Are you struggling with losing weight? Or maybe you're struggling to put on muscle? If you're exercising regularly and still not meeting your goals, it's time to take a look at your diet. What you put into your body is critically important for your health, and ultimately determines whether or not you hit your health goals.
So what is "meal prep?"
Meal preparation is the act of preparing entire meals ahead of schedule. Traditionally, meal prep schedules operate on a week by week basis, meaning one would prepare meals for 6 or 7 days in advance. There is an entire community of meal-preppers out there, you can find us on forums like https://www.reddit.com/r/MealPrepSunday/
When I need a little bit of inspiration, this is a go-to site along with other recipe subreddits.
Take a look at some of the meals I have prepared in the past! Most follow a similar pattern: protein source, vegetables, and a complex carbohydrate.
Does the first image above look disgusting to you? If you said "yes" just stop reading because what follows is my recipe for the Mediterranean pita pocket!
Ingredient list:
2 lbs ground chicken
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bread crumbs
4 tbsp all natural, sugar free ketchup
Parsley flakes
Plain Greek yogurt
2 limes
2 medium sized tomatoes
3 cups spinach
Whole wheat pita bread, halved
Step 1: Dice the onion, mince the garlic, place in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients (ground chicken, bread crumbs, ketchup, and parsley flakes). Hand mix, form oblong shaped burgers, place on a tray, and put in the fridge for approximately 45 minutes.
Step 2: Place a nonstick pan over medium-high heat and coat with olive oil. Throw in your chicken patties, making sure to not overly crowd the pan, and cook uncovered until internal temperature reaches 165F. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 3: For the lime yogurt sauce, simply add freshly squeezed lime juice from 2 limes to 3 cups of plain Greek yogurt and mix thoroughly.
Step 4: Preparation! Halve a whole wheat pita bread, spread 2 tablespoons of lime yogurt sauce on the inside, throw in two chicken burgers, then add spinach and sliced or diced tomato.
I had my doubts about this recipe until I followed through with it. Chicken burger with yogurt...? Sounds weird, but this recipe is DELICIOUS! I made this recipe last week and ate my weeks worth of meal prep in 3 days because it was just too damn tasty.
I hope one of you out there gives this recipe a try!
Until next time.
Written by Peter Kilian, Train with Pete LLC.