5 meals ready in 5 minutes
5 meals ready in 5 Minutes,
Most of us want to eat healthy – we really do – but a single detrimental factor gets in our way…we simply don’t have the time.
I get it, we all lead busy lives that leave very little extra time for healthy meal prep, but the alternative of fast food meals, frozen dinners and restaurant fare is making us lose in the battle of the bulge.
All too often I see people exercise hard everyday, and then flush their results away with irresponsible eating. Don’t let this be you!
To get you on the fast track to quick, healthy eating here are 5 healthy meals that take only 5 minutes to prepare:
5 meals ready in 5 minutes
Fast Meal #1: Traditional pancakes are filled with carbs, grains and a plethora of simple sugars – not something you’d consider healthy. In fact, eat pancakes regularly and you’ll find your fitness results quickly disappear. However, this simple, wholesome, 3-ingredient pancake recipe is the exception. It’s a pancake that you’re able to enjoy without guilt.
3-Ingredient Pancakes
Here’s what you need:
- 3 ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- 3 Tablespoons almond butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or ground cinnamon *optional
- Mash the bananas in a bowl (or blend in a food processor). Add the eggs, almond butter and flavor additions. Mix until smooth.
- Preheat a griddle or skillet. Lightly grease with coconut oil. Pour the batter in ¼ cup scoops.
- Once you see bubbles form, flip and cook the other side until golden.
- Serve with fresh fruit.
Fast Meal #2: Tuna is a wonderful fish that’s packed with muscle-building protein. However, most tuna salad recipes drowned out the benefits with a boatload of calorie-packed mayonnaise. Here’s a refreshing tuna salad recipe that, in addition to being quick to prepare, avoids the trap of high-calorie dressing.
Quick Tuna Salad
Here’s what you need:
- 1 green apple, chopped
- 2 green onions, tops only, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 cans albacore tuna, in drained
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup red grapes, halved
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl and serve immediately. I like to serve this salad in large butter lettuce leaves, or scooped onto avocado halves.
Fast Meal #3: Yogurt has often been advertized as a healthy, guilt-free snack or meal replacement. This always bothers me because I know just how many simple carbs and sugars most flavored yogurts contain. Many people are deceived into thinking that the creamy, fruit flavored snack will help them lose fat, while it does just the opposite. Here’s a recipe for a creamy, fruit flavored snack that is actually packed with protein and free of fattening sugars.
Creamy Protein Mousse
Here’s what you need:
- 1 cup chopped fruit
- 1 (13.5oz) can coconut milk, full fat (chilled in the fridge overnight)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 frozen bananas, peeled
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup stevia-sweetened vanilla protein powder
1) Chill the can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight. Do NOT shake the can up at all! Carefully turn the can over and open from the bottom. Drain out the liquid and scoop the white cream into a food processor. Discard the liquid.
2) Throw all of the ingredients into a food processor. Blend on high until creamy. Enjoy chilled.
5 meals ready in 5 minutes
Fast Meal #4: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and not only because it’s the meal that breaks your overnight fast. What you decide to eat for breakfast sets the tone for the rest of your food decisions for the day. A donut or breakfast sandwich grabbed from a drive thru will set you up to eat junk for the rest of the day. On the other hand, a wholesome, nutritious breakfast will get you geared up to eat good-for-you foods all day long. This quick breakfast recipe is packed with amazing, natural flavor as well as protein-filled eggs to power your day.
Zucchini Egg Scramble
Here’s what you need:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons green onion, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons chives, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 2 organic eggs
- In a small skillet place the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini, green onion, chives and rosemary. Cook until the zucchini is lightly browned on both sides.
- Crack the eggs into the skillet and continue to cook, mixing, until the eggs are set. Remove from heat and enjoy immediately.
Fast Meal #5: I’ve saved the best for last, in this list of 5 Fast Meals. There was a time when most people would turn their nose up at the idea of a salad being a meal, but times are changing, and we are now more aware than ever how traditional meals are too heavy and lead to obesity. I’d like you to consider a ‘Everything Salad’ to be the perfect, quick and guilt-free meal. Sure, there are plenty of ways to take a salad and make it fattening, but that’s not what we want to do. By taking a big bowl of fresh greens and topping it with lean protein, colorful veggies and a light, homemade dressing – you’ve got yourself the perfect meal!
Everything Salad
Here’s what you need:
- Dark leafy greens (spinach, arugula, kale)
- Lean protein (chicken, turkey, lamb, hard boiled egg)
- Colorful veggies, chopped (bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini)
- Fresh Herbs (basil, rosemary, oregano, mint)
- Homemade dressing (see recipe below)
- Raid your fridge for fresh, organic produce and lean, cooked protein. Add in some fresh veggies and chopped herbs and mix together with a simple, homemade dressing. There you have it, the perfect meal!
While eating healthy, nutritious meals is awesome, don’t forget that exercise is half of the battle when it comes to getting and staying fit. Call or email me today and we will get you started on the exercise program that will reshape your body once and for all! 5 meals ready in 5 minutes
7 foodsto never eat
7 Foods to NEVER eat7 foods to never eat
Are you eating the wrong foods?
