Thursday, April 23, 2009

Protein Packed Salad and Planning Ahead



I've been sticking to my guns lately-working out, eating healthy, staying off the sauce (coffee for me...lol) and it has really been working. I mean I'm not pulling Biggest Loser numbers but I'm losing and I'm feeling better.

I've been focusing on the amount of carbs, protein and fat I get each day by keeping a food journal of sorts. I'm doing it all online with the Sparkpeople nutrition tracker. I've used it in the past and it's really easy to use. You just plug in the food you eat or will be eating and the amount you ate and spark will automatically calculate calories and nutrients for you if its in their database.

I prepared a whole bunch of different meats on Sunday-chicken breasts, turkey burgers, ground turkey, thin sliced boneless chops and then individually packaged them and put them in the freezer. This has made things so much easier on me for weekly dinners. Now all I have to do is pull out the meat I'm going to use and maybe steam some veggies or cut some up for a salad and throw it all together.

This sort of planning ahead is working for me. I know when I forget my lunch or get lazy and don't have anything prepared for dinner is when the bad choices and binging starts. I really want to keep up having things prepared in advance.

Another great thing I've been picking up is the frozen veggies in the steamer bags. Nothing to do but pop them in the microwave-so easy. Kroger had a good sale on edamame in the steamer bags awhile back and I stocked up. So I steamed some edamame on Tuesday night when I got home and I've been using it since-taking a handful for a snack...throwing some in a salad or with some rice.

I threw this salad together last night on a whim and it took me all of ten minutes tops to get into the bowl and start eating. Its just edamame, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, romaine, and some grilled sliced chicken breast. This goes really well with balsamic dressing or try mixing a bit of hot sauce in with Kraft's Light Done Right Three Cheese Ranch...yum. I had mine with my new favorite dressing-Honey Dijon Vinaigrette.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahhh, this is what I should be eating. Matter of fact I was thinking about making a salad tonight because I've been eating horribly lately. Just looking at the salad makes me feel so much healthier.

You know what? I always thought the SparkPeople nutrition tracker was difficult to use because I never knew the portion size (cups, ounces, etc.) of my meal. So I just gave up :-(. Otherwise it was a cool tool though.

Congrats on being so disciplined. I don't think I could give up my coffee addiction ever!

You are so right, if you prepare your meals ahead it's so much easier to eat healthy. If I don't then I'm so tempted to just get lazy and eat out.

The salad looks amazing. Have you ever tried Brianna's salad dressing? (http://www.briannassaladdressing.com/). I've only tried the Dijon Honey Mustard one and love it.

bogartkick said...

I love veggie salads, and this one is really unique for me, and I think I wanna try that someday. If I can determine the procedure and ingredients of the recipe, I would love to cook it for my family, and its good for the health. Thanks for sharing!