Prepping for My Week [chicken meatballs]

Sunday is an important day of the week for my health. It feels great to prep for the week, so I don't have any excuses for fast food, etc.

Since moving to Florida, I have to admit that I don't have the busiest schedule and I'm lucky. That's because I have worked hard in the past to get where I am now. In Baltimore, I worked full-time where travel was part of the normal schedule and I completed my MBA. A normal week would compromise of 2 normal 9-5 days, 2 days where I worked 9-5 and then went straight to class until 9 p.m., and one day where I was traveling (usually 12 hour days). It was exhausting! I tried to prep as many meals as I could, but I was legit busy, so I wasn't too hard on myself! In North Carolina, my job sucked the life out of me and I often worked long hours and fast food became my friend. Now, I work a full-time job that has great balance and expectations of how much you should work!! I do also work a second part-time job to save money for our wedding, but I have cut back those hours to a reasonable schedule. But BUSY or not, everyone can be a little lazy when they get home from work!

Anyways, back to meal prep.

J and I talk each weekend about what we want to make for the upcoming week. Often times he eats a different breakfast and lunch then me and I have come to the realization that it's ok and he does need more calories than I do! We come up with a game plan, make a grocery trip and go shopping. I try to prep as much as I can for the week, so I can just come home from work a spend about 15 minutes cooking dinner.

Last week we wanted a little Italian (my roots) and so I made chicken meatballs. Sadly, I did not take a photo of the cooked product, but trust me, they were delicious!

These were great and very versatile. The first night I tossed them with pasta, jarred sauce and fresh basil - pretty traditional. I just watched how much pasta was in my serving and made sure to have a big side salad with it. The second night I had them on a salad with grape tomatoes and fresh mozzarella - this might have been my favorite. Later in the week, I had run in the morning and played golf after work, so I was starving! I tossed these with a little bit of pasta and some soft goat cheese and crushed red pepper. The goat cheese got deliciously melty (not a real word apparently) and I tell you, it hit the spot! These meatballs would even make a great snack if you needed more protein in your day. I know that is something I am constantly watching and going to start focusing on.

I decided not to cook these all at once, so each night they would have great fresh flavor. They only took about 10 minutes to cook and were better in a saute pan then they were when I baked them. I input my recipe with exact measurements into MyFitnessPal and here is what I came up with for nutrition:

Not too bad for the calories, in my opinion. Makes me feel less guilty if I want them with some pasta!

What are your favorite go-to recipes? Do you prep your meals for the week?