Meal planning and my weekly workout recap
Hello, friends! How are you? I hope you had a great weekend. Since we last caught up on Friday morning, I’ve been on a little road-trip, which was awesome. Dave and I drove down to Monterey in the afternoon on Friday, checked into our hotel and kicked off a fun couple of days with friends, which included a wedding. Because there’s so much to share, I’m going to give you the full report tomorrow, but here’s just a preview …
Suffice to say, Monterey is one gorgeous area. And yes, dog-friendly as well, so we were glad that Rudy made the trip with us. He was a great traveler.
Switching gears, today we’re going to keep it short and talk about food and fitness.
Oftentimes, I get asked whether I “meal plan” or “meal prep.” And the answer is “Yes and No.” You see, gone are the days when I would make a big batch of quinoa, chicken and hard-boiled eggs to take with me for lunch and snacks each day at work. Nowadays, I’m lucky enough to be able to prepare most of my meals at home, so I don’t really rely on food prep any longer. However, I do have a general idea of what I will be eating for every single meal during the week.
My very loose meal-planning plan each week
For instance, after Dave and I got back from Monterey yesterday, we unpacked and knew we needed some groceries. I pulled out a notepad, checked our inventory in the pantry and fridge, then talked to Dave about the week before heading out to shop. This week, he will be home for dinner three nights and out for a work function one night. That being said, we planned for each night, and I wrote it out. And because we tend to eat the same meals over-and-over again, it’s pretty easy to create the shopping list based off these meals.
Just a few staple meals, which you frequently see reported in my weekly “What I Ate Wednesday” posts.
Here’s what’s in store for dinner …
- Sunday: Oven-pizza with a mixed kale salad (our usual pizza night, of course)
- Monday: Grilled turkey burgers on whole-wheat buns with mixed kale salad
- Tuesday: Eggs and veggie burgers for me (Dave will be out)
- Wednesday: Grilled chicken with roasted broccoli and freekah
- Thursday: Whole-wheat pasta and marinara sauce (turkey meatballs and spinach for me and garlic bread for Dave)
- Friday: Out
- Saturday: Out
As far as breakfast and lunch goes, Dave brings oatmeal or yogurt and granola for breakfast at work and typically buys his lunch. I’m planning to have a combination of cottage-cheese parfaits and overnight oats for breakfast and hearty smoothie bowls for lunch, so I picked up the ingredients for those as well.
And that’s our plan for food this week. It’s not exactly rocket science, and we keep it simple in the kitchen, but we always at least have a general idea of what’s on the menu to make meal times much easier.
Enter the Healthy Skoop giveaway
In case you missed it, I’m currently hosting a giveaway for a prize package of nearly $200 worth of plant-based Healthy Skoop products. Check it out and enter today! This stuff is good! Now for the usual …
My weekly fitness and workouts recap
Every single Monday, I like to go over my most recent week of workouts. So here we go …
(Photo credit to Leah Bentley Photography, 2015.)
Weekly Workouts
- Monday: Taught a one-hour BODYATTACK class, foam rolling
- Tuesday: Took a one-hour Orangetheory Fitness class
- Wednesday: Did a 30-minute CXWORX workout and 20 minutes of yoga at home
- Thursday: Taught a 45-minute BODYPUMP and a 30-minute core class, foam rolling
- Friday: Taught a one-hour BODYATTACK class
- Saturday: Rest day
- Sunday: Rest day
What was good about my week of workouts?
This past week, I completed three sessions of cardio, two sessions of resistance training, two core-focused workouts, as well as a short yoga session, which is decent balance overall. Perhaps the highlight of my week of fitness was hitting a personal best for a sprint on the treadmill in Orangetheory, as well as running eight-miles-an-hour at a 12 percent incline. I love that feeling of accomplishment when you walk out of class knowing you worked hard, and I certainly felt it loud and clear after that session.
What could have been better about my week of workouts?
I must sound like a broken record, because I continue to fall a bit short on my weight-training. This past week had an extra rest day (I usually take one, but due to the weekend trip, I took two), which didn’t help. Ultimately my goal is to lift weights of some sort three times-a-week, and I’m planning to make sure that I achieve that this upcoming week.
That’s it for now! I’ll be sharing all of the fun pictures and stories from our weekend in Monterey tomorrow. Until then, I’m teaching at Orangetheory in the morning and then teaching BODYATTACK later tonight. I hope your week starts out great!
