Postpartum Meal Prep

 

Postpartum Meal Prep

 I only got a few pictures because I'm exhausted now. Here's what I made:

- Instant Pot Pinto Beans by BudgetBytes. I made bean and cheese burritos with them, and a few of them I filled with a microwaveable Spanish rice packet so they are bean/cheese/rice. 5 cups of beef broth for 49 minutes in the Instant Pot.

- Slow Cooker Sesame Honey Chicken by Skinnytaste. I left out the cornstarch because I read it doesn't freeze well. So I'll just throw it in the crockpot or Instant pot and serve over rice. 

- Mandarin Teriyaki Chicken. This was just using up ingredients of what I had. I had a half bottle of Panda Express Mandarin sauce and a half bottle of Lawry's Pineapple Teriyaki Marinade. So I threw that in a bag with sriracha, sesame seeds and some squeeze ginger with jarlic along with some chicken.

- Freezer breakfast sausage burritos. I cooked up a pound of breakfast sausage along with scrambling 18 eggs with heavy cream (only because I had some, if I didn't I would have just used milk), salt and pepper. Then I made burritos with the sausage, eggs, and cheddar cheese wrapped in a tortilla.

- Freezer breakfast sandwiches recipe by Tastes Better from Scratch

- Slow cooker Pesto Ranch Chicken recipe by She's In Her Apron. I did add some garlic and pepper and I'll probably serve it over mashed potatoes with a side of frozen veggies.

- Veggie & Beef Lentil Chili. This was another clean out the pantry meal. 1 lb ground beef, 1 can lentils, 1 can corn, 1 can white beans, 1 can chili beans, 1 can Rotel. I also added bell peppers, zucchini, celery, onions, garlic, 1 can tomato paste, 2 cups beef broth. Spices I used were (about 1 & 1/2 tsp of each): chili powder (2 tbs), garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne, salt/pepper, 1 tsp sugar. I just warmed it up on the stove then transferred it into 2 freezer safe Ziploc bags. I could serve it with frozen Texas Toast, cornbread or even like a small quesadilla. I'll see how I feel when the baby is here lol.

- Mini lasagna's. The pans were a little too small, but I didn't want to make a huge 9x13 pan because that's too much. I just grabbed a generic lasagna recipe, I based it off of this one by About A Mom. I used 1lb ground beef & 1lb Italian sausage. I only had 1 container of ricotta so that was kind of lacking, and only 1 & 1/2 24oz jars of marinara, so I also added a bottle of pizza squeeze lol. I also added a zucchini since we have so much from the garden. 

Here's some of the dinners plated that I made post partum!

Sam the Cooking Guy's Bagel Bacon Breakfast Casserole

 

Sam the Cooking Guy's Bagel Bacon Breakfast Casserole 

This is incredible! I made it for my husband for Father's day, so I did make 2 changes that he requested. He doesn't like "everything but the bagel" seasonings, so we switched the bagels to onion bagels. Also instead of herb cream cheese we switched to jalapeno cream cheese. Other then that I made it exactly as written. It' so so flavorful and delicious, it's my new fav breakfast casserole for sure. Another company worthy recipe, if we ever had company haha.

Click here for the Bagel Bacon Breakfast Casserole by Sam the Cooking Guy

Toast with Cottage Cheese, Egg and Chili Crisp

 

Toast with Cottage Cheese, Egg and Chili Crisp

This has been a favorite breakfast lately. 2 slices of low calorie bread, spread with low fat cottage cheese. I bit of chili crisp spread over the cottage cheese and topped with an egg that I cooked in the skillet with salt/pepper/garlic. Super good and high protein!

Great Value Strawberry Pancake Mix Review

 

Great Value Strawberry Pancake Mix Review

I got this strawberry pancake mix awhile back from Walmart and I decided to finally make it this weekend. Imagine my surprise when it was Pepto Bismol pink! 

They don't look very appetizing, but I do think the color is pretty lol. Luckily after cooking they looked a little better.