I see it happen all the time…fitness results that are thrown away by eating the wrong foods. Don’t let this be you. You workout hard, so keep your results by avoiding the following 7 foods:
1) Don’t Eat White Pasta
White pasta will never be OK to eat when your goal is to look fit. Sorry, it’s filled with way too many simple carbs. These plentiful carbs have one singular goal: to become stored on your body as fat.
Eat This: Spaghetti Squash
On those nights when you really crave a big bowl of noodles, try this instead. Poke a spaghetti squash all over then bake at 400 degrees F for 45-60 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, scoop out the seeds and then scrape out the long, noodle-like strands of squash. Serve these healthy noodles with spaghetti sauce and meatballs.
2) Don’t Eat Store Bought Salad Dressing
The nutritional benefit of your salad is all but undone by the questionable ingredients in store bought salad dressing. From trans fats to preservatives, store bought salad dressing is a landfill of unnatural ingredients that are best avoided.
Eat This: Simple Homemade Dressing
Making you own salad dressing is so simple, it literally takes less than five minutes, and it tastes so much better freshly made. Here’s the equation to use when making your own dressing:
- 3 parts high quality oil – extra virgin olive oil, hemp seed oil, flax seed oil, or sesame seed oil.
- 1 part something acidic – vinegar, lemon, lime
- A dash of salt and fresh ground pepper
- Some fresh or dried herbs
3) Don’t Eat Packaged Granola Bars
Packaged bars have one thing going for them – the convenience factor. This convenience comes at a price, as each packaged bar contains more preservatives, carbs, calories and sugars than you should be eating.
Eat This: Raw Nuts
When you need a quick, energizing snack look no further than a handful of raw nuts. This is a great way to cut down on the sugar and other harmful additives in granola bars while still enjoying a convenient energy boost.
4) Don’t Drink Blended Coffee Drinks
Coffee chains have made it socially acceptable to sip on a large blended coffee drink topped with whipped cream, anytime and anyplace. Unfortunately your body is going to respond to all that sugar in the only way that it knows how…by storing it as fat. These blended drinks are extremely addictive, so it’s best to avoid them completely.
7 foods to never eat
Drink This: Unsweetened Iced Tea
The whole idea behind blended coffee drinks is to quench your thirst, but there are more fitness-friendly ways to do so. Double brew 4 cups of your favorite tea – try Chai Rooibos – then chill it in the fridge for a few hours. Serve over ice and sweeten with a sprinkle of Stevia if needed. Guilt-free refreshment.
5) Don’t Eat Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches
The drive thru may be calling you, especially when you’ve left for work in such a hurry that you forgot to eat breakfast, but don’t give in. Fast food breakfast sandwiches are filled with loads of preservatives, trans fats and questionable ingredients. Not to mention these little breakfast bombs contain more calories and fat than you need in the morning.
Eat This: Healthy Mini Muffins
The recipe below for Healthy Mini Muffins make the perfect on-the-go breakfast or snack to keep you out of the drive thru line. Make a batch on the weekend to stock the fridge and then grab as needed throughout your busy week.
6) Don’t Eat Sweetened Yogurt
Little cups of fruit-flavored yogurts are often marketed as the next best weight loss secret, but you know better. These ultra-sweet concoctions are filled with sugars, corn syrup and preservatives, which will derail your fitness results and send you on a sugar high.
Eat This: Plain Greek Yogurt with Fruit
Plain Greek yogurt has more protein and far less sugar than the cute little fruit-flavored yogurt cups. Dress it up by adding your own, chopped fresh fruit.
7) Don’t Eat Potato Chips
Around three o’clock in the afternoon, when that vending machine is calling out your name, remember this fact: Studies suggest that a potato chip habit caused subjects to gain weight even faster than an ice cream habit. This is likely due to all the preservatives, trans fats, empty calories and salt, and how hard it is to each just a few.
Eat This: Bake Kale Chips Kale chips are crunchy and satisfying, just like potato chips, yet you’re able to crunch away guilt-free. Filled with fiber, protein and real food nutrients, this is one crunchy snack that won’t expand your waistline. Here’s how to make them at home: Wash and tear one bunch of kale into chip-sized pieces. Toss with a Tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.
7 foods to never eat
The quickest and most permanent way to lose weight and feel amazing is through a combination of healthy eating and consistent, challenging workouts.
I’m here to help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals.
You deserve that fit and attractive body – I can help you get it.
Call or email today and together we will get you on the path to your best body ever.
www.placentiapersonaltraining.com 714-883-8940
SuperTracker- A Great Device For Personalized Healthy Eating Recommendations
Do you need help with weight loss and balancing your diet?
Choosemyplate.gov is an excellent website for healthy eating recommendations. The Supertracker will help you plan, analyze and track your diet and physical activity. Create a profile by entering your height, weight, gender, age and physical activity levels. By entering specific physical attributes into your profile, the Supertracker can tailor the food recommendations to your individual needs. After entering your info you will receive information on how much and what to eat. Food recommendations are based on a standard “balanced food plate” which promotes a balanced daily diet. Also, on the website you will be able to look up nutrition facts for over 8,000 foods and compare foods side by side. I hope you enjoy using the supertracker!
https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/default.aspx