Meal Plan Monday: Peanut Tofu Rice Bowl with Avocado

It has been a minute since I shared a Meal Plan Monday, and I’ll be honest it is a HUGE goal of mine to share more recipes in this space! I know so many of you follow me not only for fashion, but also for nutrition & fitness which is why I want to share more behind the scenes of what I eat on a daily basis. My goal is to share two recipes a month, if I can churn out more, great! The hardest part is that I am a creature of habit…so writing new blog posts on recipes means I have to make new ones! ha!

I meant to make this recipe last week, but I just reverted to making pancakes for dinner because by the time I got all 3 kids to bed I was tired AF! Trust me when I say that this recipe was worth the wait! This is hands down one of my favorite recipes I’ve ever made for the first time and I’ll definitely be adding this into the rotation. Its fast, easy, and not a lot to cut up (this is key for me in my stage of life!).

Keep in mind that you definitely don’t need to use Tofu (you could totally use chicken), but I thought it would be good so I went for it!

Peanut Tofu Rice Bowl with Avocado

INGREDIENTS

1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup spinach leaves (you can use more or less! Up to you!)
1 cups broccoli florets
2 teaspoons olive oil or additional sesame oil
16 oz extra firm tofu (I used firm and it was a little mushy so I would recommend extra firm!)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Avocado

Peanut sauce

1–2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons chili sauce
1/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut tofu into small cubes. Warm olive oil in frying pan or wok. Sautee tofu until lightly browned. While tofu is cooking, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce (sesame oil, soy sauce, maple syrup, chili sauce, peanut butter) until creamy and smooth. Add sauce to the tofu bowl and let marinate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Cut Broccoli and mince garlic. Sautee garlic until fragrant. Add the broccoli for 3-5 mins.

Add tofu, in batches, along with the marinating sauce until crispy and golden browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add shredded carrots, and spinach. Cook until spinach begins to wilt. Add 1/4-1/2 cup water depending on how thick you want the sauce. (I used 1/4 cup)

Top with Avocado & Enjoy!

xo

Alex

4 Months Postpartum: The Body

4 Months Postpartum: The Body. Where I’m at, and My plan the next 6 weeks!

I’ve documented the first 3 months of the postpartum journey and been completely transparent on how I’m feeling, my fitness, and of course weight loss. Looking back at photos, I’m ahead of where I was with my other two postpartum phases at the same point in time. I know it has to do with the fact that I strength trained as long as I did while I was pregnant, my nutrition postpartum (more focused) this time around, and my consistency of strength training over the last 2.5 months.

Regardless of this, I have had some real low points during this journey already (especially around 2-3 months PP) with lack of progress and comparing myself to where I was pre-pregnancy, to other people on instagram or IRL that may be fitter than me, leaner than me, doing more than me….So much so that I’ve been trying to keep the blinders on, focus on what I’ve accomplished thus far (creating THREE beautiful boys) and remember my journey is UNIQUE to anyone else’s and its about ME, not what Susie or anyone else is doing on their instagram page.

I AM happy to say I saw some real progress this past month (finally!) and I’ve dropped another 3-lbs. This was so meaningful to me because the scale stopped moving around 6 weeks postpartum and I didn’t see movement for a good 8 weeks, even though I was working hard and saw small changes in my body composition and clothes were fitting better.

From a strength standpoint, I’ve started to ease my way into max effort squats/leg day exercises vs higher reps that I had been doing since easing my way into working out. We held off for a little bit so to not shock my nervous system. So, I’m definitely seeing strength gains in that department. Cardio wise, to be honest, I’m still struggling at times to feel good running, mainly. Also my splits are pretty crappy most of the time, but, that all takes time so I try to not let it affect me.

On average I’m getting 3 strength days and 3 cardio days. The 3 cardio days are generally 1 sprint day, 1 longer distance day (3-4 miles) and one HIIT day (sled workout for 10-15 minutes).

Would I like to be doing more? Absolutely. But at this point its all I can manage given work, kids, lack of sleep lol. I do try and WALK as much as I can. Why? Low intensity cardio is good, and its something I can do with the kids. I am a big advocate of moving more if you want your physique to change.

Nutrition has been on a whole pretty good and I’m happy with where I’m at. The most important thing at the moment is keeping my supply for nursing.

As you can see, my stomach is definitely an area I’m going to focus on….

