The first couple months of 2018 were not the greatest. The year definitely didn’t get off to the great start that I had hoped. Everything I had going on also meant that the healthy start to the year I had planned didn’t happen either. But now that things seem to be calming down (fingers crossed) I decided it was time to get back on track. First up on the list – eating better!
On Sunday I planned out my menu for the week and made a trip to the grocery store to stock up on what I needed. I decided to go simple for my lunches for this first week, so I planned large salads topped with chicken. When I look up recipes for baked chicken online I usually have most of the seasonings required, but rarely all of them. I have a lot more spices in the house since I did my first round of Whole 30, but I still don’t seem to have enough. What is a girl to do?
Thankfully I had the opportunity to try out some new seasoning blends from Kitchen Crafted that made things a lot easier. BLND are all natural, gluten free seasoning mixes that come in a variety of flavors. For this weeks chicken I decided to go with the Italian BLND. I was planning to top my salads with the chicken, so I wanted to make sure it was flavorful enough that I wouldn’t miss the dressing. It worked perfectly!
I coated three chicken breasts with olive oil and a healthy helping of BLND seasonings on each side. The chicken went in the 450 degree oven for 17 minutes. Once it was done I cover the dish with foil and let it sit for another 5 minutes. I learned this trick from Pinterest and it definitely helps keep your chicken flavorful.
The chicken, along with avocado and tomatoes, went into my lunch bag along with a large helping of leafy greens. This has the perfect lunch for work! It was easy to throw together and kept me full for the rest of the afternoon. Of course I had some pineapple in my lunch as well for those mid-afternoon sugar cravings.
I see some people post about their meal prep on Instagram and I always think about how I’d never be able to go to the lengths they do. Its not really that meal prep is that hard, its just that I can’t see myself eating the same thing for breakfast lunch and dinner for 5 days straight. And since I’m just cooking for one it makes it a lot harder to cook more and change things up. BUT, meal prep definitely helps with eating healthy. Less excuses for not having the right meal on hand. My cooking on Sunday got me through 3 days of lunches, which worked out perfectly since I will be out of town the next three days for work.
What do you do to help make eating healthy easier?
*Disclosure: I was provided with some complimentary samples of BLND to try out. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve had these for awhile now, but at least I am getting to use them now. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
