Thoughts on Meal Preparation

[Nova]

I'm sitting here enjoying my lunch of homemade, baked chicken 'nuggets' and a spinach salad with a sprinkle of cranberries and almond slivers, and it got me to thinking about meal prep.

I took the time last week to cut up a pack of chicken breasts I got on sale, sprinkle on a spice mix and bake up the whole package. Then I separated them into 6 oz containers and put them in the freezer for lunches this week. Last night, I put 2 cups of raw spinach in a container with some salad pizzaz, measured out my 2 T of low cal vinaigrette into a separate container, and made a fruit salad for the next 2 days afternoon snacks.

All told, I spent 20 minutes making the chicken last week, and maybe another 10 minutes last night getting my meals together for at-work today.

When I was doing the weight loss phase of MF, I enjoyed the grab-and-go convenience of it. I could get up in the morning, grab a RTD shake to drink in the car and grab 3 shakes and a bar and be set for the day. Now I have to plan out my L&G for lunch, my fruit and my dairy. I also have to plan out my breakfast so that I'm never, ever tempted by the 3 donut places I drive by on my way to work. (I'll never understand why Houston is so in love with donut shops, but they're awfully good. )

If I forget to make my lunch, what are my options? I could go to the vending machine and grab a granola bar. Better than grabbing a candy bar or a bag of chips, but not very good. I could go grab some fast food, but I haven't been there in a year, and I have no desire to go back. Read _Fast Food Nation_ to understand why. Besides, it would take at least 20 minutes to drive there and back, maybe 30 with all the traffic. Or I could go to the on-site cafeteria. It's not bad. I could get a salad, but that's my best option. They rarely have anything that could be called a L&G, and all their sandwiches have mayo or dressing on them. And the soups are awful.

So I used to be scared of being on maintenance and losing the convenience of grabbing packets. I'd worry about having to cook meals in advance and having to take time away from playing video games or watching my favorite show. But that hasn't happened. I would so much rather have a fresh salad that I made myself and I know exactly what's in it instead of the bother of going out to grab some anemic fast food salad or having to smell the french fries and pass them up. Passing up fries always makes me feel deprived, and then I think about the hot apple pies and get sad, but if I have my food already packed up and ready to eat, I'm absolutely thrilled when it's time to eat.

Plus, after a year of not being able to cook, I take considerable delight in coming up with healthy L&G meals that fit into my maintenance plan. I tried a tandoori chicken that had been marinated in spiced yogurt. Not something I could have had on weight loss, but I decided it was okay in maintenance. Same with the carrots spiced with chili and lime.

Maybe I'm still in my honeymoon phase, and I'm sure there will be days in my future when, for one reason or another, I need to go forage lunch somewhere, but so far the upsides of preparing meals is far outweighing the problems I thought I'd have.

[Serendipity]

I have gotten so used to grabbing and going, that I consider it a major inconvenienct to have to think about what I want to eat. I spose I'll get used to it, but frankly, I'd rather just eat Medifast......I know how that sounds, lol, but it's true!

Haven't had anything yet in maintenance that I enjoyed more than my supplements. Well.....a banana comes close, but you don't have to cook that and it has the same grab and go quality.

[Nova]

Heh. I agree, although I'll substitute an apple or pear for the banana. Fruit is nature's go-food. I guess I just love cooking and creating in the kitchen. Plus I'm a big proponent of eating as close to natural as possible. So while I appreciate what MF did for me, in the long run, I want to eat closer to a 'paleo' diet: hunt it, fish it, pick it or milk it.