Does your meal plan consist of dull and boring carbohydrate sources? Plain brown rice with no flavour? Dry and tasteless food choices day after day that leave you uninspired and unmotivated?
In this week’s instalment of my ‘Meal Prep Sunday’ blog series, I’ve got a couple of really easy recipes for you to liven up your carb intake for next week. I’ve chosen these dishes so that you can match them with your favourite protein to add some much needed flavour into your Tupperware containers. Throw in in some chicken, fish, or whatever your favourite choice is and you’ll have a complete dish that will slot nicely in to your meal plan.
Your meal plan need never be that dark cloud that looms over your head again. You should be able to look forward to the meals and snacks you’ve lovingly prepared at the weekend.
With all Iron Paradise Fitness meal plans, I focus on sustainability. Having a meal plan that you can stick to on a long-term basis is the holy grail. But that holy grail shouldn’t been as hard to find as some form of Indiana Jones style crusade. It should be something that is straight-forward and easy to understand. It’s also important to learn how to flex and adapt your nutrition plan, so that the randomness of day to day life doesn’t completely throw you off track. And this is all part of the process I go through in my online coaching.
I’m sure you’ll love these dishes, so get cooking and be sure to let me know what you think.
Let’s get cooking…
Refreshing Millet Salad
Recipe makes 4 servings
Nutritional values per serving
MACROS: Protein = 6g, Carbs = 40g, Fat = 8g
TOTAL CALORIES: 260 Kcal
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 0 mins
[one_half_first]
WHAT YOU NEED:
- 3 cups (520g) cooked millet
- 2 cooked beetroots, julienned
- 2 raw carrots, julienned
- 1 cup (150g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup (50g) sliced cucumber
- 1 cup (70g) chopped kale
- ¼ cup (35g) pumpkin seeds
- fresh herbs of choice
- juice of half lemon
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
[/one_half_first][one_half_last]
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and serve as a salad or side with a portion of grilled meat or fish.
[/one_half_last]
Spicy Quinoa
Recipe makes 4 servings
Nutritional values per serving
MACROS: Protein = 3g, Carbs = 14g, Fat = 4g
TOTAL CALORIES: 103 Kcal
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
[one_half_first]
WHAT YOU NEED:
- 1 cup (170g) quinoa, uncooked
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 tsp. ginger, grated
- 1 tsp. turmeric
- 1 tsp. coriander
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- salt and pepper
- 1 ½ cup (350ml) water
- ½ cup (75g) peas, fresh or frozen
[/one_half_first][one_half_last]
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
Rinse the quinoa in cold water.
Add the oil to the pan and sauté the onions on medium heat for a few minutes, and then add the ginger and quinoa. Cook for one minute stirring constantly. Now add the spices and season with salt stirring it well.
Add the water and bring to the boil, then cover and reduce heat, allowing to simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.
Fluff the quinoa with a fork and serve as a side.
[/one_half_last]
There you have it. Two quick and easy recipes that are full of flavour. Treat yourself to a real kick of flavour in next week’s meals and make sure you actually look forward to tucking into each and every meal.
I’d love to see your own creations after you’ve given the recipes a try. Tag me in your photos on Facebook and Instagram. The best photo will get a 10% discount of a personalised training programme and one day meal plan.
Get cooking and GET CREATIVE with those pics!
Make sure you subscribe to the blog by putting your name and email address in the box below. That way you can be kept right up to date when new recipes and other blogs get posted. You’ll also be on the mailing list for exclusive offers on my coaching programmes.
To find out more about Iron Paradise Fitness and my coaching programme head over to www.ironparadisefitness/onlinecoaching and if you have any questions, then feel free to shoot me an email at simon@ironparadisefitness.com
I’m always happy to answer any questions you have about all things fitness, so don’t be shy.
Enjoy your meal prep and enjoy the recipes.
Simon – Iron Paradise Fitness