Overnight Oats: Breakfast, Lunch or a Snack on the Run!

I love oatmeal!

Please do not confuse those pre-packaged instant oats, with real oatmeal. Blah!

They are not the same. They come with much more than oats and fruit, as indicated on the front of the box.  Turn that box over and read the ingredients.  Those extra things that you can't pronounce...well, the body can't "pronounce" them either. And the SUGAR...don't get me started!

BUT convenience doesn't have to come with a cost!

These Overnight Oats are not only simple, delicious, (and dare I say) MORE convenient than those packets.

Simply prep on the weekend or the night before and EAT!

That's it!

To make these tasty, quick Overnight Oats you will need 1 cup containers.  Gather up as many as you want to make!

Ingredients for 1 serving:

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or any liquid: water, soy milk, cow's milk, rice milk, etc)

small handful of blueberries

1 tsp shredded unsweetened coconut

sprinkle of cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a jar or container, cover and refrigerate overnight!

The next day, stir and eat cold or heat in the microwave for 1 minute.

Enjoy!

There are lots of variations for Overnight Oats!

If blueberries and coconut isn't your jam, try any combo of these:

1 tsp cocoa powder

Berries: strawberries, blackberries, raspberries

Banana

Chocolate Chips

1 tsp peanut butter, almond butter or seed butter

Want some extra crunch and texture? Top off your oatmeal with some pecans, walnuts, almonds or sunflower seeds just before eating! 

So many options!  This week I wanted to taste test them first, but next weekend I will be setting up an assembly line of topping options and letting my kids make their own. A quick and easy breakfast that will make itself overnight in the fridge!

Which combo will you try first?

Meal Prep for Week 1 of 21 Day Fix Extreme

You know how every time you watch the Food Network you get hungry?

You're looking at food, thinking about food, "tasting" the food as they describe it.  How could you not get hungry? I know I do! Yet, we do this to ourselves everyday when we don't have a meal plan.  We spend our days thinking about what our next meal is going to be. Do I have the ingredients? Do I have to stop at the store? Maybe I'll just pick something up? This opens the door to making food decisions when you are hungry. In my case, that NEVER ends well.  I LOVE meal planning because it takes the thinking out of my meals. I do not have to wonder what I am eating for dinner, or my snack, because all I have to do is check my meal plan.

I am a planner, list maker, and organizer extraordinaire!

I also know, that there are not many other people that love making meal plans. Haha! So, I want to share with you what I planned for this week and how I prepped. :)

First, some background.  I chose to do 21 Day Fix Extreme for several reasons:

1. This program was just released, so I HAD to try it!
2. 21 Day Fix (the original) will always hold a special place in my heart because this is where I started. This was my first program that I actually followed the way it was supposed to be followed, and it was the first program that I EVER completed. EVER.  How could I not give the Extreme version my best shot?
3. I just finished Insanity Max:30 and I am ready for a new challenge!

21 Day Fix Extreme comes with a specific eating plan that focuses on balance, portion control and clean eating.  The original 21 Day Fix comes with portion control containers, and lists of foods "allowed" for each container. The Extreme version is the same, only it "cleans" up the food lists a bit, and eliminates the treats.  21 Day Fix Extreme also comes with the Countdown to Competition Plan that Autumn Calabrese uses when she is preparing for a competition. I am going to try to follow her Countdown to Competition plan.  It's a lot of protein, but I want to prove to myself that I can do it! Using the lists of foods provided and the number of each container you are allotted, you make your meal plan. Some people can just wing it and keep tallys throughout the day of each container they have eaten.  I cannot do that. I must plan. I must know that I will not only have green (vegetable) containers at the end of the day.  Plus, I LOVE food. Making a meal plan allows me to sit down, plan out my week of meals, including the grocery and prep list, and then I don't have to think about food any more. 

**I will be sharing my complete meal plan after I have tested the menu this week!**

Meal Prep takes this to a whole new level! The best part of meal prep is not only do you not have to worry about what you are eating for your next meal, you don't even have to make it! It's already done for you, ready to heat and eat!

Do you have any idea how much time you could save if you meal planned and prepped? A LOT!!!! I spent 3 hours on Sunday prepping my food for the week. 

I made:
*double batch of turkey chili
*double batch of hearty beef and butternut squash soup
*hard boiled eggs
*asparagus
*washed/sliced 3 packages of strawberries
*sauteed mushrooms and onions for omelets and steak
*sliced peppers and onions for Chicken Fajitas

This means only one round of dishes. One round of chopping. One round of clean up. Everything is portioned and prepped, so all I have to do now is check my meal plan and pull out what I am eating. So simple.  It makes it so much easier to eat healthy because it's already done and ready! Plus, it saves me SO much time during the week.

Have I sold you making a meal plan yet? ;)

2 SECRET WEAPONS to Healthy Eating

Secret Weapon #1:  Shakeology! I know, I know... You didn't see that one coming! ;) But seriously, drinking Shakeology daily makes a HUGE difference! Shakeology keeps my nutrition ON POINT. I know my body is getting all the vitamins and nutrients it needs plus it helps reduce cravings, increase energy, and keeps me feeling full longer.

Secret Weapon #2: There are lots of ways to eat healthy, but for me, it is the easiest when I plan ahead.  Knowing what I am going to eat and having it prepped ahead of time makes it much easier to stay on track.  I am going to share with you my easy way of meal planning for myself and my family of 4.  This means only one trip to the grocery store, 1-2 hours of food prep for the week and a the menu never gets boring! It's definitely not fancy, but it's PRACTICAL and this method has served me well!

I thought about typing it up and making it look nice. When I create meal plans to share with my customers I do that, but I wanted to share what it looks like day to day, in my house.  I do not take the time to make it look fancy.  I want something that is quick and easy. A routine that is simple to keep up. This system works well for my family.

The first thing I do is write down my menu plan.  I LOVE to plan, and with my family's busy schedule it is easiest for me to plan every meal and snack for the whole week.  Here is my meal plan for this week:

I printed off my Meal Planner and put it in a sheet protector.  I write out all my workouts, meals and snacks with a dry erase marker so I can easily change it next week.  I keep it on my fridge for easy access and for everyone (including the husband) to see.  The current version is what I have planned for myself and my husband to eat.  Next I will add to this in a different color what my kids will be eating for breakfast and lunch.  From this meal plan I create my grocery list.  One trip will last us all week!

**Fellow moms: I know you can appreciate only dragging the kids to the store once a week!

So how I do I decide what we are eating every week? It's easy! Behind the Meal Plan in the sheet protector hanging on my fridge, I printed a blank calendar that has a month's worth of meals I know my family loves already written down. 

From this calendar I choose what we will eat that week.  Sometimes I will look at the ad for our local grocery store and choose meals that have items on sale. Other times I am in a hurry and just pick whatever is easiest, but mostly I just choose whatever sounds the most delicious to me at the moment. I love trying new recipes so I usually include at least one new recipe each week (thank you Pinterest!)

"Ummm...Kayla? You keep saying you plan for the whole week but most of Friday, Saturday and Sunday are blank? What do you eat on the weekends?"

Great question! (This is one I get a lot!) I will fill in the weekend about midweek, because at my house even the best plans never go exactly as planned. So, by midweek I will know which dinners were bumped because we had too many leftovers, or which night we will go out to eat, etc, :)

I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment if you are going to try this at your house!

Have a Happy, Healthy Day!