Contributor, She Owns It, Wellness

HELP! I Have Fast Food Guilt by @AFewHungryGirls

by Ray Ball

Updated: February 6, 2015

by: Ray Ball – A Few Hungry Girls Food Blog – Cincinnati, OH

I packed… and everyone in the office ordered out for lunch! It smells so good and this PB sandwich I packed isn’t looking so hot. It’s just one day….”Hey _______ (insert co-workers name), I’ll get a #2 with and egg roll and an orange soda!”

Have you experienced this before? Lord knows I’ve struggled with it and everyday around 11:45am the temptation begins. Luckily, I’ve learned a few things when it comes to this situation and it’s called meal planning. Before you huff and puff and complain how you don’t have the time let me break it down for you! I’ve broken it into 3 ways I’ve conquered Fast Food Guilt!

Cash is King and I’d prefer to keep mine a little longer! The average takeout lunch is $7-$10 which adds up to $140-$200 EACH MONTH, that’s a Kate Spade wallet or a pair of Tory Burch flats… My budget these days are pretty tight between, student loans, house payments, and life it can be tough to warrant spending $60 at the grocery store and instead $5 bucks at the drive-thru. Save yo’ money for the things that really matter like shoes ladies!
Pick out your lunch… Packing your lunch is just as simple as picking out your clothes the night before when your food is already prepared and packed neatly in your fridge. It easily takes 1-2 hours on Sunday to prepare 5 lunches (dinner too if your feeling frisky) and 6-8 healthy snacks! The key to doing it is just that…DOING IT!
My waistline… all ladies know what I’m talking about! I don’t want to be skinny, I love my curves and keeping them in the right places takes work, 80% nutrition 20% fitness! Meal preparation allows you to be creative and cook a diverse group of food that are healthy and taste great! It also takes the guesswork and the temptation away and also allows you to eat clean and cut out all the pre-made processed crap!

What is eating clean? It means not consuming processed foods that are full of preservatives and ingredients chemistry major couldn’t even pronounce. Typically anything in a box, can, or bag! Good thing you can get clean unprocessed fruits and veggies from the freezer section, or from the produce section! Who doesn’t want to eat whole foods, fruits, veggies, and meats from the earth… not a chemical plant!

Making a dietary lifestyle change like this is NOT a diet, there are no cheat days that almost always turn into binge days. If you want a glass of wine, drink it, but don’t drink the whole bottle in one night. If you want pizza, eat pizza, but don’t eat the whole pizza, have a few slices! It does mean being disciplined and learning a few lessons in preparation!

Don’t worry I’m not going to leave you hanging, here’s a easy meal planned to try:

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds of Salmon

1-2 medium to large Zucchini and Squash

3-4 medium Sweet Potatoes

1 lemon

3 gloves of garlic

2-3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Wrap salmon loosely in foil, place sliced lemons on top of salmon, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, place 2-3 halved garlic gloves in package, then fold foil over.
Chop zucchini and squash into bite size pieces, toss with olive oil and season appropriately, place on baking sheet.
Place both pans in oven on the middle rack, for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven or how browned you’d like your veggies.
That morning or before you go to work wash and wrap sweet potatoes in foil, place all in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. They will be cooked to perfection by time you get home!
You can eat your sweet potatoes plain or add a touch of cinnamon and honey!

Tips for success:

Crock-pots are your best friend!
Purchase about 5 1 or 2 cup sized Tupperware containers.
Have 1 or 2 large Tupperware containers to put extras in.
Any leftovers you can put in a freezer bag and freeze for another week!!
Don’t over do it on the seasoning!
Experiment with a few small portions until you get it down!
Don’t give up!

If you’re interested in more meal prepped plans including, a 21 day processed foods detox feel free to email me at afewhungrygirls@gmail.com or contact me through my blog, www.afewhungrygirls.com!

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Ray Ball – Food Blogger, Healthy Lifestyles Cook, Social Media Strategist from Cincinnati, OH.

Ray Ball is co-founder of Tenacia Saturday’s a local wellness event used to gather donations or raise funds for local nonprofit groups! She also creates fun, easy, and healthy recipes to help people transition into a healthier lifestyle. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring or tasteless, she believes you just have to get creative and have some fun in the kitchen with new ingredients. Through her blog A Few Hungry Girls she has been able to work with small businesses to create social media strategies and campaigns to help grow their businesses! When Ray is not working in social media she is in the kitchen creating yummy recipes that she often shares with co-workers! Recipes from semi-homemade, meal preparation, healthy baking, and dietary lifestyle changes are her specialty! Ray also enjoys cooking healthy meals and creating meal plans for people to aid in their lifestyle changes! If she’s not in the kitchen you can be sure she is spending time with her dog Ocho watching Cooking Channel and HGTV!