worth prepping

Give me all the flack you want, but I assure you that taking an hour (max) to sort, wash, and prep your veggies will lead to far easier meal prep during the week. No, my fridge doesn't look like this every day. But it does more often than not...especially now, as I am trying my darndest to juggle taking care of my family and taking care of me.

For those also working out with Tracy (a.k.a. feeling mom-a-licious), this is what my fridge looks like on a "Body Reset week". Here's what's what top to bottom:

OJ (which my husband guzzles first thing); the kid's whole milk; steamed artichokes (for a quick snack or light meal); chestnuts; a veggie juice I picked up while out; beer; extra veggie juice I made that day; hummus (for a quick snack); and yogurt (quick kid's snack) and soy milk.

Edamame (again, quick snack); spinach salads I picked up a Whole Foods; cucumbers ready to go in the juicer; grapes; chopped radishes; avocados (really ripe and ready to eat hidden in the back); kid's yogurts; cut-up carrots and parsnips; hard-boiled eggs; berries; fruit salad one of the kids wanted from Whole Foods; strawberries; (more) beer; salsa verde; various hot sauces.

Chicken sausages (for an easy kid's dinner); cauliflower & broccoli (to dip in the hummus); spinach; chopped jicama; chopped peppers; extra jicama; celery and extra cucumbers.

Other things you don't see: frozen Applegate turkey burgers; chicken which I'll either make a spice rub for, or marinate this way; several cans of 365 Albacore tuns is spring water; black beans; a block of Wild Wood Super-Firm High Protein Tofu; and any fish I pick up from New Wave during the week as our protein.

With all of these colorful, healthy ingredients ready to go, in addition to the grilled chicken and avocado salad I mentioned above, I can easily whip up: hard-boiled eggs and fruit for breakfast (or pop fresh berries on a frozen waffle for the kids), an oil & mayo-free tuna or chicken salad, a quick veggie crudite for a snack, or a Mexican-inspired black bean salad...just to name a few of the meals we're enjoying this week!