Simple, Nutritious Meals for Busy People

There’s nothing like cooking from scratch with natural foods, but sometimes we get very busy and it makes it challenging to stay on the right track. Now I know you can do almost anything  when you put your mind to it!

“What you focus your attention on, grows.”

Being prepared ahead of time will get you closer to your goals.

Thanks to competing, I’ve learned a lot about emergency situations when I’m hungry and had a super busy day. It’s important to have clean and natural foods available all the time.

If you want to succeed with your fitness goals, better health, or if you are a competitor, you most likely have to cook ahead of time to be always prepared and ready because the last thing you want is to grab something that’s not on the healthy clean food menu. That won’t get you closer to your goals.

That’s why I always keep certain foods for convenience in my house.

I just want to give you an idea and share how quickly you can have a meal that is well balanced and delicious so you can stay on track and get those lean muscles:), even when obstacles like hunger arrive . I know when I feel hungry I gotta eat and I gotta eat quick ….hehe…..you hear me right?

 

Meal number one:

1)Chicken breast tenderloins – I get it from Trader Joe’s in the frozen section

Very handy…… no preservatives, no hormones, no MSG and high in protein.

The individual pieces are so tiny because there are no hormones.

But thats why I like them sooo much …. They are done cooking quick without defrosting it and the chicken doesn’t end up dry.

If you do have a time defrosting would be better because the chicken will be juicier.

I use olive oil spray for my chicken.

As far as spices, I love to use cayenne pepper (it can boost your metabolism).

2)Asparagus-like the chicken, I get from the frozen section at Trader Joes.

It’s nutritious, a natural diuretic, high in antioxidants & fiber

3)Brown rice – I cook it ahead and freeze it or sometimes for convinience, or buy it already pre made. Many stores now  days offer that option.

Brown rice is rich in fiber. It’s a complex carbohydrate that’s very nutritious and great tasting.

Olive oil and lime (I use these two for sprinkling on top of the asparagus and chicken) or I use avocado instead of olive oil.

So here you have a great balanced meal with protein, complex carbohydrates and fat in less than 10 min.

 

Meal number 2:

 

White tuna, organic fresh herb salad with brown rice and home made nutritious dressing.

 

1)White Tuna – Again I buy my tuna in the can from Trade Joes and I like the one with no salt added.

If I want to use salt I prefer Himalayan pink sea salt. It works for me. And I like the taste much more than any other salt.

Also if you are not a fan of tuna, you can use white chicken meat instead, great source of protein.

2)Organic fresh salad nutrient rich, antioxidant, fiber

3)Millet (in this pic) or brown rice works perfect as well. You can also try a

quinoa. Quinoa is rich in protein.

 

 

Sometimes I add avocado, but that is optional because you will get your essential fatty-acids from the home made dressing.

 

Dressing (ingredients in the pic):

• Olive oil – extra virgin
• Lime
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Tiny bit of jalapeño
• Mustard (organic) from whole foods …when I buy mustard, I look out for the sodium
• Honey or Stevia (my preference) when in prep for a competition
• Fresh Basil (I also love to use Cilantro) or you can use both
• Turmeric (spice)

 

My base for a dressing is usually always:

• Olive oil extra virgin or flaxseed oil
• Lime, lemon or apple cider vinegar
• Organic Mustard from Whole Foods
• Honey or Stevia(when competing)
• Garlic or ginger or both
• Turmeric or cayenne pepper depends how spicy do i want it:)

To get even more veggies, I blend any kind of veggie and I mix it with my base.

So far I’ve tried red,orange and green bell pepper, tomato and leafy greens.

 

Tip:

Sometimes I also love to add sauteed sweet onions to my salad and toss it with almonds or walnuts.

If you make a little extra dressing, you can store it in the refregiator for next time.

I also freeze it but again, there is nothing like fresh stuff…

Also, don’t forget to think about PORTION CONTROL. What ever it might be, if you are carb lover or in my case I love healthy fats (ex.almond butter,nuts, olive oil, flaxseed oil).  I have make sure to watch my intake of good fats because I tend to use it a lot ….simply because I love it! Too much of even good stuff could be also detrimental for your goals ….. It’s all about balance:)!

This  is when discipline and patience comes in handy. It’s a learning process……one step at the time.

 

Just for your info, look at the comparison:

Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories

Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories

Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories

 

I always say to my clients that the beauty is, we always have a choice. I’m not only talking about clean eating. Im also taking about generally in life ,we always have an option to choose. You can always pause for a second or two to think about it and ask yourself, “is this choice going to get me closer to my goals or not ?” You DO have that option!

Thanks for reading!

Till next time……

D

 

 

 

 

Ps. Next time i will show you a simple trick how to eat more veggies and 2 one of my fave healthy deserts…super simple to do.