I am in the midst of doing Insanity right now. I did P90x last fall and loved it. Insanity seemed like the logical next step. Except for a short break to account for the craziness of SXSW last weekend, I’ve been working out six days a week for the past three weeks. The problem, though, as always, is the eating plan. I am always in such a rush that I eat out all the time, settle for frozen dinners, or (horror of horrors) nibble on my boyfriend’s McDonald’s and call it a meal.
No more, I told myself. But I know how difficult it is to find the time to cook, so I wanted to stick with easy meals that only called for a few ingredients. I also wanted to cook meals with as many whole foods as possible and stay away from processed ingredients if I could. That’s why I am loving my new cookbook, Glorious One-Pot Meals, which provides a great solution for dinner. The hearty polenta and sausage recipe I tried out earlier this week was a perfectly complete meal.
For breakfast, arguably the most important meal of the day, I’ve decided I really enjoy one of the meals in the Insanity recipe book, Proatmeal (Protein + Oatmeal. Get it?). It takes me about 10 minutes total to put together this delicious, nutritious breakfast, so I’m making it a habit to do this every morning when I get up to get the day started right.
The ingredients are simple. Oats, fresh or frozen berries, milk and walnuts. I can’t rave enough about the quality of these organic frozen berries, bought from Costco. They taste amazing and warm up very quickly so you don’t feel like you’re chewing on ice cubes.
The recipe also calls for protein powder – hence the Pro in Proatmeal – but I really hate putting protein powder straight into my meal unless it’s a smoothie. Instead, I use a strawberry-flavored protein powder from GNC and blend it with water so it’s like a mini smoothie.
I like to throw in the oats with water and salt before I boil the water, since I prefer a creamy texture to my oatmeal. Once the oatmeal is done, I put the frozen berries on top of it and let them sit in the bowl for a spell so they warm up. I then pour some almond milk over the mixture and sprinkle the chopped walnuts across. The result is a fully satisfying breakfast.
I am still figuring out how to handle lunch. I have an almond butter and banana sandwich recipe I like, but I’m worried that will get old fast. Breakfast is something that can be pretty routine, but with lunch it is hard to eat the same thing every day. I’m on the hunt for good, quick lunch recipes that will keep me going. My first stop is going to be one of my favorite cooking blogs, The Stone Soup, where I’m sure I’ll find plenty of lunch recipes to keep me occupied for now.
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