Questions of the day
Do you plan your meals for the week?
How was your weekend?
What was your toughest workout lately?
Oooh girl can I come over for dinner every day this week? Sounds so delicious!! I don’t really meal plan but as long as my fridge is somewhat full of ingredients, I’m good to go with meals…and hey, nothing beats eggs, sweet potato & spinach como on those days I can’t think of what to make!
Hi Khushboo, I have not had a sweet potato in like three weeks. My grocery store was OUT of them one week, so I skipped, then haven’t gone back. I need them back in my life. 🙂 Happy Monday!
Eggs and veggie burgers sound glorious! I need to try that combo.
Hi Megan, I actually just finished a box of Dr. P’s that I bought with the coupon I won on your blog. 🙂
I’m a terrible meal planner, and that only gets worse during the summer when we are out and about all the time! But I’m trying to get back in the kitchen, really, I am!
Hi Susie! Once you fall off the meal-planning wagon, it’s hard to get back on. I understand hhhee! Just do what you can. And enjoy the summer!
I love meal planning and meal prepping! Okay, that sounds weird, but I really like knowing what we are going to be eating for the week. It just makes my life easier. We also have staple meals that we like to rotate in weekly. I am glad you guys had a good trip and that Rudy did so well! Have a great day!
Thanks, Heather! And I prefer to know what’s in store for food as well. Hope you had a nice weekend! 🙂 Happy Monday!
Yes, I always meal plan dinner. Otherwise we would be going out to eat every night – ha! We had such a nice weekend. We left our kids with my in-laws and headed to Glenwood Springs, a little mountain town here in Colorado. We had such a nice time! Hardest workout was hiking up a trail to do some geocaching – it was hard! The altitude is so high up here I think that was part of it, because I really don’t think I’m that out of shape! 🙂
Hi Melissa! Oh yes, the altitude definitely makes a difference! Glad you had a nice weekend getting some outdoor activity in. 🙂
I actually love to meal plan, it makes for an easy and stress free week. I also find that it really does save money and make the amount of food that goes bad almost nonexistent! I usually don’t plan my dinners though, but lately I have been making big batches of food and freezing the leftovers when I get sick of it… it is always so nice to have the option just to pull out something and heat it up without it being some not so great tv dinner!
Hi Hilary! Yes! I’ve never done a lot of freezing of my food for a later-date, but that’s a very good idea. And YES, meal planning helps you to not waste food. I hate to waste! 🙂 Hope you had a nice weekend!
Eggs and veggie burgers sounds delish!!
You look so pretty in all the Monterrey photos–so glad you had fun!!
Thanks, Annette! It was a great time! Hope your weekend was great! 🙂
Your meal plan sounds really good! Since my bf always works late and has snobby taste, he usually Sprigs…and I am just too impatient for more than 5 minutes of food prep during the week, so if I don’t cook ahead on Sunday dinner is always an omlette or hardboiled eggs+ salad and oatmeal I think having someone else to eat with helps the inspiration!
Hi Jill! For sure, my dinner is always simple and thrown together when Dave is not around. I could eat the same thing every night and not get sick of it, but he likes more variety. I’ve never used Sprigs before, but I’m guessing it’s a ready-made meal delivery? Oh San Francisco and your options! hehhehe 🙂 Happy Monday!
Aww Rudy! Looks like you all had a great weekend! I am loving that black dress 🙂
I try to prep stuff for lunches (this week it’s homemade Chipotle bowls). For dinners, I come up with a list of 5-6 meals, but don’t assign a day to them, make my grocery list based on that. I’ve been trying to do at least one freezer meal a week, I got a programmable slow-cooker earlier this year, so I freeze my favorite slow-cooker meals in a bag, dump it in before work, and wham! Dinner is ready when we get home from work. We usually go out once a week, but decide the day of, or the day before.
Hi Jessie! The slow-cooker is something I need to utilize more. Sounds like you have a great meal planning routine down. Nice work to you! And a Chipotle bowl made at home sounds delish! 🙂 Thanks for sharing, friends!
