Tell me if you can relate…
A lot of people tell me one of the reasons they don’t meal prep is because either they or someone in their home won’t eat leftovers. (Spoiler alert...I'M one of these people)!
Understandable!
But guess what? It’s still possible to get all of the time-saving and stress-busting benefits of meal prepping WITHOUT having to eat last night’s dinner!
Here’s how: instead of cooking entire meals in advance, you cook and/or prep your INGREDIENTS ahead of time.
- Proteins
- Carbs like whole grains, rice, quinoa, etc.
- Pre-chop your veggies
Then, just before it’s time to eat, just assemble the meal from your prepped ingredients.
Some ideas:
- You could poach chicken breasts, brown turkey or tofu, or roast a chicken.
- Bake some sweet potatoes, steam some rice, or prep some quinoa.
- Chop onions, dice carrots, or slice peppers.
Having everything prepped and on standby makes throwing together a balanced meal fast and easy.
A chef friend of mine once told me:
“Cooking is easy. All you have to do is make sure all of the ingredients taste good. If they all taste good, then your meal will taste good.”
And it’s true!
You could create a taco or burrito bowl, make a stir fry, assemble a casserole, or even create one of my personal go-to meals when I’m busy: the Anything Bowl!
The Anything Bowl is definitely NOT gourmet but it is delicious.
All you do is combine a portion each of protein, starchy carbs, and vegetables in a bowl, and (this is the key) top it with your favorite healthy sauce or seasoning.
You could add guacamole, sriracha, low-sugar barbecue sauce, or coconut aminos. Heat it up, and voila! It’s time to eat.
Need some easy ideas for meal prep recipes? Grab my free Fast & Easy Meal Prep Recipes eBook <<
If you make a recipe from this guide, take a picture and tag me on social media! I'd love to see it!
Yours in health,
Colleen Riddle, ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Young Living Gold Independent Distributor
Join my Facebook Group for more wellness info! Wellness With Colleen
850-598-7263
p.s. There's a group of people participating in the 28-Day Total Body Transformation program right now! It's not too late to join this supportive group to help you finally create the health changes you've been looking for (some people are on week one and others week 3)! If you are ready to finally ignite your energy, lose the weight, and feel more confident, join us now! 28-Day February Group
Tammy is in her third week and shared, "I'm down 9.5 pounds, but the best part is I'm feeling so much better. I'm loving the delicious meals, and I'm getting in all of my exercise!"
Interested in ways to support your wellness with chemical-free options? Click HERE!
My husband cooks 98% of our meals (yes, I’m a VERY lucky woman)! One of my goals is to cook a little more often and try new, healthy meals. This turned out awesome, and it was so easy.
Side note, usually when I try to surprise my husband with cooking, I screw it up, LOL (burning something, undercooking something, too bland, etc).
If you are like me, OR if you are an expert in the kitchen, try this yummy recipe!
Just chop up the veggies and whisk together the sauce – and you’ll have a delicious teriyaki-style dinner in less than 30 minutes.
(For a heartier meal, serve this with rice or quinoa).
Cashew-Shrimp Sheet Pan Dinner
(serves 4)
• 12 oz (340 g) broccoli florets
• 1 diced bell pepper
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil
• 2-3 pinches each of sea salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp coconut or liquid aminos
• 2 Tbsp orange juice (I used 10 drops YL Orange Essential Oil)
• Dash of hot sauce
• 1 lb (450 g) peeled and deveined large shrimp (fresh or thawed from frozen)
• ¾ cup (90 g) raw cashews
Preheat your oven to 400ºF/200ºC and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, toss together the broccoli, bell pepper, and onion with the oil, salt, and pepper. Pour onto the sheet pan and place in the oven, and roast for 10-12 minutes.
While that’s cooking, prepare your sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the aminos, orange juice, and hot sauce.
Remove the vegetables from the oven and add the shrimp and cashews to the sheet pan. Drizzle the pan contents with the sauce and stir to combine. Place back in the oven and roast until the shrimp are cooked through, 5-7 minutes.
Remove from the oven and serve. DELICIOUS!
Do you love to cook, or are you like me?
.Interested in ways to support your wellness with chemical-free options? Click HERE!
You’re in luck – check out this delicious, healthy Shamrock Shake recipe, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day!● 1 cup creamy oat milk (or cashew or almond)
● 1-2 handful of baby spinach
● ½ large frozen banana, sliced (I prefer half an avocado 
)
)● ¼ tsp pure peppermint extract (or 1 drop YL Vitality Peppermint Essential Oil)
● Sprinkle of cacao nibs
● OPTIONAL: 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
● OPTIONAL: ¼ cup of Greek yogurt and/or 1 tbsp honey
Pour the oat milk into a high-speed blender and add the spinach. Blitz until well combined and then add the banana, peppermint extract, and optional ingredients. Blend until smooth. Pour into a tall glass over ice, and sprinkle with the cacao nibs. Yum!
Interested in ways to support your wellness with chemical-free options? Click HERE!
Have you ever gone on a trip and found out you’ve been UPGRADED?
Maybe it’s for a flight, car rental, or even your hotel room.
Everything feels like a treat … better seats, better ride, better sleep.
Well … that’s what your body feels like when you UPGRADE your food choices.
When you STOP feeding it ultra-processed food and START giving it food that’s flooded with benefits (more fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc.), your body feels like it got an upgrade!
Basically, it’s all about SWAPPING out things that block you from your results …
and replacing them with foods that move you closer to your goals!
