FAQ's: How to Meal Prep Without Prepping

I must be crazy, right? Meal prepping without prepping? Dead serious. I paid for it. I did a little research on getting freshly made meals delivered. Sounds pretentious, right? I thought so too at first. But, after having a week of rarely cooking, I no longer care how it sounds because it is SO CONVENIENT. I ordered my meals online: Freshly Website. (Super easy - they have pictures)

They came:

I ate.

The details:
Is it actually a meal?: Yes! I figured if I was going to pay someone to deliver it, I wanted a full meal - I didn't want to have to cook. I didn't want any weird diet meals and I didn't want only a protein. Real, fresh meal.

Is this part of a diet?: No. At least not that I've seen, but they are healthy meals. All natural ingredients (you can actually understand everything on the label), no added sugar and all gluten free which makes it easy for me. I don't have to look at the ingredients of each individual meal - I can just choose whatever looks good.

Are they frozen?: No. They're not supposed to be. They are however shipped with a bunch of ice packs, so although they aren't totally frozen, they can be a little frozen when you get them. I put about 4 meals in the fridge and 2 in the freezer to make sure they'll still be good by the time I get around to eating them.

How much do they cost: It varies based on how many you order. I did research ahead of time and it seemed to be the best deal I could find. They range from about $10-$12 per meal, but if you click on this link, you'll get a few free meals. I think that will bring the cost per meal down to about $8 or less - not bad to try it out. They bill on a weekly basis.

How many meals do you get?: You have the option of ordering 6, 9, 12 or 21 meals. They're delivered once a week unless you order 21 meals.. then they're delivered twice a week. I'm doing 6 meals for $69, but haven't paid the full price yet. I figured this would be good for 1 meal per day, I would meal prep for one meal (crock-pot, baby!) and breakfast is easy.

How do they taste?: So far, I've liked all the main dishes. The sides aren't all my favorite - good, but not always my favorite. When that's the case, I just mix the sides in with the main dish. The sauces are always great and for not having to do any cooking myself, I really shouldn't complain. Here are my top 3 meals so far: Pecan Pesto Chicken, Seared Pork Chop with Mustard Sauce, and Chicken Livorno.

Are they filling?: Yes, absolutely! I actually try to make sure I haven't eaten too much before I have one of these meals or I'll feel way too stuffed by the time I finish it.

Is that the only thing you ate?: No, as I said above, I also did do a little bit of meal prep. I found a recipe that required about 5 minutes or less of prep. I tossed the ingredients into a crock-pot and put it into Tupperware 8 hours later. Easy peasy. I also went out to eat a few times, which is why I figured I would only do 6 meals.

Will you keep ordering?: Yes, absolutely! As I mentioned at the beginning - it's SO CONVENIENT! The meals are filling, healthy, affordable and make life much easier for me. Meal prep without the prep? It's a no-brainer.

Ask away if you have more questions!

Thankful Thursday: Friendship

I love my family - I confide in them, I love being around them, I'll drop everything for them. But, family isn't always around. And because of that, today, I'm extremely grateful for all the good friends I've been blessed to have in my life. When family isn't around, it's nice to have friends who feel like family. Some of my friends have even become family. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many people who care about me (and who I care about). I wish I could fit everyone into a picture, but I just picked out a bunch from recent pictures I could find. So, please, don't be offended if you're not in the picture. Please know that I am sincerely grateful for each and every one of you who has ever had an impact on my life. I treasure each and every conversation, experience, dinner, movie, and bonding moment I've had with each one of you. So please know that you mean a lot to me and I'm so thankful to have you in my life.

How to Win

I FINALLY got in an early morning workout! It feels so good - it's invigorating. I feel like I'm winning. I'm still not quite back to my 5am's, but I'm sure I'll get there soon. I know what you're thinking - 5AM WORKOUT!? NO WAY. I know. It sounds a little crazy. I totally feel like an old woman when I tell my friends I want to go to bed early so I can wake up early to workout. BUT, once I started creating a habit, I realized how much I could get done if I get up early and workout. It literally feels like I have more hours in the day. As I've said before, I'm really not a morning person. It requires constant effort to get up early, BUT when I just get up, I accomplish so much more! Seriously, it's like I magically feel more confident. I'm automatically more productive and it seems like I'm so much better equipped to handle issues and stress throughout the day. It's probably because working out gets your endorphin's and adrenaline going. (At least that's what people say, right?)