How I’m feeling

Regardless of some of the progress I’ve made, I’m still very far off where I was, and I hate it. Around 12 lbs, 2 pants sizes to be exact. A good portion of my closet doesn’t fit. I feel heavy & tired when I run. While I am definitely a confident person, I still don’t feel great about how I look & feel.

There’s been a big part of me thats been wanting more for myself postpartum and not wanting to accept the mindset of “This is just the way it is for the whole year after you have a baby”. I’ve been wanting to free myself of the stigma of “I’ll completely feel confident about myself when I stop nursing”, “I’ll get my body back after I stop breastfeeding,” or “that’ll fit next year when I’m done nursing.”

I don’t want to live like that. I want to live in the now, not for the future. I want to live my life fully and wholly, happy. NOW. Do I think I look good right now? Sure. But am I super happy with it? Not really.

What has always held me back during the year postpartum was my milk supply. Breastfeeding is so important to me and I would never jeopardize that. I’ve always held off with any strict dietary changes (macros, etc.) until I was done nursing because I’ve been too scared to play around with my food intake. And, because I nurse my babies for a long time (13 months with my first, 15 months with my second) I’ve always wondered if I could make some changes and get to where I wanted to be while still breastfeeding. Because, lets be honest…9 months of pregnancy & over a year of breastfeeding is a LONG time for your body to not be yours.

After the birth of my two older sons, I just wished I had a little bit of guidance from someone who knew what was best for my body while nursing so I could get where I wanted to be. Maybe I could do it if I had the right plan?!

A few months ago I saw 2 or 3 girls doing something called the Faster way to Fat loss program that were nursing babies similar age to mine, and still lost weight. AND….wait for it….

THEIR SUPPLY INCREASED.

I was intrigued. I kept thinking about it, week after week. And finally, I pulled the trigger and thought- if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But at least I’ve tried.

So, I’ll be starting the Faster Way to Fat loss Program tomorrow. I’ll explain everything briefly about what the program is, and I’ll be sharing my results with all of you throughout the process!

Faster Way To Fat Loss

What is the Faster Way to Fat Loss Program?

The FASTer Way to Fat Loss is a 6-week online fitness program. The program was created by Amanda Tress, and it helps you learn to fuel your body effectively and maintain energy throughout the day while you naturally burn fat. It’s basically a strategic program that combines intermittent fasting, carb cycling, macro counting, and strategically paired workouts so that you are working smarter, not harder.  If you have no idea what those words mean, I’ll answer them in the Q&A below!

Can you do this when breastfeeding?

Yes. Basically what you alter for being a breastfeeding mom is the lower carb days (you don’t go below 100 g net carbs, regular program is 50) and you don’t need to do the low macro day. You can choose to do either one of those, but I think to start I won’t.

What made me feel so confident was seeing other mom’s do it with no issue with their supply, and the fact that my coach is a Labor & Delivery nurse (medically qualified & educated), who also did FWTFL while nursing and was successful. There are no supplements, drinks, etc. to take doing this and you are just eating plain, natural food that God has created for us to eat!

What is Intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is when you limit yourself to a shorter window of eating through out the day, thus being in a “fasted” state for more of the day.  Specifically, having only an 8 hour period in which you eat and a 16 hour period where you don’t eat.  For example, eating only between 12pm-8pm and not eating, or “fasting,” from 8pm-12pm. To note: I’ve always been a big proponent of eating breakfast, and this might not be something I do longer term, but I’m willing to try it (after looking at results and doing some research) to get myself where I want to be.

What are macros & why do I need to count them?

Macronutrients (or macros) are the molecules our bodies need to grow and be active. We use these molecules as energy to do work on a cellular, tissue, organ, and organismal level. This energy helps us break down nutrients, repair damaged cells, grow new cells, and more. Macronutrients are broken down into three basic categories: carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

I have tracked my macros when I leaned out after my first 2 babies so I AM familiar with this and using my fitness pal, but its still been a learning curve for me during this past weeks “prep week.”

What is carb cycling?

We not only track our macros in FWTFL, but we also cycle our carbs and fats.  This may sound a little overwhelming, but it’s actually a very simple practice of varying our carbohydrate intake each week to maximize the body’s ability to burn fat.

I found this to be very beneficial leaning out in the past, so I’m excited to start this up again. I mean, hello, who doesn’t want a high carb day and still lose fat?!! YES.

