This time of year is when many of us really start to feel the stress of getting back into a routine. In the summer we are just a little bit more relaxed about things. There aren’t as many scheduled evening activities, kids are out of school, many of us use our vacation in the summer, and all around we let things slide a little bit more, enjoy a bit more relaxation and fun food and don’t spend much time worrying about meal planning.
This week is my first full week of teaching classes since I believe June. I’m not sure what it says that I started the week out already feeling under recovered from last week, and this week is only going to be more challenging. But one thing I did this past weekend that I haven’t done in months is going to make life a little bit easier – meal prep.
I spent about an hour in the kitchen pulling together a few things that will make meals so much easier and save so much time that it’s worth giving up an hour or so on Sunday. And what’s even nicer is that with some smart shopping, an hour is really al you need to make life easier. Thanks to President’s Choice’s newly re-launched Blue Menu line of products, you can almost entirely skip the prep and go right to eating!
I remember when I was growing up, a frozen meal wasn’t much to brag about. They were definitely not a staple in our diet, and when we did have them they were decent enough, but nothing like the foods you can get pre-made now.
For instance, I would have never dreamed of buying a frozen chili. It just didn’t seem like something that would be great, but I was wrong. The new Blue Menu Beef Chili with Cornbread Crumble Top is so good!
I truly would never have known the chili was from the freezer section, and the corn bread topping was crunchy and delicious. It seriously made my day when I got to dig into it after a long day of teaching classes.
And as a bonus, there were leftovers which made for a simple lunch the following day!
The PC Blue Menu Lentil & Bean Bites is another product I recently tried which made a fast and delicious meal you’d never guess was from a box!
While they aren’t truly a falafel, they were close enough that I treated them like they were and made this delicious spread!
Cucumber and tomato from my parent’s garden, PC arugula and a warmed whole wheat pita paired perfectly with my homemade Tzatziki dip (PC plain SKYR yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, salt, and lemon juice), and the SKYR yogurt added an extra punch of protein to the meal while keeping it light and delicious.
Not considering the time it took to bake the lentil and bean bites, this one took about 15 minutes total to throw together. And that includes walking to my parents house for some lemon juice and a tomato. Granted they live about 20 feet away, but still. ?
Speaking of protein, that is one of the problems with most pre-made frozen meals, they lack the protein and fibre you need to full your body and feel fuller longer. This isn’t the case with Blue Menu, they’ve paid particular attention to ensuring the products in this line have adequate protein and fibre which is amazing.
Other items in the newly relaunched PC Blue Menu line that I’m really loving include their frozen black beans and chick peas (great for tossing in soups and salads),
their Super Grains Oatmeal (which has 4g of fibre and protein, and is made with flax and chia seeds) and Ancient Grains and Super Seeds Blend (which includes sprouted buckwheat, flax, sprouted millet, chia seeds, shelled hemp seeds and amaranth seeds) is great for sprinkles on cereals, smoothies, adding to baked goods or making snack bites!
Along with so many other great products your whole family will love – outer space pasta anyone? 9g of fibre and 16g of protein/serving? Yes please! They must have known I’m a sucker for shaped pasta. As a kid I was all about the Super Mario Kraft Dinner you could buy!
When life gets busy healthy eating is often the first thing to fall to the wayside, and all that does is make us feel more tired and rundown because our bodies aren’t getting the nutrients they need. With a little help from PC and the new PC Blue Menu products you can cut back the stress of meal planning, cut back on meal prep, and still come out the other side with healthy, nutrition meals in a snap.
[Tweet “Meal planning made easy with @preschoice and #BlueYourMenu”]
So if you are the type of person who doesn’t plan out any meals in advance, the next time you are at the store keep an eye out for the PC Blue Menu products. Throw a few in your cart and you might just be surprised at how easy – and delicious – saving time and eating healthier really can be!
If you are only going to prep one food in advance to have on hand for a busy week what is it?
My go-to is a big casserole of pasta. Lasagne, Penne, or something like that. With a good dose of protein, carbs and fat I know I can make it fit into my eating plan any day, and it makes life so much easier to know you have 4-8 servings made and ready to eat.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for President’s Choice and their newly relaunched Blue Menu products. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
I’m defo trying that chili!
It’s for real SOO tasty! FYI, it has a chili pepper on the box (indicating how spicy it is), but it wasn’t terrily spicy. I had no issues with it, so if you like spice you may want to pop some hot sauce on it. But for me it was perfect.
I just purchased a Blue Menu Brown rice & Quinoa with butter & chives. Haven’t made it yet, but it sounds yummy and will help me get a quick meal on the table when I am short on time.