Here are just a few examples of upgrade swaps to try:
Chips → Nuts
Why upgrade? Potato chips contain very little in the way of positive benefits for your results or your health. They’re high in sodium, usually contain unhealthy fats, and their refined carbs can send your blood sugar up.
Meanwhile, nuts contain heart-healthy unsaturated fats, fiber, and micronutrients your body needs.
Fun fact: people who regularly eat nuts are 14% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease and 20% percent less likely to develop coronary heart disease!
TIP: Portion control is everything. One serving of nuts equals about 1 oz., or about ¼ cup (38 grams). Savor each and every bite!
Cookies/Cakes/etc. → Dark chocolate
Why upgrade? You’re swapping out all the unhealthy refined ingredients (sugar, white flour, unhealthy fats) … and you’re replacing it with an ingredient that actually helps you!
The cocoa in chocolate contains flavanols, which (among other things) can help lower your blood pressure and improve how your blood vessels function.
Again, it’s all about moderation – 1 ounce (30 grams) equals 1 serving.
Soda → Herbal Tea
Why upgrade? Most of us already get way too much added sugar.
The American Heart Associates suggests that women get no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar (24 grams) a day, and men, 9 teaspoons (36 grams).
But ... get this!!!
A single 12-oz serving of soda contains 7-10 teaspoons of sugar. GROSS.
Not only that, but studies link diet soda to weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease.
Herbal teas are a MUCH better choice. Some (like chamomile) can help you relax, others (like peppermint) can energize you, and some just plain taste great! I also drink my Ningxia Red daily. I like to mix with club soda for a boost of natural energy and massive antioxidants!
Steak → Salmon
Why upgrade? You’re swapping out saturated fats for healthier fats that protect your health.
Steaks, burgers, and hot dogs are all high in saturated fat that can raise your level of LDL (“lousy”) cholesterol that’s linked with heart disease.
But fatty fish like salmon and albacore tuna are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which most of us don’t eat enough of. These healthy fats lower how much fat is in your blood and cut back on plaque buildup in your arteries.
Pasta/Rice/Potatoes → Veggies ... Especially Green Veggies!
Why upgrade? For starters, most of us don’t eat nearly enough veggies.
If your diet is heavy on starchy carbs (like pasta, rice, or potatoes), one of the easiest ways to get more is to swap out a serving (or 2!) for vegetables.
Starchy carbs contain a lot of calories for how many nutrients they contain. Plus, they can raise your blood sugar.
By swapping in veggies instead, you can boost your micronutrient intake AND reduce inflammation that contributes to disease.
TIP: To add a little more snazz to your veggies, experiment with the recipes in my Tasty Sauces, Marinades & Salad Dressings Recipe eBook! If you missed it, here's the link: https://colleenriddle.com/landing/tasty-sauces-marinades
As you can see, upgrading your food choices has nothing to do with deprivation. It’s all about foods that taste great … and have great benefits.
Small changes really can make a big difference in your results, and in your life.
PS: If you’re ready to create a real change in your life, let me help you kickstart your journey with my 28-Day Total Body Transformation Program. For less than a cup of coffee a day, you will get a proven success plan including meals, grocery lists, community support, workouts, coaching, and more! Check out the details here. Our next group starts September 13th!
Interested in ways to support your wellness with chemical-free options? Click HERE!
This month I want to focus on one of the MOST IMPORTANT THINGS you can do when it comes to getting ACTUAL results.
And this one thing will also help:
- Your health
- Your workout/sports performance
- Up your energy levels
- Reduce painful joints
- The quality of your skin and hair
- Your heart
- Your brain
- How you feel now and into the future.
Big stuff, right?!
It has to do with what you EAT. If you've known me for a while, you've probably heard me say, "You can't out train a bad diet!"
Because there’s a direct line between your food intake and EVERY one of the things on that list (plus a lot more).
This isn’t groundbreaking news. But …
There might be something specific standing in your way of putting it into action.
FACT: There’s a type of food specifically engineered to make you crave more of it.
And this food product is also crammed with some of the worst things for your body that you can eat: added sugars, unhealthy fats, salt, and loads of extra (empty!!!) calories.
→ It’s “Ultra-Processed Food” – cookies, chips, donuts, candy bars, sweetened cereals, sweetened granola bars, fried chicken, white bread, mashed potato flakes, etc. – and many scientists agree it’s ADDICTING.
And even if it’s not ACTUALLY addicting, studies have found these “foods” stimulate the reward pathways in your brain the same way some drugs do.
So, not only is this “food” NOT GOOD for you, it makes you crave even MORE of it.
This is a huge area of research right now.
I put quotes around “food” because it actually bears very little resemblance to real food. It has basically been stripped of its nutrition (fiber and micronutrients).
I have a LOT of great info coming for you about these “foods” and shifting away from eating them.
BUT FIRST … it all starts with AWARENESS.
Start paying attention to what you’re craving (and what foods you are eating). Keep track!
Write down what you’re craving, and also when. Documenting all of this will help you find patterns - and it’s also a great way to start taking back control.
So that’s your mini-assignment for the next few days – notice the who/what/when/where/why of any cravings you have.
No judgment! Just pay attention and keep track.
Are you up for it?! Email me back and let me know.
PS: Ready to take your results to the next level? Check out my upcoming 28-Day Transformational Challenge. Begins Sept 7th... I can help you make it a reality!
Interested in ways to support your wellness with chemical-free options? Click HERE!