They were okay, not super impressive or anything. The strawberry flavor was super light and barely noticeable. But fun to try and I'd buy them again for Valentine's day or something, but they wouldn't be going in our rotation or anything.

Cinnamon Sugar Biscuit Waffles

 

Cinnamon Sugar Biscuit Waffles

I just took a can of biscuits, and sprayed down my mini dash waffle maker with butter spray. Once they were cooked I rolled it in a cinnamon/sugar mixture. We just ate them as is, and I thought they were just ok, a little dense, but the boys loved them. I loved how easy and quick it was! 

Keto Pizza Omelette

 

Keto Pizza Omelette

  Not the prettiest picture, but the best looking omelette that I've ever made lol. Pizza is of course one of my favorite foods, and I've been really wanting some especially since it's the weekend. I made some homemade spaghetti meat sauce last night so I thought that would be a perfect filling "pizza" sauce. So I whisked up 3 eggs and a dash of egg whites and heavy cream. I filled the omelette with the sauce, 1 crumbled bacon slice, 4 sliced up pepperoni's, mozzarella, parmesan, and a handful of spinach for some greens. 

  This was delicious but super filling, I only had half! 

Low Carb McGriddle Chaffle

 

Low Carb McGriddle Chaffle 

   This was so good! I made the Wonder Bread chaffle Recipe while I cooked up a frozen sausage patty and 1 egg on the skillet. I melted a slice of cheddar cheese over the sausage, and topped it with a drizzle of sugar free maple syrup. I'll definitely be making these for breakfast a lot, my husband even loved it.

Veggie Scramble and Pumpkin Butter Bagel 2 Points

   Veggie Scramble:

- 1 cup worth of frozen bell peppers, onions and spinach. (0 points)

- A little over 1.5 cups of frozen hash browns (0 points)

- 2 eggs ( points)

- 1/4 up Velveeta Cheddar Shreds ( 2 points)

- Seasoned with Southwest Chipotle seasoning and Trader Joe's Green Dragon Hot Sauce

- Dollop of nonfat greek yogurt (0 points)

  Pumpkin Butter Bagel

- 1 half of a Bagel Thin. 1 whole Bagel Thin is 3 points, so technically this would be 1.5 points.

- A few spritzes of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray (0 points)

- 1-2 tbs of pumpkin butter (0 points) My Mom actually made this so I'm not sure on her recipe, but here is one from The Pound Dropper.

 

  Heat a skillet up with cooking spray. Toss in the veggies and hash browns, stir in seasonings. Once cooked, add in the eggs and Velveeta shreds. I just toasted the bagel for a few minutes then sprayed on the butter. SO DELICIOUS! I am obsessed with that pumpkin butter now. 

  The total for this breakfast is 3 points, but since I ate a cup of veggies I earned a point making breakfast 2 points total.

Banana Pancakes, Toast, and Peaches 1 Point

                             Yes, this is the worst picture ever of pancakes on the internet.

  This was my first time attempting WW banana pancakes. FIRST of all, even though they are cracked and look unappetizing....they are delicious! This batter is very different from regular pancake batter I've learned, so next time I'll just make mini pancakes with it. They should stay together then.

  These points were based off of WW Blue when I had 0 point fruit. 

Banana Pancakes 0 Points:

- 1 Banana 

- 2 eggs (you could just use whites, but I was hungry so I used the whole egg)

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tsp baking powder

- cinnamon 

  Mash the banana up in a bowl, then add and mix the rest. Heat up griddle and pour just enough for mini pancakes. If you try to make regular size pancakes, they take forever to cook and stick to the griddle and crack when you try and flip them. Mine did at least, maybe you'll have better luck. 

  I topped it with some sugar free maple syrup and some spray I can't Believe It's Not Butter. 

  I had some Sara Lee 45 Calorie bread for 1 point, and less then a tbs of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter so that ended up as 0 points. Peaches also were 0 points. 

   I make pancakes every Sunday for the family, and usually I just have some eggs or something else WW friendly. It was nice to join in on the pancakes, so I'll be making these again!

3 Point Breakfast WW Blue

 

3 point breakfast today!

