Meal Prep 101 - Part II.

Now that you've mastered grocery shopping, it's time to master the kitchen. 

I'll be the first to admit that meal prepping can be frustrating. The first time I attempted "meal prepping" I spent an hour grocery shopping, and 6 hours in the kitchen cutting, chopping, cooking, weighing, and cleaning. I share this with you because I do not want this to be you. 

Like any habit, the more you meal prep, the faster you will become. Here are my quick and easy meal prep tips to help you spend less time in the kitchen, and more time doing what makes you happy. 

Pro Tip #1: Have a Plan 

Before you can meal prep effectively and efficiently, you must have a plan. What meals will you be needing this week? Do you need to prepare breakfast, lunch, supper, and snacks each day? Will you be eating on the road, at home with family, or out at an event? Once you know how many meals you will be preparing, have a general estimate of how much food you will need per meal in terms of quantity of macronutrients - proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. 

Pro Tip #2: Start with the Protein 

Typically, protein and any starchy carbs will take the longest to cook. Start the oven, or barbecue and get your meat and starchy carbs ready to cook. Once you have done this, sanitize the kitchen, pop your protein in the oven, and begin the remainder of your meal prepping while your protein is cooking.

Simple Idea's: Cook chicken in oven, brown turkey meat or lean ground beef on the stove, hard boil eggs, barbecue steak or chicken breasts, saute strips of chicken or beef for stir fry. 

Pro Tip #3: Maximize Your Time 

After you get your protein cooking, you can maximize your time and your kitchen by also using your stove and other oven racks. Layer a tray with tinfoil and toss your vegetables in some olive oil and place them on another rack in the oven, or steam your vegetables on another burner on the stove. The more you get used to meal prepping, the more you will be able to multi-task and cut down on the time it will take. While everything is cooking you can wash and measure any fruit, nuts, or other sides that will round out your meals and snacks. 

Pro Tip #4: Assembly Line

Have your containers out and ready to go. As you chop, you can put all of your meals in the appropriate places. You may organize your containers by days of the week (Monday - Friday), or by meal (all breakfasts together, lunches together, etc). This way, you can see the week ahead of you right before your eyes. 

Pro Tip #5: KISS - Keep It Stupid Simple 

If you're in a hurry, or find meal prepping overwhelming, keep it as simple as possible. Buying a roasted chicken and peeling off the skin, or adding a can of tuna to a salad can be a quick and easy protein solution. Save time on chopping by purchasing pre-cut or frozen vegetables when you need. You can now buy individual portions of guacamole, hummus, and peanut butter making packing, and eating on the go convenient when short on time. 

Pro Tip #6: 

Have a cooler, lunch bag, or proper storage and travel system for your food. The last thing you want is your food spoiling, or leaking in your bag, car, or office. There are many different storage options. For relatively cheap you can purchase ice packs and lunch bags at Wal-mart. For more fashionable, or travel friendly bags, my personal favourite is 6-pack bags, which can be found online at https://www.sixpackbags.com/. 

Watch the video below for my favourite bags, and check out Facebook on Friday for a video of me in the kitchen sharing my meal prep routine.

Stay Tuned! Come back next week, as I will be sharing my easy "hacks" and quick and delicious time saving idea's (think taco salad, and extra ways to quickly and conveniently add nutrients into your food). 

Grocery Shopping 101

80% of health and weight loss comes from nutrition. But before you can start eating healthy, you have to learn how to shop healthy!

Here are our top tips for navigating the grocery store and setting your meal preparation, and your week of nutritional success. 

Tips For Being a Professional Shopper: 

1. Know Before You Go

What is it that you need? Break your list into macronutrient categories. For example, Protein, Carbohydrates, Healthy Fats, and Miscellaneous items (think herbs, spices, etc... not things down the junk aisle). Personally, I arrange my grocery list in order of the items and aisles at the grocery store (I am sure that I could shop blindfolded). 

2. Shop the Perimeter

Did you know that the whole food options surround the entire grocery store? Start here. Make one lap around the outside of the grocery store, picking up all of your essential items. Most, if not all of your items should come from this area, with the exception of any frozen vegetables and fruits. After you have shopped the perimeter, venture down any aisles that you know that you need items from. Stay away from aisles you don't need anything from. Purposeful shopping will help keep us on track nutritionally, and financially. 

3. Don't Shop Hungry

You've heard it before, and I'll tell you again. Do not shop on an empty stomach. Studies have shown that customers who shop on an empty stomach not only purchase more, but also purchase items that are not on their list, and items that are less nutritionally dense. Surprisingly, this is proven not only in the grocery store, but across the spectrum. One study concluded that even when shopping for office supplies, customers were likely to purchase more items, and spend more money when hungry. Eat your healthy snack, and then shop for best results. 

4. Read Labels

While you may feel silly picking up multiple items and comparing the food labels, it will make a significant difference in your waistline. Labels can be extremely misleading. As a general rule of thumb, choose items with the least amount of ingredients (5 or less), and with ingredients that you can pronounce. While many disclaimers can be misleading ("low fat", "sugar free", "low calorie") look at the macronutrient values, the sugar and sodium contents, and the serving size. Sobey's "blue label" items are often wise choices when compared to other brand label choices such as pasta sauces and canned items. 

5. Go Local

When possible, look for local, natural, and organic sources when available. The local farmer's market in the summer is a great place to get local produce and establish connections. Although not all farmers markets run year round, you can often contact them to purchase farm raised eggs or look for locally grown grain products at select stores in the community. Here, you can purchase many locally grown items at Nutter's. 

