Winter Shape Up 2013: Week 3 Fuel
I can’t believe we’re already heading into week 3 of Winter Shape Up! How are you feeling so far? I hope you’ve noticed a huge increase in energy, boost in your desire to continue eating clean, healthy foods and maybe some physical results already, too ๐ Please keep track of your progress and experience for our grand finale giveaways at the end of the challenge <3
Here are some meal ideas for the upcoming week:
Breakfast:
Egg burrito with salsa (<– my breakfast almost every day)
Meal-sized smoothie, toast with nut butter
Lunch/dinner:
Chicken crust pizza (tempeh or cauliflower works, too!) with a salad
Quinoa salad with pecans and cranberriesย or Moroccan-inspired quinoa salad
Tropical salad with citrus vinaigrette
Tuna salad with a healthy twist
Honey-lavender salmon or cashew-crusted salmon with wilted greens and baked potato
Lemon fusilli with chicken, zucchini and pine nuts (would be fantastic for leftovers, too)
Snacks:
Amazeballs (maybe try the PB&J flavor this week!)
Fresh fruit and some cheese
Veggies and hummus
a bar (love these Barre bars and Vega)
Prep ahead:
Protein for the week
Grain of choice
Chop fruits and veggies
Grocery ideas and tips:
Change your salad green for this week- try romaine, arugula, kale, spinach or chard to switch things up
Plan your meals around things you already have on-hand and want to use up- it will keep grocery costs down
Try a new spice or cooking technique this week! Step out of your comfort zone
Plan ahead, prep and envision you success! Eat like a PRO (lots of PROtein and PROduce)
As we get into the third week, this is the point where motivation can start to dwindle. Don’t let it happen! Keep up the amazing work you’ve done so far and remember that we’re halfway there. You’ve got this. Plus, upcoming giveaways are pretty huge- a nice golden carrot of motivation to keep checking in and cheering each other on ๐
Here are some hashtags we’ve been using:
#eatlikeaPRO
#PROmeals
#wintershapeup
Be sure to tag me @fitnessista !
So what’s on the menu this week? Let’s do a little healthy recipe link-up. Leave a comment with your current favorite quick meal/snack option. Hopefully we can get some new ideas from each other as we plan for week 3!
xoxo
Gina
Our week 3 calendar- shuffle around as you see *fit* ๐
I made a batch of your pumpkin amazeballs and am incredibly obsessed with them. Seriously the perfect snack.
I also hope to try the chicken cauliflower crust, definitely intriguing to me! Or maybe the quinoa salad. hm..
Happy Saturday!
Some things I’ve got in mind for this week.
This site is amazing, and mixing some of these sides together makes for a great meal. Thinking of the roasted squash and quinoa with mint for this week.
http://www.dinneralovestory.com/top-ten-side-dishes/
And maybe this salad. http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-fresh-fennel-and-lemon-76788 I love fennel.
And some quinoa mac and cheese. http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2009/12/guest-post-pure2raw-twins-michelle-lori.html
And for snacks I’m thinking:
Raw cookie dough bites. I’m just going to use melted choc chips for an easier version. http://sketch-freeveganeating.blogspot.com/2010/09/raw-frozen-cookie-dough-bites-vegan-gf.html
Grain free sticky buns. Sugar free, too! http://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/06/24/pecan-sticky-buns/
Orange almond chia muffins http://www.edibleperspective.com/home/2012/4/9/orange-almond-chia-muffins.html
Vanilla chia pumpkin pudding, the vegan version. http://www.edibleperspective.com/home/2012/11/20/vanilla-bean-chai-spice-pumpkin-pudding.html
so many great links- thank you!
Just finished workout 2! Finally got in three rounds (2 with my baby girl awake! She held up well, but was ready for me to be done) plus the ab burner. Excited to start week #3!
Oh! Forgot my fave snacks: corn tortilla with a bit of melted cheese topped with avocado and hot sauce! Also, apples and almond butter or just a handful of almonds.
Favorite snack: Peanut butter and banana. If I reallyhave a sweet tooth I’ll put it in a bowl with coconut and chocolate chips!
Got in my 3 rounds and the plank ab burner. Also did an older ab burner by accident! They be burnin’!
awesome!
I’ve been loving the protein muffins this weekend.
ahhh i love those things!
I did Ab Burner and HIIT today tomorrow is Restday! I had to shuffle a bit.
My favorite fuels currently are sweet quinoa:
http://swissfitchick.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/tuesday-recipes-and-detox-day-3/
plus the easiest, lightest and most filling meal which I have for brakfast OR lunch OR dinner:
Chicken Zucchini Frittata, yumm!!
http://swissfitchick.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/tuesday-recipes/
I’ve been loving these: http://happyhealthymama.com/2012/11/apple-peanut-butter-snack-bars.html this past week for a breakfast treat/snack (I added chia seeds to them for an extra boost-love)
Also, I’m curious: have you heard anything about Graze boxes? (https://www.graze.com) I got my first one this week (free!) and was really impressed but I was wondering if you had an opinion on them. I’m looking forward to having a couple of the packs they sent me for snacks this week too!
I had planned on spending my rest day doing some shoveling, but by the time I got up I discovered my kind neighbor had taken care of it for me. ๐
I’d been thinking about making something with turkey for next week, so that turkey chili might be just what I’ve been looking for.