- 1 Ole Xtreme Wellness Tortilla (1 point) filled with:
     - 1/4 cup Velveeta shreds (2 points)
     - 1/4 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese (0)
     - 3 oz Tyson Blackened Chicken Tenders (0)
     - 1 tbs fat free Fage (0)
     - Shredded Lettuce (0)
     - Chipotle Hot Sauce (0)

- Canteloupe (0)

-  Honey Lime Black Bean and Corn Salad. Recipe here.

      The recipe doesn't actually contain any honey, and I had forgotten to put the sweetener in but that's ok, it really didn't need it. I also used pinto beans instead of black beans and I added fat free greek yogurt to make the sauce more of a crema. Super good! Zero points.

Quick Breakfast Quesadilla. Purple Plan Update.

 

4 Point Breakfast Quesadilla

- 1 Ole Extreme Wellness High Fiber Tortilla. 1 point.

- 1 slice of Velveeta cheese. 1 point.

- 2 slices turkey bacon. 2 points.

- 1/4 cup fat free cheddar chceese. 0 points.

- 1 egg. 0 points.

- 2 tbs canned diced green chilis. 0 points.

- 1/4 cup pinto beans. 0 points.

- Diced onions. 0 points.

- Hot sauce. 0 points.

All points are based on WW Purple plan.

I like to use as less pans as possible, so I cook everything in one skillet. It takes longer but it's less dishes so it's worth it in my book. Cook up turkey bacon in a nonstick skillet until crispy...well as crispy as turkey bacon gets. Remove from skillet, and then scramble your egg. Add all ingredients to your tortilla and cook using some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray until lightly browned on each side. 

  So I finally am starting up WW again. Like I said in a previous post, I lost all motivation when quarantine started (and the stores were out of everything), then we bought our first home and went through all the moving shenanigans, then it was summer and the months have FLOWN by. I cannot believe we are almost in September. 

  I think I put back on 9 lbs that I had previously lost. Which sucks, but I know I can lose it again. I'm on day 2 now and it's much easier then it was when I started last December. I know what foods to have on hand, and I know what to make quickly. I'm completely fine with eating the same things over and over again, so I like to make big portions and eat it throughout the week. I don't know why but I really don't enjoy cooking just for myself. I love cooking for my family though....I just feel like "why bother?" when it's just for me. That's what I am working on changing though, I need to "bother" doing things for me. So along with WW I started up the Curly Girl method for my hair again. It's a lot of work so I had stopped caring before, but I realized I need to care for myself too. So here we are.

  I switched to the Purple plan because I like that it allows for a more whole food approach. The one thing I don't like about WW is that it kind of encourages low fat, processed diet foods. I was undecided if I wanted to start back up on WW, or start eating whole food plant based. WW is definitely easier, so I'll do my best to incorporate wfpb foods for health. 

  I'm also still trying to conceive, but I really do feel like it will be soon. :)

4 Point Breakfast Sandwhich

                                  4 Point Breakfast Sandwich

Using two eggs adds the extra protein to help keep you full for hours.

Ingredients:

- 1 Light English Muffin. 2 points.
- 1 slice of Velveeta. 1 point.
- 1 slice of Canadian Bacon. 1 point.
- 2 eggs. 0 points.
- Squirt of mustard. 0 points.

1) Toast your english muffin.
2) Fry up 2 eggs in a nonstick skillet, or spray with Pam.
3) Fry up canadian bacon.
4) Assemble and eat!

Fruit and Yogurt Parfait for 3 Points

                                    Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits
                                                                3 Points on Blue

Ingredients:

- 1 Dannon Light & Fit Toasted Coconut Greek Yogurt
- About 5 strawberries, chopped. 0 points.
- 1 Banana, chopped. 0 points.
- Half an Apple, chopped. 0 points.
- 1/4 cup Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, slightly crushed. It gives it a granola crunch. 1 point.
- Sprinkling of Chia Seeds

Just mix it all together and enjoy your much healthier parfait!