6. Clip Coupons

Extreme Coupon-ing isn't only for television. Look at flyers ahead of time and make your lists according to the flyers. There are often key items on sale, and you can even begin to catch on to the rotating sales. For example, chicken breasts cycle on sale every 3-4 weeks, so I will stock up, portion some out in freezer bags and be set until the next sale.

7. Get Creative

 I try to look at the flyer each week, and choose one item that is on sale, or one new item I don't regularly purchase, and try to come up with a healthy and creative way to cook it. Sometimes I use my own cravings and creativity, and sometimes I will use pinterest for inspiration. For example, cauliflower was on sale, so I bought a head and made cauliflower buffalo bites by broiling cauliflower in the oven and then tossing it in a mixture of greek yogurt, ranch spices and franks red hot. I also bought a rutabaga and made rosemary parmesan "fries" by slicing up the rutabaga, tossing it in parmesan olive oil, fresh rosemary, and sprinking with fresh parmesan and then roasting it in the oven until the fries were crisp. Incorporating new foods is fun, and is key in keeping variety in the diet - both for sanity and nutrient wise. Eating the same foods day in and day out can actually lead to nutritional deficiencies. 

Smart shopping is essential to keeping nutritious foods stocked and readily available.

The Most Important Workout You Can Do This Week

Little did you know, the most important workout you can do this week can be done at home. 

If you're serious about getting results, there is one workout that will help you more than anything else. It doesn't involve burpees, running, or even heavy lifting. The most important workout that you can ever do is not even performed in the gym, it takes place in the grocery store, and the kitchen. 

Time and time again, I hear people say, "I don't have time to eat healthy", "I don't have time to meal prep", and to those new to fitness and nutrition, "well, I'm exercising, so I don't need to eat healthy". Yet, I often see these very same individuals at the studio multiple times a week.

I understand what it is like to be busy, to be run off your feet, living off of coffee and pre-workouts just to survive the work-week and still make time to exercise. But if you've ever been there, or this is you. I want you to do something, I want you to skip your next workout. 

You heard me. I want you to skip your next workout. 

If you do not have your nutrition planned for the week, meals prepared and ready to go, or time carved out this week to prepare and eat nutritious meals, then you need to skip your next workout and prioritize your nutrition instead. 

While this may seem like a foreign concept, when you do the math, it makes complete sense. Sure, you can burn anywhere from 300 calories and up per fitness class. But there are also 3500 calories in one pound of fat. And if you're not prepared and making poor food choices during the week, you will most likely be taking in additional calories above and beyond the amount that you will burn during a single workout.

Therefore, the best way you can invest in your health, and your overall achievement of your goals is to skip one workout, and invest your time in setting yourself up for a weeks worth of nutritional success. Now, if you have the time in your schedule, your week is planned and your meals are prepared, I fully expect to see you at all of your regularly scheduled fitness classes, and achieving your fitness and nutritional goals. 

Even if it's taking an hour, running to the grocery store and picking up a deli roasted chicken, and some pre-cut vegetables and portioning them into a few meals, every little effort to setting yourself up for success counts.

Find meal prepping stressful, boring, or extremely time consuming? Join us next week for our blog on the best and easiest meal preparation plans, tips, and ideas. 

Real People. Real Results; Meet Wanda.

“I feel better.”

Three simple words.

Three words that describe what the TakeDown Challenge and now, the TakeDown Lifestyle have done for me.

When I first learned of the Challenge in early January, I thought, “Why not?  I could stand to lose a few pounds.”  Little did I know that joining the Challenge would impact my life is such a positive way.

Gone are the days of eating chips and dip regularly in the evening. Gone are the days of eating extra-buttery microwave popcorn.  Gone are the days of eating just for the sake of eating.  Does it sound like I’m denying myself?  Perhaps to some.  But I’ve learned healthy eating and regular exercise is worth it.  Why? 

I was a regular migraine sufferer, having migraines that could last four days or so.  Migraines that felt like someone was pulling on my eyeball and made me feel like doing nothing.  Since following the TakeDown Challenge, I have had one migraine.  Just one migraine in 4+ months!!  I firmly believe it’s the results of the healthier lifestyle habits I’ve developed.

Other positive results – I’m sleeping better, I have more energy, my clothes fit better and best of all, I’ve met many new friends at Encompass who encourage and support each other.

Please remember, the TakeDown Challenge isn’t a diet.  You get to enjoy so many yummy foods and snacks like smoothies, French toast, Mexican chicken soup, steak salads, Greek chicken pizza, beef jerky, and peanut butter protein balls.  I honestly don’t even crave the “junk food” anymore.

But I’m saving the best for last.  I cannot say enough about the staff at Encompass Fitness.  Through this all they have been positive, encouraging, ready to answer any questions, supportive and motivate us to be the best that we can be, even if we don’t think we can do it at times.  Brady, and staff have made me realize how my health has to be a priority, and is one that I enjoy taking care of.

- Wanda, TDC Participant 

Wanda lost over 20 pounds with the TDC program; changing her life, her habits, and her lifestyle.  

Sign up NOW to join the TakeDown Challenge and you too can change how you look and feel. 

---

Meet Carolyn, the creator of the TakeDown Challenge. For more information, or to see if the TakeDown Challenge is right for you, click here.