Years of training has led me to force down plain-Jane food that gets old and tiresome. I finally got sick of the routine and ventured out to improve the meals I was dreading eating every day. It turns out, sometimes the method can make all the difference! Being pregnant and not quite in the “training” mindset, my meal preps haven’t quite looked the same. While still maintaining a level of nutrition and healthiness, my food hasn’t resembled an athlete’s diet.
That being said, my amazing husband has been working his butt off to try and cross-train into special forces for the last few months. Last week he took his initial special forces PT test and he passed! He is officially in crunch mode to prepare for the next phase of “try-outs” and needs to stick to a stricter diet and workout routine. I pulled out my training notebooks and planned out meals so he had one less thing to worry about!
Week number one is starting out with my favorite go-to meal; grilled garlic chicken with mashed sweet potatoes and fresh green beans with toasted almonds; I’ve posted the recipes here. There will be plenty more added in the weeks and months to come (especially post-baby!)
Garlic Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
Boneless, skinless chicken breast. (I like to use the tenders because they soak up more flavor and don’t dry out as much as the full breasts do)
Low-sodium garlic salt
Himalayan pink salt + fresh ground pepper
Ghee, for the pan
Instructions
- Heat a grilling pan on the stove over medium heat, add a small amount of ghee, or olive oil, to just barely coat the pan.
- Season both sides of your chicken with the garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Grill on both sides, flipping as needed, until the chicken reaches 165 degrees. I like to use a meat thermometer not only to make sure it cooks all the way, but to make sure I don’t dry it out!
Sweet Potato Mashers
Ingredients
Sweet potatoes/yams
Grass-fed butter
Almond milk
Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and dice the potatoes into 2-inch cubes. Place in a large cooking pot and fill with water until just barely covering potato cubes.
- Bring water to a boil, cover the pot, and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat and drain.
- Put the potatoes back in the pot and add about 1 tablespoons of butter for every 2 potatoes. Use an emulsion blender or hand mixer to mash the potatoes. Add a splash of milk in until desired consistency has been reached. Season with salt and pepper.
Green Beans Almondine
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds green beans, trimmed
¼ cup sliced almonds
1 ½ T. ghee or extra-virgin olive oil
¾ t. fresh lemon juice
½ t. sea salt
¼ t. cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Steam green beans either in the microwave or in a steamer basket over top a large pot. You can also get the bags of fresh green beans that you can steam in the mircrowave.
- Drain the beans in a colander and discard cooking water if steaming on the stove. Using the same large pot, add almonds and toast on medium heat for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Stir frequently.
- Add the ghee, lemon juice, salt, peppers and beans to the pot. Toss to coat and transfer to a serving plate.
I’m starting to meal plan. How many of these do you make for the week? Monday-Friday? Just wondering how good they last…thanks!!
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I usually cook 3 days at a time!
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How many days do they last in the fridge? I woukd love to start meal planning.
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I usually only cook for three days at a time!
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Thank you! I am going to give it a try!
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Awesome! Let me know if you have any more questions :)
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Meal prepping all of this for this coming week! Now hunting for breakfast meal prep ideas. I’m over overnight nights for a bit!
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Tomorrow is my day 1. I had a basic use but no actual recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
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Well that seems to be EZ enough 😊
It’s November 5, and I’m going shopping 😂
My chicken breast do have a tendency to dry out never thought of using tenders thanks a lot
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what do you eat for breakfast. I don’t like eggs and it seems like that’s the one suggestion everyone gives me..
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