Meal prep planning for maintenance

Starting to do a Sunday meal prep and planning routine as my eating gets off track otherwise.   Please join in and share what you are pLanning and prepping for the week ahead.  I do best when I keep it simple.  I have two options for each meal and will change it up each week to keep it interesting.

This week:

Breakfasts:

1. Fruit, greens and protein powder shake using cashew milk
2. Cottage cheese, chia seess, apple

Lunches:

1.Egg, millet, turkey bacon muffins, salad

2. Fish baked with lemon, garlic, dill & salad

Dinners:

1. Tuna, mixed veggies, mozzarella cheese casserole
2. Chicken sausage, lentil, veggie casserole

Since my 4 year post op I can not eat the same thing day after day. I need variety. My body needs variety..or it is "no go". Mentally and physically. 

So I made sure I have a lot of different options

Baked Pork loin

Pork chhops

Meatloaf

Chicken soup

Baked chicken

Pepperoni

Meet Spaghetti sauce and zoodles 

HB Eggs

Different veggies: mostly cooked, some raw

Berries (one for 2 days in a week)

Eggs and chicken stock to make egg drop soup

Sausage (i had sausage last week so I probably will pass on them this week) 

Bacon (some cooked) 

Frozen fish and shrimps. 

Snacks are dark chocolate, protein ice cream.. Nuts and seeds, nut butter... 

Unfortunately I never know what my pouch would like...so I am ready. Lol..

What kind of chicken soup do you make or buy?

I buy plain organic chicken stock or chicken bone broth (to make homemade egg drop soup, or add to dishes instead of water)

When I make my own - I get either whole chicken or at least thigh.. Load my pressure cooker with chicken - and other veggies (celery, carots, leeks, etc) add spices - fenel, carraway, ginger, salt and pepper - add water just enough to cover - and pressure cook for 25 -30min. 

Because of RNY - I strain most of the stock after cooking and use rather very thick style chicken soup with veggies... _(almost like a stew). Or on small pouch days - I add more stock to allow me to eat more... More liquid = more slider foods. 

My approach is not as defined as yours. I plan ahead for the day, but like to have lots of options available to mix things up a bit. To make that work, I try to have several meals' worth of cooked protein on hand, and prepare the individual meals as my mood dictates (eg. take cooked chicken and make a curry, or stirfry it with garlic and ginger, or flavour it with assorted herbs and spices or condiments). I buy meat when it goes on sale, and fruit and veggies are selected by what is fresh, in season and on sale, or from frozen.

Protein sources include:

Beef, chicken, pork - usually baked or roasted but sometimes prepared in the slow cooker. I like lamb too, but never think to buy it. I divide cooked meat into individual portion sizes and freeze. I usually remember to thaw, but if not, there is always cheese! 

Salmon - fresh, frozen or canned, and shrimp - usually prepared from frozen.

Ham - I buy a few when on sale, freeze them, and thaw one as needed. Precooked.

Eggs (scrambled, HB, or omelette), greek yogurt, cheese, turkey and/or chicken nibblers. I don't have milk or cottage cheese as I am lactose intolerant (was even before the surgery). Peanut butter and nuts are trigger foods, so I (mostly) steer clear of those. 

I occasionally crave steel cut oats, so will add protein powder when I have them for breakfast.

Baked beans or curried lentils, and refried beans once in a blue moon.

Bread, crackers, grains, rice, potatoes,etc. - almost never eat them, except for an occasional bit of sweet potato. Crackers are another trigger food to be avoided.

Veggies - avocado, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, celery, squash, bell peppers, green beans, green peas, spinach, zuchinni, etc.

Fruits - berries are my favorite - fresh or frozen, small apples, small bananas, and when in season nectarines, cherries, and occasionally melon. The only citrus I can eat (again, not connected to rny) is blood oranges, and I look forward to those in February.

My snacks tend to be yogurt, fruit, chicken nibblers, a small serving of meat, hardboiled eggs, sugar-free jello, etc. I just purchased an ice cream maker, so will be trying frozen protein ice cream made with 2% lactaid.

Hope this helps!

 Edited to add: I track every bite (even the embarrassing mistakes) on MYFITNESSPAL, and aim for an average of 1100 cal/day over the week.

Not sure if you have a kroger, but they make a carbmaster milk that you can drink if you are lactose intolerant. Same with the fairlife milk.

it has a lactaze enzyme that allows you to drink it with intolerance issues. I used to only do the lactaid milk, but the carbmaster milk has 3 sugars and more protein than the lactaid.

thought i would mention it.

Thanks! No Kroger's in my part of the province (are they anywhere in Canada?), but I will be on the lookout for Fair life and Carbmaster next time I shop.  :)

I'm not in maintenance, but I make sure I have plenty of meat options, a few veg choices that are acceptable, and then second tier choices like protein bars, shakes etc.

If I am home which I am during the week, I have the meat/yogurt options

If i need to be away, I usually go for protein bar/shake options or some thing appropriate related.

This week I'm trying two new recipies

wanton wrap lasagna

eggroll in a bowl

Sundays I try to do 'fridge recon' to ensure I have a plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Monday through Weds. I usually buy grapes and blueberries and I wash and portion those out into little 1 cup measured containers to grab for my lunchbox. Beyond that, I fly by the seat of my pants and cook each night.  I want to cook ahead but I end up getting side tracked most Sundays. 

~Elizabeth