Most of you know I had Lap Band Surgery in 2004.  I lost 270 pounds and am maintaining that loss.  Did the Lap Band - or any weight loss surgery for that matter, do it for me?  NO… As you all know, we have to do the work as well.  I admit it - I LOVE food and I will only eat delicious food.  I am NOT on a Diet.  I am, 13 years later, living a life I never could have imagined when I hobbled along, in constant pain, at 424 lbs.

I have a busy life.  You have a busy life.  We all have obligations that require our time and effort and yet we all still need to eat.  Right?  I have found a way that works for me to streamline some of my meal planning and prep.  Here’s what it looks like for me. 

• I begin on Sunday morning.  You can begin on whatever day works best for your schedule.  After having my leisurely cups of herbal tea, and then my 1 allowable cup of coffee as I read my book or the Sunday paper I make breakfasts for the week - well really for about 4 days..  I use a 13 x9 x2 pan and after spraying it with non stick spray, I fill it with a 32 ounce container of egg substitute and whatever else tickles my fancy - from lite mozzarella cheese and bacon bits, to salsa and chopped chiles and light cheddar cheese, to chopped spinach, olives, and feta cheese.  I write down everything I put in my frittata, bake it, and then figure out if I divide that by 8 (4 for hubby, 4 for me) for what am I eating in terms of calories/protein.
• Then I look in my refrigerator, freezer, cupboards and counter and try to figure out what I want to make for a few lunches this week.  Typically I’ll have some leftover chicken or tuna in the cupboard, or lite salami and fresh mozzarella cheese, or turkey deli meat.  Then I may put together chicken salad, tuna salad,  a turkey salad, crab salad, or salmon salad.  You get the picture.  Again I am weighing and measuring as I go so I can put these lunches up in individual size containers for grab and eat.
• It’s off to The Sunday Farmer’s Market with me next (after breakfast because by this time I have typically been up for 2-3 hours.  This week I knew I had fresh salmon, shrimp and some ground turkey that I wanted to use.  I decided to make a Thai Green Curry with Shrimp and Vegetables so I knew I needed carrots, onion, eggplant, squash, and basil at the Farmer’s Market.  I also got some Italian green beans to have with the salmon, and I will brown and season the ground turkey and add it to the leftover squash I have in my frig along with some fresh chopped heirloom tomatoes and top this all with some cheese for another dinner.

The Farmer’s market is only 5 minutes from my house so my score of purple carrots, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, Japanese cucumbers, basil, baby spinach radishes and green beans and a deliciously ripe cantaloupe - ALL organic - ALL from a farm about 20 minutes from my door, took only 15 minutes.

• Next up is what can I prep before hand so that in the evening, when I am tired and want to make dinner then relax, it can be quick and easy. 
• I chopped all of the veggies (and weighed them all) for tonight’s curry.  I am thawing the shrimp so it will be 1-2-3 for cooking dinner tonight.  I have the coconut milk and the green curry paste sitting on my counter ready to go.
• Next I cubed up the cantaloupe and put it in a container so we could reach for it, pop some in a bowl and weigh - or in a measuring cup and add it to some cottage cheese for another lunch or snack.
• My next step was cleaning up the kitchen.  I washed the dishes and wiped the counters and put the veggies and fruit in the frig and now I have time to do whatever I choose in my day.

I began the process this week at about 9am, and including breakfast and prepping the frittata and some chicken salad, going to the Farmer’s Market, coming home and putting things away, chopping veggies and cleaning up, the entire process was done by noon.  Had I needed to I could have made some hard boiled eggs during this time also.  And then I sat down with my water bottle and began to type.

It’s not hard, it doesn’t really take much time (remember breakfast was in there as well - Sunday, leisurely breakfast with my hubby); and it assures that I always have something tasty to grab for when I am hungry.

The real benefit is the time, money, and calories I save throughout the week.