I try to plan out meals as best as I can! Luckily there’s only two of us to cook for, so I can usually take leftovers for lunch. It takes a lot of work, but it’s definitely worth it to have yummy food planned and I don’t have to think about what I’m going to eat! Your food all sounds great 🙂
Hi Gretchen! Leftovers for lunch at work is the way to go. I actually really enjoy eating leftovers. 🙂
Your meal plan looks fabulous! I usually stink at meal planning but am trying to get better at it for this upcoming school year.
Hi Julia! Yes, it takes a little work, but once you start making it part of your routine, it’s easy to maintain. Happy Monday, lady! 🙂
“Loose” meal-planning is the story of my life 🙂 it’s tough when you never know what you’re going to crave on any given day! I love all the green in your eats photos. So fresh!
Thanks, Lauren! I love to get some greens in. Happy Monday to you, lady! 🙂
I’ve been trying to be better about “meal planning” each week. It can be a pain to always be planning days in advance but it makes the week much smoother! I always tell my husband I’m off duty Friday and Saturdays, so that’s when we will wing it! 🙂
Hi Marielle! Same here! We always eat out on the weekends. 🙂 Less dishes!
You always have such a vibrant and genuine looking smile on your face and I absolutely love that! Meal prep is something I need to focus on more because often times when I get hungry I resort to convenient, albeit healthy brownies- and I definitely need to eat more than just sweets ;).
Ohhhh thanks, Niki. I appreciate it! And sweets are the best, but yes, regular food is sometimes necessary. But yes, I have had cake for dinner many times …. (those meals just don’t seem to make the blog ahahah!)
A new Orangetheory Fitness gym is opening up right next to my house this month, so I’m SO excited to try that workout out based on how much you enjoy it! As far as meal planning goes, my boyfriend and I plan out our dinner schedule every Sunday and grocery shop accordingly otherwise we would be a cluster after long days at work.
Hi Mackenzie! Yay! You will have to let me know how you like Orangetheory! 🙂 And nice work on the meal planning and shopping — it sure makes dinner-time easier.
I’m not the greatest at planning meals. It’s often hard because of our family’s very varying schedule, but getting into a routine with meal planning is one of my goals for the fall. We’ll see how it goes!
Hi Emily! I know! I never used to do it when I was eating for one, but when it’s Dave and me — it’s better that we have a plan. 🙂 Good luck to you in your meal-planning quest, lady!
Love your jacket in the first picture, Ashley! Perfect for brisk Bay Area nights 🙂
Always need a jacket in the Bay Area! You just never know. 🙂 Thanks, Dani!
Your weekend sounds like so much fun! I can’t wait to see more!
And yes, I absolutely HAVE to meal plan or I would lose my mind. I’m constantly creating/testing recipes so it would be a mess if I didn’t!
Oh my gosh, you must spend SO much time in the kitchen, Sarah. If you ever have extra yummy food to get rid of … you know who to call. 🙂
I’m on board with the more casual meal planning. I’ve found that when I’m more rigid, I freak out a bit and struggle with worrying whether I’m planning “correctly.” But the flexibility allows me to feel more that I can make the plan work for me within realistic parameters.
For sure, Jessica! A loose plan just feels a little better! 🙂 Happy eating!
I tend to just make things as I go… I eat the same thing pretty much all the time (yogurt for breakfast, salad for lunch, something I’ve probably made over the weekend or leftovers for dinner) so I just make batches of protein, grains or roasted veggies!
Hi Cassie! So it sounds like you have a loose plan as well. Nothing wrong with repeating the good stuff. 🙂 Hope you had a nice weekend!
I just started reading your blog and am really enjoying all the tips and information your share – thank you.
I just joined OTR and am loving the intensity of the workouts. You mentioned in this article that you like to lift three times a week, as would I, but since joining OTR it has become my main workout – would you consider that enough weight training for the week?
Hi Cathleen, Thank you so much for reading and saying hello via a comment! Love it! And I’m so glad you are attending OTF three times-a-week. Because about half of the class consists of resistance training (weights, TRX, med ball, etc.), you are getting about 20-23 minutes of weights in each class, so yes, if you go three times-a-week, that’s plenty of weight training. I used to do three full hours of weights a week, which was better for my body because of all the cardio that I do. But I think that three sessions of 25 minutes is PLENTY if your goals are to just feel good and stay healthy. If you want to bulk up, clearly, you’ll need to do more than that. Does that make sense? Let me know if you have any more questions!