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Author Archives: Karen
12 Healthy Lunch Ideas for Quick and Easy Meal Prep
As I mentioned in my 2020 goals post, I’m hoping to re-focus on adding more nutritious meals back into my week. One key way to stay on track with this goal is with my lunch meal prep. It’s so easy these days to order any kind of takeout that you want and have it delivered to you in less than an hour. Meal prepping helps make sure I always have a healthy and filling option at my finger tips to prevent reaching for fast food lunches. I’m always on the hunt for new healthy lunch ideas for meal prep Sunday.
Over the past year, I snapped some of the meals I prepped that worked with my quick and easy needs and reheated well. I always try to include a large serving of vegetables in my most of my meals. Many meals include a small source of animal protein, although I do occasionally make vegetarian and vegan lunch options too.
My meal prep strategy is to bulk prep for the entire month in one or two days. I pick about 4 different meals and prep about 20 lunches. I mainly use these containers from Amazon, but I also use these 3 sector ones on occasion. Since all the meals I prep are frozen after cooked, I look for freezer-friendly recipes and food. I find sturdy vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes freeze best. A few other freezer friendly favorites are kale and asparagus.
When bulk meal prepping, I try to pick 1-2 easy recipes like cut up chicken sausage with roasted vegetables that can be quickly prepped along side 1-2 more complex dishes like kung pao chicken or lentil meatballs. I will bulk bake chicken breasts and roast and saute vegetables that can be used across all meals. To save more time, I use frozen vegetables like green beans and okra that don’t need to be chopped and pre-cooked. Another easy way to build up my frozen meal prep supply is to freeze dinner leftovers. If a recipe says it makes 4-6 servings, I will save 2-3 of those to eat for dinner and freeze the leftovers in lunch sized portions.
I have found a few tried and true recipes that I like and tend to rotate through these throughout the months. If you are looking to give lunch meal prepping a try, scroll through for some of my healthy lunch ideas for meal prep. I also included links to some of the recipes where available. If you would like more meal prep tips, check out my full post of meal prep tips HERE.
KUNG PAO CHICKEN (recipe) WITH OVEN ROASTED BROCCOLI
NAKED CHICKEN WITH OVEN ROASTED MIXED VEGETABLES
CHICKEN MARSALA (recipe) WITH ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND DIJON AND BALSAMIC COATED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
ROMESCO CHICKEN (sauce recipe) WITH SAUTEED KALE AND MUSHROOMS
CHICKEN PICATTA (sauce recipe from this book) WITH FROZEN OKRA AND ROASTED ASPARAGUS
MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN (recipe) WITH ROASTED CARROTS AND SAUTEED KALE
TURKEY CURRY MEATBALLS WITH CREAM SAUCE (recipe from this book I add mushrooms) WITH FROZEN VEGETABLES
GROUND TURKEY AND VEGETABLES IN MARINARA SAUCE WITH ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
CHICKEN SAUSAGE WITH SAUTEED LACINATO KALE AND ONIONS
SAUTEED SHRIMP WITH SAVORY OATS (steel cut oats cooked in vegetable broth) AND SPINACH
LENTIL MEATBALLS WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE (inspired by this recipe) WITH ROASTED CARROTS AND BROCCOLI
SAVORY OATS (steel cut oats cooked in vegetable broth) TOPPED WITH SPINACH, ONIONS, AND MUSHROOMS
Affordable Red Puffer Coat
Hello friends! How was your weekend? My Saturday was filled with all the activities, and Sunday was a relaxing-ish day at home. I did laundry, some cleaning, and blog work, but I also managed to get in some me time. All in my cozy loungewear of course. It was a good balance of fun, relaxation, and productivity.
In November, my boyfriend and I attended my first Aggie football game. A few days before, the weather changed and was predicted to be a little chilly, so I started searching for a maroon coat that would arrive quickly. I also didn’t want to spend too much since I didn’t think I’d wear it too much outside of the game. My search lead me to this affordable red puffer coat. The color on the site makes it look more dark maroon, but I think it has a more dark red with a hint of maroon coloring to it.
