My Kind of Meal Prep

Today we're ditching beauty and fashion trends and heading to the kitchen to talk about the one thing that's always on muh mind... FOOD! It's one of my favorite things to think about but my least favorite things to prepare, lol.

I hope I'm not alone in saying this, but man it's a struggle for me to manage eating gluten free/healthy/regularly along with working out, working full time, blogging, and somehow managing a social life. #adulting Can I get an amen?! The other day I found myself completely overwhelmed with trying to manage ALLLLL the things, but had to remind myself to take a step back and just focus on one thing at a time. So here we are! Baby steps!

So my first effort is to pack SOMETHING for lunch everyday! Something that is gluten free and healthier than a burger and fries (shouldn't be too hard lol). Now let me warn you... if you're looking for gourmet meal prep ideas, you might want to exit this blog post now! I'm not much of a cook, and I hate most leftovers so what I'm sharing with y'all today are easy snacks for lunch that you can make in minutes, enjoy through the week, and are super budget friendly! I like to make them sound fancy by calling them "bento box" lunches! If you're a snacker like me, I think you'll really enjoy these!

BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE

This is probably the easiest part of my prepping! I love a morning smoothie and it's a great way to get your fruits in for the day! I recently purchased a little single serve blender and it really does the job. Makes the cleanup super easy because you can literally use the blender as your cup to drink out of (you're welcome). I don't really measure anything out, just kind of eyeball it, and you can always add to it if needed. I just use ziplock baggies and include: blueberries, strawberries, and 1 full banana (remove the peel and I like to cut into about 5 pieces so it's easier to blend). Pop these in the freezer and whenever you're ready to make your smoothie just pour this entire bag of frozen fruit into the blender and then I add  about 2 Tablespoons of honey greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of whatever liquid you prefer (I usually use almond milk but you can use water, juice, anything!), and then sometimes a handful of fresh spinach. Blend until it's smooth and DONE!!!!

If you want to get real fancy with it you can make a smoothie bowl. Once you make your smoothie, pour it into a bowl and top it with your favorite chopped fruit, granola, and honey. SO DANG GOOD! I like to keep fruit already chopped up in baggies to make for an easy snack so you can just use that to top your smoothie bowl!

BENTO BOX LUNCH

These little lunches are easy to get creative with! I basically just think about my favorite things to snack on and put them all in one box 😆 Like I said before- I hate most leftovers, so the whole chicken breast, sweet potato, green beans meal is NOT for me, lol.

For my main snack here are a few ideas I like:
Wraps (See my faves listed below)
Sandwiches (on GF bread always)
GF Pasta Salad (you can get so creative with this)
Chicken Salad (Use plain greek yogurt in sub of mayo)
Quinoa Medley (quinoa, arugula, katamala olives, feta, chicken)

My fave is usually a wrap of some sort. Here are a few ideas:
1. Chicken salad wrap: chicken salad and a little lettuce wrapped up in a GF tortilla
2. Turkey wrap: turkey, provolone cheese, dijon mustard and spinach in a GF tortilla
3. Mediterranean wrap: hummus, cucumber, chicken, feta in a GF tortilla 

Here are some snacks I like to pair with my wrap:
Cashews
Blueberries
Apples with peanut butter
Cherry tomatoes
Grapes
Cheese/Crackers
Sweet Potato chips & guac
Avocado, crackers, everything but the bagel seasoning (from Trader Joe's)
Sugar snap peas w/ light ranch

These are so quick and easy to make that it makes "meal prep" a little less daunting of a task! I usually don't prep for the week- sometimes I prep it the night before, or every other night. Easy, quick, budget friendly, and pretty darn tasty- that's a win in my book! :) 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Until next time!