Blog - Prepped Girl

June 16, 2019 By Karen Durbin Leave a Comment

What’s on the menu

Next delivery date is Sunday, June 23rd.

As I am writing this, it is a dreary, stormy day. I don’t know about you, but these “summer” days don’t really feel so summery. I can’t wait for the warm temps and the steady sunshine. I would rather be seeking out shelter from the sun rather than from all this rain.

But, despite the dreary weather, we have some YUMMY meals on the menu this week (buuutttt…..we do say that every week!! lol!).

Too many people believe that in order to eat healthy they have to give up food that tastes great.

We believe the exact opposite.

When you eat REAL, WHOLESOME food, food tastes DELICIOUS! The trick is using healthy fats and flavorful spices and quality meats.

Here are a few of our favorites on the menu this week!

Barbeque Chicken Spaghetti Squash

If you are looking for a Whole30 compliant, Paleo, Gluten & Dairy free meal with LOTS of protein, this is the meal for you!

This meal is hearty and healthy and packed full with flavor!

The BBQ sauce is made from scratch and is sweetened with medjool dates.

It also packs a powerful nutritional punch with 44g of protein and it’s served on top of low-carb spaghetti squash!

The BBQ sauce comes on the side so you can add a little or a lot!

Whole30 | Paleo | Gluten/Dairy Free

Turkey Taco Bowl

An awesomely delicious and nutritious way to enjoy your tacos without unnecessary carbs!

Grain free, paleo, and Whole30 approved.

On a bed of Spanish cauliflower rice, this dish serves up a hearty dose of flavor and good-for-your body nutrition that is sure to keep your energy flowing all afternoon long!

Especially with the 24g of protein!

Banana Egg Breakfast Bowl

Traditional breakfast foods like boxed cereals leave us feeling hungry just a few hours later.

This Banana Egg Breakfast Bowl has an oatmeal-like texture, topped off with almond butter, coconut, and apples and lots of cinnamon.

Your belly and your sweet tooth will be satisfied with this meal!

And more!!!

Check out this week’s full menu at Prepped Girl and order yourself some healthy meals for next week!!!

April 20, 2019 By Karen Durbin Leave a Comment

Pomegranate Juice and a Podcast

Recently I stumbled across an Instagram feed that really resonated with me which then lead me to a new podcast. Since I am in the car a lot, I like to listen to podcasts and books on Audible so I can capitalize on that “free” time I have.

The podcast is called “The Doctor’s Farmacy with Mark Hyman M.D.” His main premise is that we can heal and nurture our bodies with GOOD food. He says: “I never get tired of saying it: real food heals. Food has the power to prevent and reverse disease, and the more we know about it, the more power we have to curate a targeted diet to help us reach our health goals. The catch is that we have to choose the right foods, the ones that elevate us, and simultaneously ditch the poor-quality ones that harm us. There are powerful compounds in foods…that have medicinal impacts on the body. That’s why I call the grocery store the drug store; we can literally eat our medicine at every meal.”

I was listening to Podcast #45 Why Food Is Better Than Medication To Treat Disease the other day and was completely blown away with the amount of helpful information this podcast provided.

We hear it all the time…eat this, don’t eat that. Completely change your diet. Eat these rare, hard to find, expensive foods. Fast. Don’t fast. And so on. I don’t know about you, but I get completely overwhelmed at times with all the differing information that’s out there.

But on this podcast Dr. Hyman was interviewing Dr. William Li (“world-renowned physician, scientist, speaker and author of Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself. He is best known for leading the Angiogenesis Foundation), and Dr. Li gave simple to apply suggestions.

One of those suggestions was to drink 8oz. of pomegranate juice a day.

Dr. Li shared the story about how his mother beat stage 4 cancer with immunotherapy. But, he also shared that studies show that the people who are able to use immunotherapy to beat cancer had a particular bacteria (I am not sure how to spell it) in their gut that you can’t get by just taking a probiotic. BUT, you CAN get that healthy bacteria by just drinking 8oz. of pomegranate juice a day. (The flip side of the coin is that people who lacked this bacteria died from their cancers)

WHAT???

Something so simple can literally make the difference between life and death?

So, I had to research more about pomegranate juice.

Benefits of Pomegranate Juice

Here is some healthful information I discovered about pomegranate juice from Medical News Today :

*Pomegranate juice contains more than 100 phytochemicals (which protect cells from damage that could lead to cancer)

*Pomegranate juice contains higher levels of antioxidants which also help to protect cells from cancer and help reduce inflammation

*One pomegranate has 40% of our daily Vitamin C.

