Hacking Your Offseason Volume 5 : The Art of Meal Preperation

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Unfortunately that’s not my own grill above. It’s making me extremely hungry right now. If I were to eat that thing, I probably would just leave a few remnants of bones similar to what you might find in owl pellets…..You know the ones we dissected in grade school?….No?…Haha ok sorry, not hungry anymore anyways. I just crushed some chili. Some chili that I made in one hour and will last me 2 whole weeks. << That sentence right there is the absolute key to successful eating….. What is the meaning successful eating you ask?

Successful Eating- Or eating for success, is a phrase I use to describe the most optimal, most consistent diet, that consists of mostly whole, real, and minimally processed foods.

But what makes a person successful at eating healthy? I believe there are a number of factors varying in importance. People that eat well tend to possess and/or adhere to most of these …

– People who eat well generally train pretty consistently. If they didn’t eat well, they would feel like shit, be sore all the time, and look the exact same as they did a month ago.

– People who eat well at least have decent basic cooking skills. They love to grill, bake, broil, steam, but have no idea how to fry something.

– People who eat well have some sort of fitness or sports goal. It could be as simple as fitting into your high school jeans, or as daunting as winning Mr. Olympia. Either way, when the person puts that goal on the front burner, good things tend to start happening in the kitchen.

– People who eat well have a solid game plan in the grocery store, and stick on the outside aisles, where the real foods are.

– People who eat well….drumrolll please……

MEAL PREP ON THEIR DAY OFF!!!

This one is so important that it requires a blog post all to itself. Bottom line is people, no matter how positive the intentions, fail if they aren’t prepared. Preparing the bulk of your week’s food all in one day, sets you up for success, even when your schedule may get a bit crazy.

I’m huge believer that the tips below will help you become a much more successful eater, get you closer to your physique, strength, and wellness goals, and help you avoid falling off the wagon of optimal heath.

Meal Prep Tip 1. Buy your protein source in bulk 

Costco, BJ’s, and Sam’s club are the big 3 warehouse wholesale clubs that offer foods in massive quantities. If you are a member at one of theses places, great! Check out their meat, seafood, and/or poultry section to get a good deal on a shit ton of quality meat to cook up. If you don’t have one of these places close, don’t sweat it. There are still incredible deals to watch out for at most grocery stores. The key here is to know how many servings of this meat/protein source you are gonna need in the upcoming week. For example, I enjoy chicken thighs. So, I want 3 every other day for lunch. I eat clean for 6 days out of the week, and three of them I want chicken thighs. Thats 9 I will cook all on Sunday while watching football. Boom. Done.

Meal Prep Tip 2. Have your vegetables either ready to eat now, or available to quickly make 

I might strike some people as lazy when it comes to getting my veggies in, but I get them in so don’t talk shit. I admit its lazy…I buy a ton of steamer bags of mixed vegetables at the local grocery store for a whopping $1 a bag. Each bag has a mans serving of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and green beans. All I have to do is plop it in the micro for like 5 min and I’m golden…Pair that up with the meat I’ve prepared and I have a badass meal, quick.

Meal Prep Tip 3. Have protein smoothie ingredients stocked up

Here’s a list of what I have filled up at the beginning of every week. Almost all of the ingredients here will last a long time, since my smoothies only take up two of my filler meals each day. Once after training, and once before bed.

Stock Up >Almond, Coconut, and/or Hemp Milk, Protein Powder (Usually Whey. It”s the most versatile), Frozen Spinach, Mixed Nuts (Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Brazil Nuts), Greek Yogurt, Natural Peanut Butter, Chia Seeds, Cacao Powder, Mixed Frozen Fruit, Cinnamon, and Raw Canned Pumpkin in the Fall 🙂

Meal Prep Tip 4. Eggs For Breakfast! Eggs For Breakfast! Eggs For Breakfast!…….Ummm Bacon…  

This is where consistency plays a huge roll in your success..You roll out of bed hungry and groggy, but the last thing you want to do is tear up the kitchen like Emril. You know you need something healthy, quick, and hassle free. Well friends, good old eggs and bacon is a fabulous option. A high fat, high protein, slow digesting meal like the one above will fuel you properly for the day, giving you all the nutrients you need to take on the day. I like to use some spinach or mixed peppers, or if I’m feeling frisky then both. This gives me even more of a boost nutritionally, knocking out a serving of veggies in the process. So my suggestion to you is to stock up on some cage free eggs, some bacon or turkey bacon, and enjoy incredible tasting first meals all week. I eat 6 eggs every morning so I usually get 4 dozen. Costs me 10 bucks.

Meal Prep Tip 5. Learn to like chili- 

There’s a nutritionist out there that I truthfully can’t thank enough. He’s added pounds of lean muscle to my frame, given me tools to become healthy on an elite level, and most of all he gave me the best chili recipe in the history of ground beef. But really. Brian St. Pierre, a former nutritionist a Cressey Performance, and current consultant at Precision Nutrition, offered up a very cheap, incredibly healthy and delicious recipe for homemade chili that has become a weekly staple in my food preparation. I’m going to post this link below that has become my secret to saving money while eating great, and my meal of choice to fall back on in a pinch, because I always have it stocked at the beginning of each week in the fridge.

This here will give you the ingredients of, how to cook, and how to enjoy a ridiculously manly powerhouse of a meal.

Brian St. Pierre and His Wife’s World Famous Chili Recipe-  

 

Again, I cannot overstate the importance of cooking and planning the bulk of your food for the week. Of course its fine to go out and enjoy a nice meal with friends or family. Of course its fine to grab coffee and breakfast with a co-worker. But when you’re hungry as hell, and rushing all around, if something healthy and tasty has already been prepared, you are far less likely to abandon your good intentions. Take our advice and start picking out a day each week to knock all this out. I make it a fun event while I’m watching football on Sunday. I enjoy a good beer and start getting into the process of ripping up the kitchen. Remember above all this offseason….

You can work all you want in the gym, but if you don’t work just as hard in the kitchen, and put as much focus there, you’ll get nowhere. Nowhere is no fun.