Other Random Tidbits about the program:

-You have a “prep” week the week before you actually start the program. So, technically the program is 7 weeks. This prep week is super beneficial so you don’t get overwhelmed. They supply videos, and a ton of information on how to do everything over the course of the week for the next 6 weeks. You have time to ask questions, familiarize yourself with everything, and try things out!

-There’s a huge support system (and accountability!) with other people that are in the program with you and access to your coach via a private Facebook group!

-They do supply workouts with FWTFL, but you can continue your own if you want. Also, you can ONLY focus on nutrition if you don’t want to do the workouts.

-It is a completely flexible program, meaning that they don’t tell you that you can’t have treats, or carbs, etc. If it fits in your macros…you’re good.

-Yes, You can have coffee during your fast!

-I mentioned above I’m a huge proponent of breakfast. I used this past week to practice fasting and eating in the 8 hour window. I had no issues with my supply and there were times I felt a little hungry, but I was fine! I’ll keep you all updated with this!

Here we go!

I start the program officially tomorrow morning, so I’ll be checking in on instagram with y’all, as well as blog posts (Maybe I’ll do a 3 week update when I’m halfway through). I know everyone will have a ton of questions about the program! I’m happy to be your guinea pig to give you all a lowdown if the program really works!

Hope y’all have a great day!

xo

Alex

Meal Plan Monday: 3/11/19

Happy Monday!

Anyone else super happy about Dayoght savings? I know a lot of people hate it because you “lose” n hour of sleep…but when you’re used to losing sleep it means nothing— ! I know it can cause a lot of havoc on sleep schedules to parents all over the nation but right now I will take that over darkness any day! This winter has honestly lasted 49053 days and I’m ready for SPRING.

Our big kids were off at their grandparents this weekend so I actually went grocery shopping on my own #score. I wanted to share my meal plan for the week with you all!

Sunday: I made Arugula Chicken - you can find my recipe linked here. I like this meal because its a two for one- meaning I don’t need to make an extra meal for the kids (HECK YEAH). I just give them the chicken plain and then just steam some veggies and pair it with some noodles. This meal is SO good, fast, and you can make it ahead of time (like I did today-I just put it in the fridge and when it was time to cook, popped it into the oven!!).

Monday- I have two Sunbasket meals arriving this week. The first is a Crispy tofu stir fry with sweet Sichuan sauce. The second we will be having on Tuesday night and its a Chipotle turkey chili with cucumber sumac salad. For those interested you can use my code to save money on your first order with Sunbasket!

Use this code: https://sunbasket.com/invite/Alex398281

Wednesday- I’ll be falling back on the trusty chicken pepperoni meal-the kids love it, and its easy!

Thursday- I’ll be making this cheesy chicken bake . This is another good recipe that can be made ahead of time & thrown into the oven, the kids like, and I substitute plain greek yogurt for mayo to make this pretty healthy. Yes, it has cheese in it, but this meal HAS been part of my rotation when I’ve been in the process of leaning out! Because when I’m leaning out, this works because I tend to focus on high fat/high protein! *Also, I have had this WITH mayo and honestly I don’t even like mayo and it still tastes good. I obviously prefer the greek yogurt because it packs extra protein and is lower fat/cal and just all around healthier!

Friday- Will be your standard Friday fish day! Salmon with good ol Paul Prudhomme’s spices!

I can’t think as far as Saturday so that is it for meal planning! ha! I wanted to share every week a few of my favorites.

This Weeks Faves:

1. Teriyaki Wegmans Chicken: I really like their pre-seasoned chicken. Yeah, its more expensive but for the season I’m in I need something easy, fast, healthy, and convinient that I can just make ahead of time and warm up on the go at home or bring with me to work. TIP: Cut these in half before cooking!! This will help give it an even cook. I always found it hard when leaving it whole to get it cooked just right. Either the outside would get burned, or the inside would be raw! Added bonus: Both of my boys like this chicken and I give it to them for dinner/lunch one or two times a week. I always make these ahead of time and put in the fridge for a fast meal in a pinch!

2. Wegmans Turkey Bacon -This stuff has great flavor, is awesome paired with eggs, or in an omelette!

3. Eggs are a big staple in our house. May-October we get eggs at the farmers market, but in the winter we rely on the grocery store options. Wegman’s came out with these this past year and they are worth the extra money. The flavor of them is AWESOME.

Lastly, I wanted to share these Lara truffles. Only 7 ingredients (and all goodies) make these a great snack.

Have a great day peeps! xo
Alex