3 Tips for Food Prep

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcEBhVT1lZmxOZDytdNvGcQkU0qpV0x1z0dZ-tH9WN6IimvE402u1H4xF6dQmi_qqsoSjiqA3rAciF106URU85BXqBt0pvDLPcxB-nTbqlozy_x3O8QWhvUdFlx9ammoUPdwcZdVNekCT/s1600/romanesca-cauliflower-948628_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="3 Tips for Food Prep" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcEBhVT1lZmxOZDytdNvGcQkU0qpV0x1z0dZ-tH9WN6IimvE402u1H4xF6dQmi_qqsoSjiqA3rAciF106URU85BXqBt0pvDLPcxB-nTbqlozy_x3O8QWhvUdFlx9ammoUPdwcZdVNekCT/s1600/romanesca-cauliflower-948628_1920.jpg" title="3 Tips for Food Prep" /></a></div> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Food prep can be the key to weight loss, a healthy lifestyle, or making gains at the gym. Whatever your goals are, food prep is an easy way to keep your pantry and refrigerator stocked with portioned, healthy choices! It can be overwhelming to start food prep for the first time. There is a lot of work that goes into prepping food for advance though there are easy ways to start! Here are three tips for a successful food prep.</span></span></div> <b id="docs-internal-guid-222eb873-af6d-695c-5d4f-e3247f8b231e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /> </span></b> <br /> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Don’t jump in headfirst.</span></span></div> <ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Food prep takes careful thought and preparation! You need to know exactly what you want to prepare, what ingredients you will need, and how to prepare it. Start by creating an outline of the meals you would like to eat. For beginners, only plan two or three days in advance. A full week food prep is time-consuming. A day or two is manageable for your first experience!</span></span></div> </li> <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Do an ingredient check. After you create your food prep outline, look at the ingredients you have and what ingredients you will still need. It is best to do your food prep outline a couple days in advance. That way, you will have time to go to the grocery store to gather all needed ingredients. </span></span></div> </li> <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Set aside a time! Having a specific time for food prep is extremely important. You will eventually want to set up a routine with a set time each week to do your food prep. Many people do their food prep on Sunday evenings to prepare for the week. Do what works best for you and your schedule!</span></span></div> </li> </ul> <b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /> </span></b> <br /> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Prepare food that you are comfortable making.</span></span></div> <ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When you first begin food prep, the idea of trying new recipes can be exciting. For your first food prep, however, I’d recommend using recipes you know. </span></span></div> </li> <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Using familiar recipes will make your first food prep much easier. You know how to prepare the dish. You know what ingredients you need. You know how much food you will have to portion out. Lastly, you will be confident knowing that you are making a dish that you enjoy! There’s nothing worse than preparing food for several days and realizing that you don’t like the way it tastes. Stick to familiar recipes for your first few food prep sessions.</span></span></div> </li> </ul> <b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /> </span></b> <br /> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Remember that “food prep” doesn’t always mean cooking.</span></span></div> <ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Food prep can be a variety of things. You can do only the basic outline for food prep. You can simply chop up vegetables that you will want to use later in the week. You can portion out snacks for yourself and your family, to avoid overeating. This is all part of food prep.</span></span></div> </li> <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Food prep is preparing food in advance so that you will have less work to do later in the week! </span></span></div> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /> </span> <br /> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For extra support your journey toward a healthy lifestyle, please </span><a href="http://www.afitnurse.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">contact me</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">! I’d love to be a resource to help you in pursuing healthy living. :)</span></span></div>

clean eating, eating healthy, food prep, food preparation, food prepping, fresh food, get healthy, healthy, healthy choices, healthy eating, healthy family, healthy foods

3 Tips for Food Prep

Food prep can be the key to weight loss, a healthy lifestyle, or making gains at the gym. Whatever your goals are, food prep is an easy w...

