What is yummy...?

To me this looks divinely yummy!

And this? Well this is questionable.

Do you think this tastes good? How does it make you feel after you've eaten it?


For me the answer to the first question would be a positive response, like yum! And the answer to the second question would be yuk!


I will be completely honest here and say that I was a Big Mac girl as far back as I can remember, I think I get this from my Dad. Growing up, my sisters and I got McDonalds as a treat maybe four times a year and I remember the day when I got a Big Mac meal instead of a Happy Meal. A proud moment for me and my father.


And I will admit that I ate McDonalds on a regular basis, three to four times a week, throughout my teens. Now? Not so much. The last time I ate a Big Mac meal was last year on the way to the snow with my girlfriend Antonia and yes it tasted good at the time but the rest of the drive was not so pleasant. I can't say I will never have McDonalds again but for now I am quietly confident that the love Mr McDonald and I had is finished.


So back to my beautiful vegetables! I wanted to share with you what I bought home from the supermarket with me on Thursday night, how much it cost, what I prepped and how long it took me to cook. 


My shopping bag contained:


500g Lean beef mince $7.00
400g Rump steak $9.00
400g Salmon fillets $10.00
2 dozen free range eggs $11.00

400g Mushrooms $3.10

500g Broccoli $1.70

Bunch of celery $2.50

1kg carrots $1.50

600g Red capsicum $2.20 (on sale, they are normally so expensive!)

400g Zucchinni $2.50

1kg brown rice $3.00
1kg Oats $1.20

500g Almonds $7.00

Total spent: $58.20

From this I made:

4 x beef stir fry

4 x mince with mushrooms and fresh veggies

4 x salmon fillets with steamed veggies

8 x breakfasts of oats with almonds and three scrambled egg whites (I didn't prep these that night)

It took me 1.5 hours to prep, cook and wash up and I had meals ready to go in the fridge for 4 days.

I normally do a shop like this twice a week with maybe a few stops at Woolies in between if I run short on something. That's a total of $116, give or take a bit, but I think that is pretty good value for someone that eats five meals a day and never goes hungry.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I like organisation and consistency in my life so for me prepping everything and knowing it is there in the fridge helps me stay focused on my healthy eating goals. This amount of prep and the eating plan I am on now is new to me so I am sure there will be times where things don't go quite as I hope.

I do believe that planning and preparation is important in everything we do and I believe that planning and preparing your meals will help you make healthy choices. Try planning for one day. 

Try this for me...

Write down what you will eat tomorrow, starting with breakfast, then your morning snake, lunch, afternoon snake and then dinner (yes five meals, not three). If you do not have what you need at home make a list and head to the supermarket. Buy what you need on your lunch break and take it home with you that night. That walk to the supermarket will give you a break from work and get you moving for 10 minutes which are both awesome. Spend 20 minutes that night preparing your meals to take to work with you, you can make dinner when you get home tomorrow.

Twenty minutes may stop you having to get something for lunch from that take away place you know you shouldn't be eating from. And that 20 minutes may also save you the $12 you might spend at said take away shop!

Sunday afternoon/early evening is my time first of two preps for the new week. Simon cooks my meat while I chop, prep and divide up the portions. I think he is still getting used to my crazy organisation and a fridge full of tupperware!