery for a few minutes in a large skillet then add the turkey and cook until turkey is browned. Add meat and veggies to crockpot. Pour spices, broth, beans and tomatoes in and stir. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. I like to top mine with a dollop of greek yogurt and hummus + 1/4 avocado and a bit of shriracha.

Quinoa

- make 1 cup dry (yields 4 cups cooked). I like to sub broth for water when making quinoa. This is great to have on hand to make breakfast quinoa, add to salads, or to create meals with veggie stir frys throughout the week.

Chop fruits + veggies

- I like having chopped onions and zucchini on hand for scrambles, cucumbers and strawberries for salads, sweet potatoes for quick roasting (love adding sweet potatoes to chili too!)

Sweet potato and Beet chips

- you can also make kale chips to snack on, these are so nice to have on hand. Just thinly slice, coat with evoo + sea salt and bake at 350 until crisp.

Infused water

- I love making a big, glass jug of water and cutting up cucumber, limes, oranges, strawberries or lemon and adding 2 drops of

peppermint, grapefruit, orange or lemon essential oil

. SO refreshing!

Pre-make salads

- put salad with rotisserie chicken in a big bowl and you are ready for dressing and toppings in a flash.

This dressing

is my new fave!

Chia pudding

- Such a great breakfast or snack. Take a can of full fat coconut milk and blend with real vanilla bean, 2 drops of liquid stevia and a pinch of salt. Pour mixture into

small jelly jars

. Stir in a scant 1 T of chia seeds, top and then shake one last time. Refrigerate overnight and then top with unsweetened coconut flakes, fresh fruit and

grain-free granola

Tip #4:

clean as you go! You should have seen my kitchen last night. Scary and it took forever to clean up. Cleaning up as you go is such a great time-saver. Do one thing at a time too so you don't burn something.