I’m thinking of doing a paleo slow cooker stew this week (2lbs beef cubes, couple carrots & sweet potatoes, onion, canned diced tomatoes, and homemade beef stock…kinda going to wing it!). I love my slow cooker for easy, healthy meals. Another fave is throwing chopped onion, red pepper, eggplant, 2tbs red curry paste & 1 can coconut milk in the slow cooker, 6hrs on low…soooo easy and sooo delish!
Quick meals…
Breakfast – oats/almond milk/sun warrior/organic berries heated then spoon of almond butter and flax or chia stirred in
Snacks -plain Greek yogurt with fruit like chopped apple with cinnamon OR vans waffle with almond butter with berries OR hummus and pepper strips OR protein bars or protein muffins
Lunch/dinner – egg white omlette with spinach and peppers and goat cheese with either cayenne pepper or hot sauce on ezekial bread (bread smeared with avocado) OR veggie wrap-brown rice wrap smeared with hummus with tons of veggies and goat cheese OR salad beast with chick pea and hard boiled egg OR salad beast with salmon
Did workout 2 plus 20 mins of HIIT on the treadmill today and was a hot sweaty mess!! Great start to my Saturday ๐ super excited to see what workout 3 entails since I have Absolutely loved the first two!
I know you thought your indian food last week wasnt as good as your fave restaurant so i was thinking You might like Jenna from eat live run’s slow cooker chicken tikka masala recipe. It’s soooo delicious and totally worth the effort. Seriously tastes like a little Indian grandma snuck into my chicken while I was at work!
P.s. thanks for all of your amazing recipes and workouts too. I definitely look forward to reading your blog every day
thank you so much for reading!
Hahaha sorry kitchen not chicken!!
no worries, that’s pretty hilarious though!
Loved week two! Did the week two workout with the ab burner and added on your forwards/backwards elliptical workout for fun. I’m already thinking about repeating the whole WSU when I’m done with week four.
Love all the meal idea’s ๐ those quinoa salads look amazing! Also the butternut squash cashew risotto recipe you posted a while ago is wonderful (I tried it and OMG). One snack I love is homemade bars – they are convenient and portable but are still homemade so you can control what goes in them. One recipe I love is this recipe for quinoa breakfast bars: http://superfoodbabe.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/vegan-quinoa-breakfast-bars/ plenty of PROtein in there to fuel up
xox
I often refuel after a run with an easy meal I make all in a cast iron pan – roast some red onions & sliced brussel sprouts, throw in 2 eggs & some cheddar & scramble til the cheese is melted. Incredibly filling & tasty!
Love all those meal and snack ideas! Thanks!
This week I’m making:
– Pork tenderloin with pan sauce (http://chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.ca/2012/03/pork-tenderloin-with-pan-sauce.html) with Brussels sprouts and sweet potato
– Quinoa with roasted winter vegetables and pesto (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/health/nutrition/20recipehealth.html?_r=0) + fried eggs
– A beet, grapefruit and goat cheese salad with salmon
– Wheatberry salad with beets, raisins, and a citrus dressing (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/wheat-berry-salad-raisins-beets-and-citrus-vinaigrette)
the salmon salad sounds especially amazing!
I love the ideas in this post! Here’s a healthy recipe that can be made vegetarian or for a meat eater that I posted on my blog recently:
http://www.lisathevegetarian.com/2013/01/18/homemade-burrito-bowls/
Just did 3.5 miles with the hubs ๐ Got a TON of snow here in MA, which is like running in sand.
Got it workout 2 yesterday (just forgot to comment!) plus the ab burner. I was so surprised how quickly those 4 minutes went by! Just when I was ready to collapse, it was all over. I am loving those moves and looking forward to starting week 3!
Did W#2 yesterday with 15 minutes HIIT and15 minutes steady run. Today, I’m shooting for 4 miles of a steady run. Woohoo!
yeahhhhH!
Just went grocery shopping so that I can #eatlikeaPRO this week! So excited to begin the meal prep! I may have to flip flop today and tomorrow and use today as a rest day and tomorrow as my Runday.. either way I will make it work!! Happy Sunday!!
awesome! i’m getting ready to run and grocery shop here, too ๐
Today is my rest day and tomorrow I’m psyched to do WO#3!!
My favorite snack lately is carrot sticks and nut butter of any kind!
Will you be posting Workout #3 today? I was going to do it Monday but can wait until Tuesday if not. Thanks, Gina!
it’s up ๐
Awesome meal ideas!
I love hummus and veggies, I eat that every day as a snack.
I’m definitely going to try and make some protein muffins. Much better than regular muffins.
aaah! breakfast rellenos! Lurve.
I’m loving the crockpot these days since I’m starting to work again (verrrry part time). I’m not a paleo purist by ANY means – I prefer to just make healthy choices instead of following a certain “diet” – but this girl has some amazing recipes: http://www.paleomg.com
Two of my current favorites: Pumpkin Cashew Coconut Curry (not crockpot but a quickie) http://paleomg.com/pumpkin-cashew-coconut-curry-coconut-rice/
Crockpot Brazilian Curry Chicken http://paleomg.com/leftovers-brazilian-curry-chicken/
I REALLY didn’t want to do it (run 4 miles), but I had committed to it an earlier post, and so, I did. Thanks for helping me keep accountable. Keep up the great work and thanks for all of your support! Woohoo!
I made up a pot of your sweet potato black bean chili last night and plan to use it as my lunch at work throughout the week. It is SOOOO good!