It's amazing what a difference having a three day weekend makes! I used to work 4/10's every week and while I didn't love working until 8:30pm, I did love having Friday off every week. There are enough chores and projects that I do every weekend that having the extra day actually allows me to rest and launch into the new week feeling recharged!
I've said it before though, when I feel like my weekends aren't long enough, it usually means that I'm not resting well during the week, so that's something that I want to try to get better at. I've always been a driven person who tends to take on too much, and it's hard for me to say no to things that I'm excited about. I talk about the importance of resting and listening to your body over in my Instagram stories pretty often, so if you're not following me there and this topic is of interest to you, you might want to check it out!
Also, lately I've been experimenting again with a bit of intermittent fasting. Nothing too crazy, but trying to stick to an 8 hour eating window when it feels natural. (aka, if my body is screaming for real food outside of that window, I listen and eat something!) This was prompted by discussion at my work about implementing this into our weight management curriculum, and I wanted to try it out again so that when I talk about it, it comes from a place of personal experience. Is this something you would be interested in learning more about? If so, let me know in the comments of this meal prep post on Instagram!
Here's this week's meal plan:
Breakfast: Spaghetti Squash with Sausage // Lately I've been trying to use up things that I have at home before buying new groceries. I've had a jar of Rao's marinara sauce in my pantry and this meal totally hit the spot when I made it a few weeks ago, so I just repeated it! It really doesn't get much easier. I just steamed two small spaghetti squash in my Instant Pot (cut in half and de-seeded) for 8 minute with about 1 cup of water, then scooped out the flesh and topped it with some marinara and some beef sausage that I cooked up from US Wellness Meats!
Lunch: No-Cook // You already know this is a go-to for me! I'll be using some Whole30 compliant turkey and Ayobayo Droewors beef sticks ("wholedailylife" for 10% off) as my proteins, along with some sprouted Nourishing Nutz ("wholedailylife" for 20% off your first order) for fat and a Zupa for veggies ("wholedailylife" for 15% off). If you haven't tried the new Kale Avocado + Collagen flavor, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's my new favorite!!
Dinner: "Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole" with Broccoli // This meal was an experiment, and it turned out really well! Along the same lines of using up what I already have on hand, I had some Smoked Cheddar Style Dip from The Honest Stand in my fridge that I've been holding on to. To make this casserole, I started by sautéing one bag of cauliflower rice (16oz) in a large skillet with some ghee until starting to soften, then mixed in the entire container of dip. (If you haven't seen this brand before, their products are made from nuts and potatoes!) Then I cooked up 1# of chicken tenders in my Instant Pot (8 minutes on manual with about 1/2 cup water and 1/2 tsp salt), shredded the meat, and mixed everything together (including the extra water in the IP to thin out the sauce a bit). I added some steamed broccoli on the side and called it a meal!
Snack: I haven't felt like I've needed a snack since doing the 16/8 intermittent fasting, but if I do, I'll usually grab an apple with nut butter, a bar, or make a little smoothie!
Have a great week!
-Tracey