Chicken Wings, Salad, Yogurt with Chia Seeds and Toppings

Week 1: 8/26

It has been a great summer, but all great things must come to an end. I am a Keto teacher and we report back to work on Monday! That means I now have a bed time, my alarm (and snooze) is back in rotation, I have a dress code, and daily agenda.

WHEWWW!! I’m getting tired just thinking about all of that and I haven’t even gotten to the actual work and classroom preparation.

Well, I decided that one way that I will stay on top of my schedule and be sure to properly manage my macros is to meal prep. Some people have an issue with eating the same thing every day. Sometimes I do too. Though sometimes mundane, eating the same thing each day helps me remember my purpose for eating. While food is delicious, FOOD IS FUEL. There are also ways to add variety to your meal plans based on the foods you choose and how many meals you’re preparing.

My meal prep structure

Besides time management, I am also using meal prepping as a way to regain some of my discipline after a very comfortable summer. I indulged in some off Keto carbs during my last vacation and haven’t really been the same since.

To refocus, my meal preps are going to include one meal and one snack per day. I will be intermittent fasting each day, so every day will begin with coffee – or the occasional energy drink.

The rest of the day will be filled with water to maintain hydration. Sometimes the water will have pink Himalayan salt to help restore my electrolytes.

I’ll break my fast and eat my meal when I get home from work. a few hours later, if I am still hungry, I will enjoy my snack.

Do I expect this to be perfect? Of course not! But I have to have a plan and I have to start somewhere.

Getting Started

Meal prepping can be a bit overwhelming. There are all kinds of containers, menu planning, grocery shopping, recipes… Oh my!! But, just like with everything else Keto, my plan is to KEEP IT SIMPLE, SIS!!

I found my meal prep containers at Walmart and Dollar Tree. Similar containers can be found on Amazon.

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I went with the single compartment for meals like salads. I chose double compartment containers because in simplifying Keto, my meals are a protein plus a vegetable (carb) with some added fat. That’s it…on a good day.

The tall bowls are for smoothie prep. I needed something that would hold at least 4 cups of spinach and was happy to find these, two for a dollar at Dollar Tree!

The small bowls in my pictures were also found at Dollar Tree in a multi-pack.

Menu

This weeks menu is as follows:

• Morning: Coffee/Water/Tea (Intermittent Fasting)
• Dinner: Air Fried Chicken Wings with a Side Salad
• Snack: Vanilla Yogurt with Chia Seeds, Pecans, and SF Chocolate Chips

Grocery List

Keep reading for the recipes that I use to prepare my eating plan for this week!

Recipes

Air Fried Chicken Wings

Air fried chicken wings are the best and are soooo easy! This week I used frozen party wings, but I have used whole wings before. They both turned out great in the air fryer. If your wings are frozen, follow the same steps, but add more time until they are cooked to your liking.

1. Clean the chicken wings and pat them dry to remove as much moisture as possible.
2. Season the chicken wings to your liking.
   1. I used seasoning salt and lemon pepper
   2. Add a little cream of tarter or baking powder helps to absorb more moisture and helps the skin crisp more.
3. Place a single layer of wings in the air fryer basket.
4. Set the air fryer to 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Flip the wings halfway through.

That’s it! I love my air fryer and use it for any and everything that I can!

Side Salad

Now, I am not going to sit here and tell you how to make a salad. I’m pretty sure you’ve got that under control.

I will, however, list the different veggies/seasonings/dressings that I will be including in my salad this week.

• Veggies: 4 cups Spring Mix (arugala, spinach, kale…), 1/2 cup Sliced Cucumbers, 2 oz Mini Sweet Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers
• Dairy: 1 oz cubed cheese
• Seasoning: Salt, Black Pepper, Oregano, Parmesan Cheese
• Dressing/Fat: 2 Tbsp Avocado Oil and Red Wine Vinegar

Make it how you like and and however best fits your macros.

Chia Seed Yogurt

You’ve probably heard of Chia Seed Pudding before. This, however, is my quick adaptation. Usually you have to make Chia Seed Pudding the night before so that it can thicken in whatever base you choose. Since yogurt is already thick, letting the chia seeds sit for 10-15 minutes is enough time for them to swell and for your to enjoy this dessert.

For more details about the benefits of chia seeds, check out my recipe for Chia Seed Salted Caramel Protein Pudding.

My Macros

When I decided what I wanted to prepare next week, the first thing that I did was enter the meals into MyFitnessPal. I have my macro goals set and adjusted my meals to fit within those numbers. My daily totals can be seen below.

When reading the pie chart, focus on the grams- not the percentages. If I stay on track, I will not max out my macros and should notice weight changes as well.

This chart shows a break down of more nutrients in my daily food intake. I wanted to include this screen for a quick reference to calculating net carbs. Although it shows that I will consume 18g of total carbs, we subtract the 9g of fiber that I will also eat. This means that I will actually be eating only 9g of carbs each day following my scheduled plan.

Check your mental

At the end of the week, check in with yourself about how this first week of meal prepping went. Ask yourself the following questions as you prepare for next week’s meals:

1. Did I stick to my meal plan?
2. If I ate foods outside of my prepared meals, what triggered this act?
   • Was I hungry? Thirsty? Bored? Was there an unexpected outing/celebration?
3. How do I feel after this week of meal prepping?
   • Am I glad that all went well? Feeling accomplished? Sick of eating the same foods? Anxious about next week’s meal?
4. What do I need to incorporate in my meal prep to make myself more likely to stay on plan?
   • Simpler meals? Include/remove something sweet? Increase my fat intake next week so I feel more full? Change my eating times?