*Pomegranate juice can reduce inflammation in the gut.

*“Flavonols in pomegranate juice may help block the inflammation that contributes to osteoarthritis and cartilage damage. The juice is currently being studied for its potential effects on osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other types of arthritis and joint inflammation.”

*Pomegranate juice protects the heart and arteries.

*Pomegranate juice can fight off illness and infection.

*Drinking 8oz a day may improve learning and memory.

Of course, the research suggests that homemade or fresh pomegranate juice is best, which now has me on the hunt for recipes and applications for this powerful juice.

Resource Link:

Here is a link for Dr. Li’s book mentioned in the podcast if you are interested: Eat To Beat Disease

And if you would like to read the full article on pomegranate juice, hop on over here: Fifteen Health Benefits of Pomegranate Juice

Order Your Healthy Meals Today!

And don’t forget to hop over to the website to order yourself some healthy meals for next week!!

We make all of our food from scratch (read: NO PROCESSED FOOD) and package it in recyclable BPA-free, microwave/freezer safe containers, and deliver it to your door Sunday morning (Greater Cincinnati area only for now).

Healthy eating couldn’t be easier with Prepped Girl meals.

January 20, 2019 By Karen Durbin Leave a Comment

Eat Healthy at Every Meal

I started Prepped Girl because whenever I would talk about eating healthy with people, especially moms, I would be met with some version of this: “I would love to eat like that, but I just don’t have the time.”

I distinctly remember the day the idea came to me.

I was standing in our bedroom, talking to my husband, and I said to him, “There has to be a way to help people eat healthy,” and it was like BAM! The idea downloaded instantly.

And the business was born.

www.preppedgirl.com

But it wasn’t too long ago that someone said to me, “You should think about servicing the WHOLE mom.”

You see, as a mom myself, I know that we will always make sure our families are taken care of. We will make sure they have the food and stuff they need to thrive.

But we don’t always do the same for ourselves. That’s why I started the business by focusing on healthy breakfasts and lunches.

But sometimes, we moms are so busy, that getting take out or eating dinners that are high in processed ingredients is all we can really do.

So this week, we are introducing a new section to the menu: Family-Sized Freezer Meals.

These meals are intended to be frozen and then prepared in the Instant Pot from frozen.

Our idea is that all you have to do is to take the frozen meal out of the freezer, place it directly into your Instant Pot, and pressure cook until done (following the included directions).

Healthy meals ready for you and your family without having to spend time gathering or prepping ingredients.

You can go to the practices and games, take care of your homes, tend to all your other obligations, AND still feed your family nutritious, wholesome food.

You CAN eat healthy at EVERY meal!

Check out this week’s menu to see the family-sized freezer meals AND the healthy breakfasts and lunches we are offering, and while you are there, order yourself some food for next week!

www.preppedgirl.com

July 5, 2018 By Karen Durbin Leave a Comment

Turmeric: The Natural Inflammation Fighter

Turmeric.

If you have ever eaten curry, you can thank turmeric for it’s yellow color.

But did you know that turmeric is actually quite good for you because it contains compounds with medicinal properties?

Yep!

Turmeric contains curcumin, a substance shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

It seems that our modern society is plagued with chronic inflammation. And it seems that we just generally accept aches and pains to come with aging. But research is showing that those “signs” of aging are symptoms of chronic inflammation rather than symptoms of getting older.

According to healthline.com:

**Curcumin, according to some research, can inhibit many molecules known to play major roles in inflammation.

**Curcumin has powerful antioxidant effects. It neutralizes free radicals on its own, then stimulates the body’s own antioxidant enzymes.

**Curcumin boosts levels of the brain hormone BDNF, which increases the growth of new neurons and fights various degenerative processes in the brain.

**Curcumin has beneficial effects on several factors known to play a role in heart disease. It improves the function of the endothelium and is a potent anti-inflammatory agent and antioxidant.

**Curcumin leads to several changes on the molecular level that may help prevent and perhaps even treat cancer.

**Curcumin can cross the blood-brain barrier and has been shown to lead to various improvements in the pathological process of Alzheimer’s disease.

**Arthritis is a common disorder characterized by joint inflammation. Many studies show that curcumin can help treat symptoms of arthritis and is in some cases more effective than anti-inflammatory drugs.

**A study in 60 depressed patients showed that curcumin was as effective as prozac in alleviating the symptoms of depression.

(check out healthline.com to see the sources of their research/information)

Here is a recipe we found on 40 Aprons for an Iced Golden Milk Turmeric Latte that we found (because we have tried this recipe!!) to be refreshing and delicious!!!