It was perfect for the game! It kept me warm but not hot. It has a lightweight feel and isn’t bulky which I really liked. It’s also packable and folds up super small which is perfect for this over-packer! For the price, I think the quality is really good. For size reference, I went with the XS. It’s a perfect fit with a thinner top underneath. For a thicker sweater, I would probably need to go up one size.
To keep this look pretty casual, I paired my puffer coat with my gray slip on sneakers and matching gray mini backpack. My lightweight turtleneck is perfect underneath my coat and I love the stripes paired against the red. This turtleneck is such a great basic staple to have in your closet. I wear mine under cardigans and sweaters, and paired with skirts for work. I like that it’s thin but not see through.
Hope ya’ll have a great day and see ya’ll back here later this week!
| OUTFIT DETAILS |
Dark Red Puffer Coat | Striped Turtleneck Top | Dark Wash Jeans | Similar Slip On Sneakers | c/o Mini Gray Backpack Purse | c/o Gold Stud Earrings
Photography By: LA Photography
SHOP THE LOOK
Beauty Trials: Tatcha The Essence
Get ready ya’ll because I have lots of beauty content coming at you over the next couple months. I spent so much of last year trying out different products and routines, and I can’t wait to share with you!
I’m kicking my 2020 beauty off with review of Tatcha The Essence. It’s a new to me product and brand. A friend first told me about the Tatcha brand and how much they loved their products. I decided to try out one of the more popular products from Tatcha, The Essence.
If you have never heard of the Tatcha brand before, here’s a little backtstory. Tatcha was founded by Victoria Tsai after a chance encounter with a modern-day geisha that changed her skin. She learned classical Japanese beauty secrets passed down by generations that took a less is more approach to skincare. She learned that the foundation of a geisha’s beauty ritual is rooted in a trio of powerful nutrients—green tea, rice, and algae. She combined what she learned and a little science to create the Tatcha line.
What is Tatcha The Essence?
It’s a water like product filled with anti-aging Japanese superfoods that will help hydrate, smooth, and resurface the skin. All of which should also help your other skincare products work better.
Why I wanted to try this out?
I’m a big fan of my micro-needling tool which helps open up your skin and allow skincare products to seep in deeper and work better. While reading about Tatcha The Essence, it sounded like it might do something similar with just a few splashes of the product on my face. Plus during winter, I need all the hydration help!
How do I use it?
I currently only use this in the evening, but you can use it both morning and night. After I wash my face, I pour about 1/4 teaspoon into the palm of my hand. I use my fingers to lightly apply the water onto my face. Then, I use my fingers to lightly press the water into my face and spread around to make sure I cover my entire face. I let it soak in for a minute or two and follow up with my serums and moisturizers.
My Results
I have noticed an improvement in hydration of my skin. Winter is typically when my skin is a little drier, and I use extra moisturizer. I haven’t really had to do that while using this product. I also think it helped my skin survive the chaos of the holidays. All the yummy food, sugar, and alcohol that happens during the holiday season usually takes a small toll on my skin with redness, unevenness, and breakouts. I used this all of December and didn’t really have any skin inflammation issues during the holidays. I noticed a more even skintone and less fine lines with use of this product. I think this is probably a combo of the product plus it helping my serums work a little extra.
Overall, I’m planning to keep using this product and will probably make it a regular in my winter skincare routine. Hope ya’ll enjoyed my Tatcha The Essence review and that ya’ll are liking the Beauty Trials series! I’m looking forward to continuing it this year!
SHOP THE PRODUCT
Setting Goals and Ambitions for a New Year
Truth: I love setting goals, I love a new month and a new year. I love sitting down at the start of the year and month and writing up my goals. This time of year is all about setting yourself up to grow this year. I think it’s important to grow a little in some capacity each year. The start of the year is the perfect time to sit down and think about what do I want to achieve and how do I hope to grow this year. This is the start of how I set my goals for the year ahead.
Once I narrow down how I want to grow or what ambitions I have for the upcoming year, I start thinking what do I need to do to achieve my year’s ambitions. I try not to make anything to broad but really take the time to think up actionable goals. I like the accomplishment I feel from crossing something off a list. As I go through the year, I make mini goals each month that help me achieve those broad ambitions and areas I’m looking for personal growth.
