Something I’ve started doing recently is meal prepping. For those of you that don’t do it, I’m going to explain all the benefits I’ve noticed since meal prepping. I’ll also give you a little idea of what meal prepping looks like for me.
For one, meal prepping helps me to make healthier food choices throughout the week. If I already have a healthy prepared lunch in the fridge I am less likely to grab fast food or snack foods instead of a meal. It is a huge timesaver as well. It may take some time on Sunday when I prep all the food but throughout the week when I am busiest it makes it so easy to grab my already prepared lunch. It also is more cost effective than eating out for lunch. My grocery bill is larger when I buy all the extra food but when you compare it to the cost of eating out, it is still cheaper.
I tend to eat lunch either right before my workout or right after. Since I’m eating so close to my workout I want to make sure I am properly fueling my body to either workout or recover from my workout. I can definitely tell a difference in how I feel during my workouts based off of what I’m feeding my body.
A typical meal prep for me consists of a lean protein, a carb, and fiber. Lately I have been grilling chicken tenders, and cooking quinoa and broccoli to go with it. I marinate my chicken tenders in olive oil and low sodium Dale’s seasoning for a couple of hours. I simply coat my broccoli in olive oil and place in oven to roast at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes. When preparing the quinoa, you need to make sure to rinse it thoroughly before cooking as it has a coating called saponin, which has a bitter taste and can cause some abdominal discomfort. I make sure to wash my quinoa in a fine mesh strainer for several minutes to try to remove as much of the saponin as possible. I simply cook it on the stove top and flavor it with some black pepper and olive oil once it has finished cooking.
It may take some time to prepare my meals but I’m so thankful that I have something quick to grab when its lunch time. I don’t have to waste time cooking something when I’m already hungry or grab something unhealthy. Clean up is also easier throughout the week since I’m not having to cook my lunch each day. What types of foods do you fix in your meal preps?
Once the cauliflower layer is finished, start cooking the meat for the lasagna. For my lasagna I used 1 lb of deer meat we had in the freezer but any lean meat will work. Cook meat thoroughly before moving to next step. 
When the meat is completely cooked, pour in the peeled tomatoes. Cook another 5 minutes and stir occasionally.
At this point we have all the different components of our lasagna complete and we just need to layer it together. I used a 9×7 Pyrex dish and sprayed with nonstick spray. I first layered the meat into the bottom of the dish and then added a cheese layer on top. I then cut the cauliflower into square pieces and layered them on top of the cheese layer. I added one more layer of meat, cheese, and cauliflower, which filled my dish to the top.
I then place the dish into the oven at 400 degrees F to let it bake for about 30 minutes. Make sure you allow it to stay in the oven long enough to completely melt the cheese layers. Once it has baked completely, I pull it out of the oven and it is ready to enjoy.
You will need to break down the cauliflower before placing into the processor. I find cutting the cauliflower into fairly small pieces makes it easiest and prevents the food processor from clogging up. Process the cauliflower until it is a rice-like texture.
Preheat your oven to 375 degress F. Place some parchment paper on a pizza sheet and then pour the cauli-rice onto the prepared sheet. You don’t want to skip the parchment paper because the cauliflower has a tendency to stick and will make it difficult to remove from the pizza sheet in one piece even when using nonstick spray.
Bake the cauli-rice for 15 minutes and then remove and allow to cool. Place a cheese cloth over a large bowl and pour the cauli-rice into it after it has cooled. You can also use a dish cloth for this step if you do not have any cheesecloth. 
At this point you mix in the remaining ingredients; the egg, the Italian seasoning, and the parmesan cheese. Once completely mixed, pour back onto the prepared pizza sheet until it is even. Increase oven to 475 degrees F and cook for another 15 minutes.
Lastly we placed the pizza back in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese. Believe it or not the two of us devoured this entire pizza in one sitting. It is so delicious and leaves you feeling guilt free. What toppings do you plan to add to your pizza?
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