Iced Golden Milk Turmeric Latte

Ingredients–Serves 2

1 1/2 cups coconut milk from carton vanilla or plain is fine
1 1/2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk
3 Tbsp. maple syrup divided if you’d prefer an “ombré” look
1 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Pinch ground black pepper
Pinch ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Pour over ice and enjoy!
If you’d like to pour the “golden milk” part over plain milk, like in my photos, combine the almond milk with 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup and stir well. Pour over two glasses filled with ice. In a cocktail shake, combine the coconut milk, all the spices, 2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup, and plenty of ice. Shake well and pour over cups filled with ice and sweetened almond milk. Enjoy!

If you give this recipe a try, stop by our Facebook page and tell us what you think!!!

Oh, and leave Cheryl at 40 Aprons some love!

Looking for an easy way to fit healthy eating into your busy lifestyle? We can help! We make healthy breakfasts and lunches and deliver them to your door Sunday morning. All the meals are made with wholesome ingredients and are prepped and portioned in BPA-free, microwave safe containers. All you have to do each day, is decide which meal you are going to eat, grab it, and GO!!

www.preppedgirl.com

February 21, 2018 By Karen Durbin Leave a Comment

How to RE-MOTIVATE yourself to stick to your goals!

The need to re-motivate yourself

Do you need to re-motivate yourself? Let’s see if this sounds familiar…

It’s New Year’s Day…the start of a BRAND NEW year…a blank slate…and you are oh-so-excited to make THIS year YOUR year. You set some goals…probably some health and fitness goals like losing weight and getting in shape. You tell yourself that nothing is going to stop you this time. This time you mean it.

You start off strong…eating right and getting in some exercise…and you’re still pretty excited.

But then the end of January rolls around and the weather is pretty yucky and life just keeps happening. Perhaps you even got sick or suffered from a cold or your family has been sick and you missed some workouts and ran out of time to prep your meals.

And now it’s February and all that excitement from 50 something days ago has waned. You find yourself still wanting to achieve those same goals, but you are way less motivated to do so.

Sound familiar? Yeah, we thought so. But how do we re-motivate ourselves to get back on track? We have 4 easy tips to help you reignite that fire.

4 Ways to Re-Motivate Yourself

1.Start small. Let’s say your ultimate goal is to lose 20 or more pounds. Although a great goal to have, it may seem daunting right now. Instead of shooting for 20 pounds, how about shooting for 10 or even 5 or maybe even just 1 pound in the next week. Breaking a larger goal down into smaller goals sets us up for success. We feel more accomplished when we can check items off of our to-do list. Imagine how great it would feel if each week you checked off “Lose 1 pound”. In less than 5 months, you will have achieved your goal of losing 20 pounds…just in time for summer!

2. Reward yourself. All too often we punish ourselves for not doing something. We won’t buy ourselves that new outfit or those new shoes or go to that nice restaurant because we haven’t lost the weight we wanted to lose. But punishing ourselves doesn’t exactly make us feel very good (remember how you used to feel when your parents would ground you or you got those detentions in school?), and we aren’t exactly motivated to do ANYTHING if we don’t feel so good. Instead of punishing yourself, REWARD yourself. Did you follow your meal plan all week? How about a manicure or a new lipstick? Did you workout like you said you would this week? How about a new book to read or some new running socks? Your rewards don’t even have to cost money. How about rewarding yourself with 30 minutes of alone time at the park? You will feel more motivated to reach your goals when you have something to work toward…something tangible that is not food related (or related to the scale).

3. Get accountability. The more other people know about your goal, the more accountable you will feel. If you know that people are going to be “watching,” you will more likely stick to your plan. Join a Facebook group or share your journey on social media. Get a coach or join a workout club or hire a trainer. The more visible you make your goal, the more likely you won’t drop it. Plus, it helps to have the encouragement of others working on their health and fitness too. You can share struggles and successes and tips.

4. Outsource tasks. Research shows that food is 80-90% your results when losing weight or shaping up, and for people who have meal prepped before, food can feel like it sucks up 80-90% of your time. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can hire a meal prep service like Prepped Girl to help you keep your health and fitness goals on track. Prepped Girl makes all of their meals from wholesome, nutritious ingredients and delivers them to your door Sunday morning. That way, you don’t have to spend all your precious free time in the grocery store and the kitchen prepping your food, but you will still be good to go come the start of your work week. You can also outsource household chores (like hiring a house cleaner) to free up some time so you CAN get to the gym or go for that run.

Achieving your health and fitness CAN be doable if you find the right ways to re-motivate yourself!