Two of my goals this year are to improve the wellness of my body and mind and clear the clutter. I’m setting up a few goals for the year to help me achieve this, and I thought it would be fun to share them with you. I love reading other people’s goals, so feel free to share yours in the comments at the end of the post!
WELLNESS GOALS
2019 was a year of change with a new relationship and new job. All the change threw me off of my routine and lead to skipping workouts and choosing less than healthy food options. In the fall, I started noticing the effects with lower energy, more naps, and not sleeping at night as well. If I’ve learned anything through all my experimenting with food and exercise, it’s that my energy levels are a key indicator of how good or bad I’m doing with my personal wellness.
For 2020, I’m planning to give my body the food and exercise it needs to perform at top energy levels. I made this a focus in 2018 and the results were amazing! Glowing skin, healthy hair, and tons of energy and focus. This year I plan to go back to those healthy ways by focusing on eating foods that nourish, adding more vegetable to my plate, drinking more water, and adding in more variety to my workouts to keep them fun. When I think of eating healthy, I like to take the approach of thinking what you add not eliminate. If I focus on filling my meals with highly nutritious foods, I tend to not notice the processed, junk food and sweets that are missing from my meals. I did make a few small January goals to help me kickstart eating healthy and bust through the junk food withdrawal cravings like consume less sugar and alcohol, stop snacking between meals, and include vegetables and/or fruit with every meal.
For my workouts, I recently joined ClassPass to add more variety to my workouts. Houston has so many studio options, and I’m excited to use Class Pass to try out different classes and mix up my workout routine a little. If you haven’t heard of ClassPass, you pay them a monthly membership fee and get access to a variety of workout spots around town. You receive a set amount of class credits depending on the package you choose, each studio sets the amount of credits needed per class. I found the studios and classes that I was interested in were about 7-8 credits each. For the new year they are running a one month free offer, so I figured why not! I’ll probably try it out for a couple months and see if I like it or prefer just belonging to my spin studio which offers yoga and strength training too. I still plan to use my apartment gym too because it’s free and walking distance, both pros!
GET ORGANIZED AND DECLUTTER
I am not a fan of clutter and piles of things. Too much clutter in my house can stress me out a little. I feel like I think and focus better in an organized space. I like a clean, everything has it’s place kind of feel to my home. A busy year and changes to my routine ended up with my home feeling cluttered and unorganized. I kept the main areas of my house pretty clean and clutter free, choosing to hide things away in my bedroom. Now that room is starting to need a major overhaul! I plan to take time every week and work on decluttering and re-organizing. I’m planning to clean out my closet and list items on Poshmark or donate, go through my storage unit and get rid of anything I don’t need or use and find new ways to organize areas like my jewelry and shoes that have taken on a life of their own. One big goal for me is to reduce the amount of boxes that I have in storage. I’d like to be able to store some seasonal fashion items in there, but right now it’s full of all kinds of random things that I probably don’t need.
PRACTICE GRATITUDE
A couple years ago, I kept a gratitude journal. Every evening, I would sit and write 5-10 things that I was grateful for from that day. It could be big, profound things or something that may seem small and silly. I loved keeping this journal and plan to do it again this year. It’s a great way to end the day and stay in a positive mindset by looking at all the good and positive that happened in your life. It’s especially helpful on bad days when you feel like so much is going wrong to take time to stop and look at what good things happened.
CREATE A 2020 VISION
As I mentioned at the beginning, I like to take time and think about what I want out of this year. What do I want to accomplish personally, professionally? Where do I see myself at the end of the year? What do I need to do to get there? It’s kind of similar to the vision board idea. I sit and write out my vision of 2020, read over it a few times over the next few days, and then I pack it away. At the end of the year, I pull it back out and review. Sometimes when I re-read, I will find the exact things I write down happened. That’s a pretty cool feeling. If something didn’t happen, I think did I at least work hard to attain this goal or did something even better happen instead. It’s a fun exercise that I enjoy doing every year, and it helps me look back and see how I grew from the start of the year.
Alright now tell me, what are some of your goals and ambitions for 2020?