So let the adrenaline kick in. It's only Wednesday. You still have so many days left in the week! Do what you can to get out of bed or off the couch. Get your workout in. And try waking up early. If you try it and hate it, you don't have to keep doing it. But give it a shot. Try it for a few weeks - maybe a month. I promise it will make a difference.  Remember - the hardest part is getting there. And once you get there, you'll be grateful. Because who ever regrets working out? Or being productive? It's a win. And we all like to win.

Here's my workout from today. If you need to adjust it - by all means!

Warm Up (3x): 

12 2 level box step ups each side

12 squats on bosu ball (ball up)

12 toe to ceiling raises 

12 sit ups w/ extended legs 

1st Set (Arms, standing on bosu ball, 3x):

2.5 lbs straight alphabet (both arms)

2.5 lbs 90* alphabet (both arms)

12 5 lbs hammer curls (last set w/ side wobble)

12 5 lbs bent over rows 

12 5 lbs biceps curls (last set standing on one leg)

2nd Set (Legs, 3x):

12 110 lbs adductors (out)

12 135 lbs leg press

12 135 lbs angled front squat machine 

12 40 lbs standing kick back machine, each leg

Who Decided Cardio Meant Running!?!

Don't get me wrong, if you like running, more power to you! But I don't. I hate running. I tell people I hate cardio, but that's not actually true. I hate the kind of "cardio" that has started becoming the norm. Running for 45 minutes? Count me out. Running for 20 minutes - I might do it on occasion. But when I run, I prefer to sprint because if I have to run, I want to get it over with as soon as possible. Stair stepper, bike, elliptical.... it's all the same. And I don't like it. That's the stuff that makes me anti-cardio.

So really, who said that cardio has to be any of these things? Although I do think cardio is overrated, I know it's important. BUT, the only way I do cardio is if I like it. My faves have become volleyball, zumba, football.. any sport really. I may not be able to play outdoors right now, but there are always people playing pick-up games and there are great Zumba classes at the Vasa Gym up on University. I got into zumba because I love dancing.

My strong opinion is that you should find things you love that can help you get fit. Play a sport, take a class, go for a swim, snowboard in the winter, wakeboard in the summer, run if you must. Whatever it is you enjoy, cardio that way.

#4: The Mental

Happy Monday! Here's the last of my 4 goals for the year. Ready for a full confession? I've noticed that I've been really negative lately. Like not just a little bit. I'm talking on edge, walk into a room assuming the worst, making everyone around me feel horrible and probably scared to say anything to me. Sounds like a person you wouldn't want to be around right? I don't either. And I especially don't want to BE that person. I want to be uplifting, vibrant, someone people want to be around - I want to be able to take a look at myself and be proud of who I am. Now don't get me wrong, I still think I'm pretty great. But I know I have my flaws. BIG ONES. This is no attempt at a "woe is me." This is just an honest look at myself. I've become negative. I don't like it. I want to change it. So my plan: do a Thankful Thursday (granted I've already started it, but I still needed to give you the background). Cheesy? Maybe so. But as we grow up, we sometimes realize that those cheesy things are actually really helpful tools. And what I've found is that it's extremely difficult to be negative when you're grateful. Want a challenge? The next time you get frustrated with someone, take a step back and try to think of 3-5 reasons you're grateful for that person. Even if it's a stretch. Just think of them. You'll be shocked at how much easier it is to all of a sudden understand and be patient with that person. So, here's to life. I am struggling so much that I need to publicly recognize the things I'm grateful for. I need to get to a positive place. This too will be a constant struggle, but I'm hoping it'll help me take a step closer to becoming that person that I really want to be.