HBEs. Meat. Storage.

I don't talk a lot about what I eat. Mostly it's because I'm not an adventurous eater. I stick to the same old things all the time because it's reliable & I know I can't screw it up. Personally speaking, it's a great way to stick to a meal plan & helps me to plan for the week.... plus, I save a lot of money by preparing food at home & bringing it to work with me. As such, I spent yesterday (Sunday) doing some of the prep work I usually do for the week. Here are my tricks-of-the-meal-plan trade.

1. Hard Boiled Eggs (HBEs). I eat about 8 eggs a day, for both breakfasts & "in betweeners." HBEs are a fast & easy way to get a dose of protein. Another thing I love about HBEs are transportability & lightness on the stomach. I suffer IBS, so I only feel top notch when I'm eating foods that don't weigh heavily in the belly. And no, I don't eat yolks. I eat way too many eggs & that would kill my cholesterol...also, I've never liked HBE yolk. Gross.

4.5 dozen eggs in a stock pot

2. Ground Turkey. This is my go-to meat source for lunches; my lunches trend toward ground turkey, brown rice, & mushroom stir fry. All prepared in advance, naturally. If I don't have ground turkey prepared, I can substituent...you guessed it! More HBEs. If I have leftover meat from the night before, I'll often eat that for lunch as a treat. But mostly, it's about prepared Ground Turkey.

2 lbs of ground turkey...a bit more than I usually prepare for a week

3. Storage. I lovelovelove the fact we can now by super-cheap "tupperware" at the grocery store. You never have to worry about losing lids, it's completely dishwasher safe, & when it gets gross, throw it out & buy more! On any given Sunday, my fridge is completely full of containers. And Mr. X hates it because he hates trying to fit them all in the dishwasher & putting them away in an organized fashion. For me, they're a lifesaver.

Side note: also good are sandwich-sized baggies of the Ziploc variety. Small enough to fit snacks & not over-indulge if you put treats in them.

Ziploc, Gladware... cheap tupperware is awesome!

I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not a professional dietician or anything of that sort. These are simply my tricks that get me through the week to help me stick as close to my meal plan as possible. It's not always easy... sometimes there's nothing I can do but eat a bag of Doritos & call it a day. But when fresh & healthy food is grab-&-go out of the fridge, it makes it easier for me to stick to my goals. All it takes is a couple hours on a Sunday to get it all together. And since I'm normally racked out on the couch on Sundays, it's a much more productive way to spend that time. When people ask me how I've been able to lose weight/stay fit, I always refer back to these tips.

Now go buy some storage!