Meal Prep Ideas - Salads

I love salads but I hate getting the premade ones at the grocery.  Half the time I find lettuce that isn't good.  Then I'm disappointed. So I make my own. Our salads are not boring either.  I think that's one of the reason why people dislike salads.  They just picture a pile of lettuce.  (That's how my sister in law is)

Power Greens Salad

I also love salads because they are so easy to make.  It makes meal prep day go by a lot faster.  This week we had two different salads for lunch. First one, I'll call the Power Greens Salad.  The greens are baby spinach, baby red and green chards, and baby kale. I sliced red onions and a red bell pepper for added taste and color. I also add chicken.  You can bake, grill, slow cook the chicken. Whatever is your preference.  The salad dressing is the most difficult part.  It can turn a seemingly healthy meal into an unhealthy one.  So watch what you get.  For me, a tablespoon of dressing is enough. That helps keep my calorie count down.

Chickpea and Broccoli Slaw

For this Chickpea and Broccoli Slaw, I bought a bag of broccoli slaw, already cut up and added with other ingredients.  I added red onions and chickpeas to it.  It also has a side of cucumbers, chicken, and hummus. Hummus can be a great subistute for salad dressing.

Two simple salads that are not boring.

Enjoy,
Sothea

Meal Prep Ideas - Salmon Cakes

We are meal preppers.  Every Sunday is meal prep Sunday.  Doing this helps us stay on track.  We try to apply the 80/20 rule.  80 percent of our meals for the week are healthy.  Having meals already ready makes it so we won't reach for something easy and highly processed.

One of the meals for the week included Salmon Cakes.  It is a very simple recipe.

Ingredients

½ cup diced red onion

1 cup diced celery

2 cans salmon (about 6 ounces per can)

½ cup coconut flour

2 eggs beaten

3 tbsp light mayonnaise

2 tbsp mustard

2 tsp paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Drain salmon
3. Mix all ingredients
4. Brush 12 cup muffin pan with olive oil
5. Add mixture to fill each cup, pat down with spoon
6. Bake for 20 minutes

Printable Recipe

We had this with asparagus and Royal Blends Rice.  This one had a combination of light brown rice, red quinoa and freekeh. We love this blend because it cooks a lot faster then regular brown rice.

Happy Meal Prepping!

Our Favorite Things - VivoBarefoot Running Shoes

We are starting a new section about Our Favorite things.  None of these things will be things that we want to try out.  They will be items that we actually use and love.

I want to start off with my favorite running shoes.  They are by VivoBarefoot. I have a lot of shoes, probably too many but these are my go to running shoes. They have what they call Pure Barefoot Technology.  It makes for a more natural run.  It provides a more natural shock absorption, natural motion control, and natural sensory feedback. Another thing I love is that it has a wide toe-box. I was blessed with my mother's feet and my feet are a little bit extra wide in front.  This makes it harder for me to find really comfortable shoes. These are super comfy and I have no problems with them at all. Also when I first started running, I used to get shin splints.  These shoes actually helped out a lot.  I don't even remember the last time I had one.  

You can also find these shoes on Amazon.

~Sothea

I Hate Cardio

“I hate cardio!” I’m sure that we are not the only people that constantly hear this phrase.  There are many reasons that people give for hating cardio such as “I hate running,” “It hurts my knees.” “I hate the elliptical machine too.”  Som hates cardio too but the benefits from cardio are so great that it just has to become a necessary evil.  We found there are a couple of machines that are not as “evil”.  Our two favorite machines for cardio are the Arc Trainer and the CrossRamp.  They are both very similar to the Elliptical but they have a slightly different range of motion. Both have very similar benefits to the other.

Benefits

Low impact cardio

Good for people with knee problems, joint problems, spine problems, osteoporosis because it is less stressful on knees and joints

More challenging then Elliptical =  more calorie burn.

 
The only big difference in benefits is that the Arc Trainer mainly focuses on glutes and quads.  While the CrossRamp can be changed to focus on a variety of different lower body areas.  Both are good alternatives to the treadmill or Elliptical.  Also they are a great way to get your cardio in while building muscles in your lower body.  Both of us dislike the Elliptical so for cardio, we trade off between these two and running on the treadmill.

  

*We are not personal trainers.  Just two people that want to share tricks and tips we have learned on our journey.  This information is for general purposes only. Always consult your doctor before beginning any training or diet/supplement program.