What I Eat in a Day for 16 Points

I get 23 points on Weight Watchers Blue Plan, so here is what I had yesterday that turned out to be 16 points for the whole day. I did have a coffee with Premier Protein Caramel shake for 2 points.

Click on the meal to be taken to the recipe.

- Breakfast is the Power Protein Fruit Bake for 4 points, and I had 1 point worth of Sugar Free Italian Sweet Cream coffee creamer.

- Snack was an apple with Maple & PB dip. 1 point.

- Lunch was leftover Slow Cooker & Gravy over Carba-Nada Noodles. 6 points.

- Snack was a small cup of iced coffee mixed with a Premier Protein Caramel Shake. 2 points.

- Dinner was a Filled & Fueled Salad. 2 points. 

  I love how easy Weight Watchers is and I really truly don't feel deprived or hungry.

Garden Scramble aka clean out the fridge eggs

Clean out the Fridge Egg Scramble

Every weekend one breakfast is always the use up the extra veggies egg scramble. Just chop up whatever veggies you need to use up, saute them until softened then add a few eggs. This time I also chopped up a slice of turkey bacon and added 1 Laughing Cow Pepperjack Cheese Wedge.

Healthy filling breakfast for only 2 points on blue!

Fruit & Maple Protein Oatmeal for 3 Points

                                     Fruit and Maple Oatmeal
                                                                  3 Points on Blue

Ingredients:

-  A little under a half cup uncooked oatmeal, or 3/4 cup cooked oatmeal. 3 points.
-  1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk. 0 points.
-  2 tbs sugar free maple syrup. 0 points.
-  2 tbs nonfat greek yogurt. 0 points.
-  1 tsp cinnamon. 0 points.
-  About 5 strawberries. 0 points.
-  1 banana. 0 points.
-  Sprinkling of Chia Seeds. 0 points.

Directions:

1)  Cook oatmeal with almond milk according to package directions.
2)  Add cinnamon, maple syrup and greek yogurt.
3)  Add fruit

Enjoy the warm fruityness.

Felicia Combo

  I have this combo almost daily. It's super fast and filling and delicious. The recipe actually calls for turkey bacon, but I always forget to buy it. So without the bacon it's 3 points on the blue plan.

 Here is the link to Felicia's Youtube video of her recipe. Or you can just type in "Felicia Keathley" on Youtube.

The Felicia Combo

3 points on Blue. 0 Points on Purple

Ingredients:

- 1.5 cups Ore Ida hash browns

- 2 eggs

- 1/3 cup cottage cheese

- Optional ingredients that I add are pepper, Frank's Hot Sauce, garlic powder, salsa. I also add turmeric for the health benefits, it does turn everything yellow though :)

Directions:

  Heat a non stick skillet over medium high heat and cook frozen hash browns. I just warm them up and don't crisp them really. Then I made 2 over easy eggs, Felicia's video will show you how. You could put everything separate on a plate, but I just like to mix it all together. Yum!

Power Breakfast Fruit Bake

This is such a delicious fast recipe to make ahead or make on a weekend morning. I like to add a drizzle of sugar free maple syrup, while my (not Weight Watchers) husband also likes a small pat of butter on his slice.

It's a pretty filling slice, but you can always have some zero points sides with it.

For example:
- 2 eggs
- Some plain nonfat greek yogurt mixed with some sugar free jello. Fruit is also delicious mixed in.
- Banana egg pancakes

I wasn't able to get a picture before the boys started to gobble it up!

Power Breakfast Fruit Bake

4 points on the blue plan

Ingredients:

1) 3 cups Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Protein Packed Whole Grain Buttermilk Flapjack and Waffle Mix.
2) 2 1/2 - 3 cups water, depending on the consistency.
3) 1/2 tbs ground cinnamon
4) Truvia Natural Sweetener with Brown Sugar blend
5) 1 banana
6) 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
7) 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350.
2)  In a large bowl, mix together pancake mix, cinnamon and brown sugar.
3)  Add water to bowl and mix.
4)  Add blueberries, slice strawberries and most of the banana.
5) Top with sliced bananas and cook 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.