Good Morning sweet friends!
Many of you have met my dear friend and now TransFit Nutrition Consultant, Katie Woodall. Today, I wanted to give her an opportunity to share with you her best nutrition advice and a fabulous secret!
Hey guys! I am Katie Woodall, a Certified Nutrition Consultant for TransFit! I have loved working out side-by-side with a lot of you at the TransFit studio. It’s my pleasure to share my love for nutrition with each of you today!
Who wants to reduce stress and stay organized??? I know we all do- so here is the solution for you — meal planning! This was one of my 2015 New Year’s Resolutions. It not only saved me time after time from asking, “What’s for dinner,” but it kept me organized at home and at the grocery store. Instead of walking into the store with no plans and wandering up and down aisles, and back across the store because I forgot something, I went to the store with a plan! And a plan can help you spend less — as long as you stick to it!
Like most people, our New Year’s Resolutions include losing weight and toning up. Well, meal planning helps with your fitness goals, too! Muscles start in the kitchen, right?! I often tell people that you can work out 6 or even 7 days a week, but until you make healthier choices in the kitchen, nothing will change! You can start by organizing your family’s weekly meals.
3 Simple Steps to Getting Your Meals Organized
1. Set aside a day and time to plan! Put it on your calendar if you have to! Saturdays and Sundays typically work best, even if it’s just 30 minutes or one hour set aside.
When you find your block of time that works best, sit down with your healthy recipes and start planning for the week ahead. Include meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Yes, plan your snacks! Even if it’s a protein bar, write it down! One of TransFit’s blank meal plans can prove to be very useful.
2. Stay cost conscious! If you want to save a little extra money that week, take a look at the sale papers and plan your meals accordingly. What meats are on sale? Consider which fruits and veggies are in season.
3. Create your game plan! Once your week’s planned out, you can easily make your grocery shopping list. If you’re like me, I usually incorporate 2-3 shopping trips a week for fresh produce and meat to last through the weekend. After your calendar is full, go back and organize a grocery shopping list. Try to separate your list into different sections, like produce, dairy, dry or canned goods, etc. to make shopping even easier! And also when you’re at the store, it can help hold you accountable to your list and avoiding those extra items or treats around the store!
Let us help! Are you adding “Meal Planning” to your calendar right now or wondering still how to find the time for it? I’d love to help you! Part of TransFit’s nutrition services is meal planning. So if you’d like to save time, I can take the stress of meal planning away from you! I can create fresh meal plans for you and your family, including the recipes, and add one of our newest features — grocery shopping lists!
To make changing yours or your family's nutrition habits a breeze, let TransFit help you through the Healthy Family Meal Plan which can be found here http://www.transfitathens.com/new-products/healthy-family-meal-plan
or a Personalized Nutrition Plan found here
http://www.transfitathens.com/new-products/one-on-one-nutrition-consultation
These options and many more can be found in the TransFit shop!
To give you an idea of what a typical, healthy family meal plan from TransFit looks like, I’ve included one here. That’s five meals a day for seven days! Also, we’re sharing a few recipes from this plan, too.
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Balsamic Fig Dressing
Ingredients: (serves 2)
Dressing -
• 1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fig preserves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt to taste
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salad -
• 1 (10 oz) package of baby spinach leaves
• 1⁄2 Cup Craisins
• 1 cup Strawberries hulled & sliced thin
• 1⁄2 cup cooked, shelled edamame
• 4 oz crumbled Goat Cheese
• 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Preparation:
Mix vinegar, pepper, mustard, salt, and olive oil in a small bowl with whisk. In a large salad bowl, toss the remaining ingredients together. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve. Top with grilled chicken or salmon! Goes perfectly with homemade pita chips Enjoy!
Healthy Chicken Nuggets
6 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into 1⁄2 inch pieces) 2 pinches salt
2 pinch pepper
1 pinch garlic powder
2 tbsp light extra virgin olive oil
1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (or almond meal for lower carb option)
Olive oil cooking spray
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss chicken in olive oil and then season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic. Dip the chicken in bread crumbs until coated completely. Roll until nicely coated. Lightly coat a cookie sheet with spray and place the nuggets onto the tray and then into the oven. Bake until golden brown and cooked through (about 10-15 minutes).
For more on how we can help you organize your family meal plans, please email Katie at katie@transfitathens.com. Or if you’d like to learn more about our nutrition consulting services, log on to http://www.transfitathens.com/nutrition/.
Have an amazing weekend!
Team TransFit