Bikini competition prep: Day one

I have been thinking of competing in a fitness show for three years now. One of those things that lingers in the back of my mind but, never took action to actually complete it. Truth be told I heard so may horror stories of women taking steroids (even in the bikini division) and using diuretics to dry out prior to the show that it turned me off from the sport. I know that this is not everyone and I am so happy that I did my research when looking for a bikini prep coach. After working with a coach in the off season I decided that it was time to find someone new. I wanted and needed someone that health would be their main priority during the process. I do not want to end up with adrenal fatigue or stuck eating chicken, tilapia, and asparagus for 14 weeks.  I am very educated on clean eating... this is what I do so I have that down pat. But, prepping for a show is completely different. It requires tweaks to your diet on a week to week, even day to day basis as you get closer to show time. I am so happy that the coach I am working with gets me and my concerns. He is an IFBB pro but, he is also a Physician's Assistant. Best of both worlds in my opinion.<br /> <br /> I want to continue to use my beachbody workouts for the prep. At this time I am using P90x3 and I love it. Home workouts will be added into my program. I am also doing a lot of heavy lifting, and plyometric work at the gym. I can lift weights at home but, will need someone to spot me during my workouts so this is why I will be working out in the gym with my trainer to keep me safe.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvF7Mbrf25hRAPMob-L1mxVnGxD0dWbAEw90VqxCP1X_mRqbmH2Enb-JtB1CiYo1fQ-7LVa1BDWA3p7FQzCSPF8ljJMe4Z3CALMJrV-ZDPE66GM4r3ijoZajLCqMLzGGtus6H4kT6EwthZ/s1600/bootyburn.jpg%3Fw=567.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bikini comp prep, food prep, dreams, Beachbody coach, Bikini division, nurse, A Fit nurse, Alyssa Schomaker, home workouts" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvF7Mbrf25hRAPMob-L1mxVnGxD0dWbAEw90VqxCP1X_mRqbmH2Enb-JtB1CiYo1fQ-7LVa1BDWA3p7FQzCSPF8ljJMe4Z3CALMJrV-ZDPE66GM4r3ijoZajLCqMLzGGtus6H4kT6EwthZ/s1600/bootyburn.jpg%3Fw=567.jpeg" title="" width="235" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> The thing that excites me the most is that I have actually worked up enough courage to go through with the process. This is something that I have had on my bucket list for some time now but, just never pursued my dream. I plan to blog about my experience to hold myself accountable and to add my insights for anyone that has been thinking about competing. I know that there are some obstacles that are standing in my way... such as a cruise in March (Thank you Beachbody). However, there is a gym on the cruise ship and I can choose healthy meals on the trip. I am determined to see how my body transforms. I am doing this for me and nobody else. I am a mother of three young children. I am a nurse and also own a health and fitness business. If I can do this then anyone can do this... It is all about your mind frame. Being focused and disciplined.  Keeping your eye on the prize!!<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPdKQP8Kr-pQiCULhJhQBudWMuwWwk_IFQuO8CgMyS3o2eCs21cSlypHGPnp9Vchr4oHDBo8SL61WoLJgEytn0ydjFt0Wf47yljeowNaKCkg9JpZs-fY94yQwzCrBSEr3wG2Z7hsBBgA1/s1600/996607_10151848401062856_1495591156_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPdKQP8Kr-pQiCULhJhQBudWMuwWwk_IFQuO8CgMyS3o2eCs21cSlypHGPnp9Vchr4oHDBo8SL61WoLJgEytn0ydjFt0Wf47yljeowNaKCkg9JpZs-fY94yQwzCrBSEr3wG2Z7hsBBgA1/s1600/996607_10151848401062856_1495591156_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> I am use to doing a food prep every week. So this week was no different then most. I made some chicken, grass fed ground beef, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and brussel sprouts last evening. I also cut up some fresh fruit and veggies.... strawberries and peppers.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ffl5qCWpqFnGSCGxYHUfA1z6YD1ZoPzktHf7pdzop30kDoj8sI4pGhOmGsEYPvKLa-LYGLIpSomRnPVehx8IAc-ts08iSZpHhuKhB1etT81xVeoG7Jm4fzZkRRy985pGJvT5VQa7oVMi/s1600/mealprepmonday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bikini comp prep, food prep, dreams, Beachbody coach, Bikini division, nurse, A Fit nurse, Alyssa Schomaker, home workouts" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ffl5qCWpqFnGSCGxYHUfA1z6YD1ZoPzktHf7pdzop30kDoj8sI4pGhOmGsEYPvKLa-LYGLIpSomRnPVehx8IAc-ts08iSZpHhuKhB1etT81xVeoG7Jm4fzZkRRy985pGJvT5VQa7oVMi/s1600/mealprepmonday.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> My trainer gave me the assignment this week to record what I eat and also to record my workouts. He wants to examine my normal routine... food choices, calories consumed, and what exercises I include in my training. I am using my fitness pal to track my food and bought a cute exercise diary to track my workouts. Next, week he will reevaluate my plan and we will start training together. I was playing around last night and had my husband take some before shots for me. I have some work to do but, I am determined to work hard and bring in my best package for the show.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsmklhKEqQfjAPl02E5gzEk7d7AgXRWBgDKx_RW__qf3XU_wH4DtdNFOLHcG-N9G6_Czjch_sVIgSIKvxMhdBOG64H5sy-PnTzYrSiqFA6oLYjdfUAAQj8yjDUlV1pZI4XxUyZehY6Hl9/s1600/1557491_600638763341940_485101782_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bikini comp prep, food prep, dreams, Beachbody coach, Bikini division, nurse, A Fit nurse, Alyssa Schomaker, home workouts" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsmklhKEqQfjAPl02E5gzEk7d7AgXRWBgDKx_RW__qf3XU_wH4DtdNFOLHcG-N9G6_Czjch_sVIgSIKvxMhdBOG64H5sy-PnTzYrSiqFA6oLYjdfUAAQj8yjDUlV1pZI4XxUyZehY6Hl9/s1600/1557491_600638763341940_485101782_n.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> So here we go!!! I am very excited that I made the mental commitment to compete. Now, I just have to get registered for the show. I am doing the Jim Manions NPC Pittsburgh Championship. It is a pretty big show but, go big or go home right;) I plan on registering this week!!! EEEEEEKKKK!!<br /> This is all so real now!<br /> <br /> Lesson learned: A DREAM is just a DREAM... You must take physical and mental energy to make it REALITY!<br /> <br />

A fit nurse, Alyssa schomaker, beachbody coach, Bikini comp prep, Bikini division, dreams, food prep, home workouts, nurse

Bikini competition prep: Day one

I have been thinking of competing in a fitness show for three years now. One of those things that lingers in the back of my mind but, never ...