Cleanse Day 2

Day Two Plan

Breakfast: Cottage Cheese, tomatoes, and chicken for me; Grilled Turkey Burger & rice for Dr. Wes

Lunch: Tuna + Avocado + Dill pickles + Tomatoes= Tuna Salad (VERY good!), carrots, apples

Dinner: Lemon Chicken & Veggie Bake 

Snacks: UltraClear Shakes 

Supplements: UltraClear, UltraFlora, AdvaClear, Green Tea, Natural Calm at designated times of the day

Exercise: Dr. Wes made it to 5:30 Crossfit so I have NO excuses, but I still have a bit of a headache so I skipped today. I'll try to go for a walk in the evening. 

I had a can of Zevia Cherry Cola for my caffeine--so good! I also drank some Passion Fruit Iced Tea (herbal/no caffeine) in addition to my water. 

I also had an impromptu massage with Kendra today. It was so wonderful to take a nap (I even snored!) and have her work on my head because of the headache today. Darn caffeine cravings! 

Weekly Meal Prepping

One of our favorite routines in the Nyberg household is preparing as much food on Sundays as possible. This has been one of the BEST changes in our home for our health and sanity throughout the week. Here's what happens after I come home from getting the groceries on Sundays...

Breakfasts

1) Cook a dozen cage-free organic scrambled eggs. Mix one dozen eggs with a little coconut milk and add to a large skillet that has some hot coconut oil in it. (Sometimes I make hard boiled eggs too)

2) Cook breakfast meats like sausage and/or bacon according to packages. We like the precooked sausages found in the Hy-Vee Health Market Freezer. We throw them on the contact grill and brown them. Bacon--bake on broiling pan at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Be sure all meat is nitrite free! We also cook bacon on the contact grill too. 

3) Wash and prep any fruit that can be prepared ahead of time--grapes, blueberries, strawberries, etc. 

4) Sometimes I'll make a batch of Paleo Pumpkin Muffins or a treat like too. 

Dinners

1) Decide on recipes. I like to marinate meat before grilling or cooking it, so I will typically make the marinades on Sundays and put the sauce into a gallon ziplock baggie (or dish). Then on the day of the meal, I throw the meat in the baggie in the morning or sometime in the afternoon so it's ready to go. 

2) Prepare the meats--slice up chicken, make hamburger patties, shape homemade chicken nuggets, put a roast in the crockpot with veggies and set into the fridge, etc. Tonight I made a marinade in a large baggie;  wrapped chicken in bacon and put the sauce on it; put green beans, chicken, and sweet potatoes in a 9x13 pan with butter & Mrs. Dash; started thawing beef. 

A little fuzzy, but you get the idea! Chop those veggies!

3) Prepare the veggies--dice up zucchini & squash; slice carrots/tomatoes/peppers/onions; snap green beans; etc. Having veggies already cleaned and ready to cook makes it easier. I typically just use a little butter in a pan or throw them in a steam-pot to cook them for dinner. 

Lunches

PACK ON SUNDAY! Start with a meat (we like DiLusso Nitrite free deli meat at HyVee or leftovers) and add veggies. Raw veggies are great! Remember those veggies you just cleaned and cut for dinners? Use some of those! Salads can be pre-made--just don't use the dressing yet. 

While cooking at home definitely takes time, we've found that prepping our food on Sundays really helps. Maybe Sunday isn't your day--but find a time and make a commitment to clean, healthy eating. You'll love the results!

9x13 Pan; Green Beans, Carrots, Chicken, Sweet
Potatoes; Mrs. Dash; Butter squares.

Recipes We Used This Week

Paleo Bacon Wrapped Honey Mustard Chicken

Budget Friendly Balsamic Mustard Chicken

Chipotle Lime Rubbed Steak

My Sunday Mantra

My mantra for eating healthy is "If you fail to plan, plan to fail". It is completely worth my time to prepare breakfasts and vegetables on Sunday afternoons instead of trying to find something healthy to eat before we all leave the house in the morning. 

Here are some suggestions for planning your weekly meals. 

First, find a planner for your dinners. I like this one that I've shared before in another blog post. Plan all of your meals around vegetables and proteins, and then throw in some fresh fruit and/or grains if that is part of your wellness plan. 

• I always plan for at least one slow-cooker meal each week. Usually it's a whole chicken with whatever veggies we have in the house like carrots, sweet potatoes, peppers, onions, etc. 
• We have Mexican a lot, so one meal is usually spiced up. It's a great way to use leftover meat too. Meat + Salsa = Easy & Yummy dinner!
• I try to find a new recipe each week. I am currently working my way through Everyday Paleo. Each time I try a recipe, I put a quick post-it note in there with tips for the next time I make it. 

Second, plan your breakfasts. Here's what I prepare on Sunday afternoons:

• Sweet potatoes with grilled chicken or sausage or bacon for post-workout breakfasts. I put 1/3 of a sweet potato in each container and top it with sliced chicken, a few slices of bacon, or a small sausage patty. 
• Scrambled Eggs--one dozen eggs usually gets us through about two mornings of breakfast. I heat up some coconut oil in a skillet, crack the eggs directly into the pan, and then scramble with a fork. Yum! 
• Extra meat--I try to fix 1-2lbs of bacon and/or sausage to have for the week. 

Third (and the biggest struggle for me) are lunches. Usually I send leftovers with Dr. Wes and Ben, but that still leaves lunch for Will and me. 

• Prepare veggies and fruit on Sundays. I like to have "quick" and mess-free fruit for lunches for Ben. Often it's grapes, strawberries, or blueberries. Sometimes I have to thaw out a bag of organic fruit to send, but our household much prefers fresh fruit. And bananas. Oh my goodness--we eat a ton of bananas in this house. 
• We don't eat a lot of raw veggies (except in salad) and it's worth my time to steam broccoli  carrots, and green beans on Sundays. 

Find a day or night that works for you, and see if spending a few hours in the kitchen can save you time during the week. I bet you'll find that you are preparing healthier meals and eating out less. It saves us time, money, and makes a big difference in our family's health! 

I'd love to hear your tips too! 

--Katie