no cooking – Elevation Medical Weight Loss

In the 2nd installment of our “no-cooking required” meals series, we will look at a recipe that is not only tasty and easy but also can easily be prepared in bulk for future meals. When you find that your schedule suddenly overwhelmed, or that your kids become more demanding and eat up most your free time, you can grab some already-prepared food from the grocery store and take a couple of minutes to assemble meals for a couple of days.

elevation-no-cooking-meals — This may look like a lot of food, but there’s actually only 4-5 servings

Chicken Salad is an easy meal for when you’re undecided

INGREDIENT	Calories	Carb
Chicken breast, skinless, 6 oz	276 cal	0
Baby spring mix, 3 oz	20 calories	2 gram
Bell peppers, 1 oz	9 calories	2 gram
Balsamic vinaigrette, 1 tbsp	15 calories	2 gram
TOTAL	320 calories	6 gram

3 oz of shredded Rotisserie Chicken on the food scale, and another 3 oz in the background (in a full cup loosely measured)

So what does 6 oz of chicken breast look like? A good rule of thumb is roughly twice the size of the palm of your hand. Also 6 oz of chicken will roughly fit loosely into 2 cups, when shredded or chopped. Alternatively, you can pick up a food scale and get a more exact measurement. One of the benefits of weighing out your food is you can much more accurately track how much you are eating to consistently lose the same amount of weight week-to-week.

You may be surprised to know that 3 oz of baby spring mix (1 serving) can fill up about half a gallon of space. It’s helpful to fill up your stomach with lots of green, leafy vegetables that are low in calories as well as in carbs. Green, leafy vegetables are great resources for the necessary vitamins such as Vitamin K, magnesium and potassium. Eat a lot of greens to fill up space in your stomach to stay satisfied longer.

Combine the chicken with the baby green mix, then add some chopped bell peppers. Stir in 1 tsp of a low calorie, low carb dressing of your choice (we used a Balsamic Vinaigrette).

Serve the chicken salad in a very large bowl. Drink 32 oz of water with your meal.

There are so many creative ways to eat healthier even when your time is limited, or you just don’t have the desire to cook. You just have to WANT to do what it takes to live a healthier lifestyle, and of course we are here to help if needed.

We have had a couple of questions regarding just how to eat healthier to lose weight when:

You don’t like to cook
You travel a lot
You have a hectic schedule

So we will dedicate this week’s posts to the road warriors out there, or for those who simply do not enjoy cooking. This is the no effort meal plan– simply grab ingredients from the grocery store or order low calorie options when dining out.

So, in the hunt to cook as little as possible, we went to our local grocery store (Sam’s) to look for options. We picked up a fun looking salad mix and a couple pounds of salmon and tilapia with veggies in a bag from the fresh meat & seafood section. Instructions said to microwave 5 minutes for every pound, then serve.

No cooking required – Salmon with Kale & Brussel Sprouts Crunch Salad
Ingredient	Calories	Protein	Carb
6 oz salmon	241 calories	34 g
Kale & Brussel Sprouts chopped salad mix, 1 cup	45 calories	3 g	7 g
1 lemon wedge as salad dressing	5 calories		1 g
½ tsp splenda to mix with salad
2 oz broccoli	19 calories	1 g	3 g

TOTAL	310 calories	38 g protein	11 g carb

Instructions: Microwave as directed on the back of the package.

No cooking required – Tilapia with Kale & Brussels Sprouts Crunch Salad
Ingredient	Calories	Protein	Carb
Tilapia, 2 pieces or 8 oz	220 calories	45 g
Kale & brussels sprouts chopped salad mix, 1 cup	45 calories	3 g	7 g
Lemon, 1 wedge squeezed as salad dressing	5 calories		1 g
Splenda, ½ tsp to mix with salad
Asparagus, 2 oz (about 4 spears)	11 calories	1 g	3 g

TOTAL	281 calories	49 g protein	11 g carb

Instructions: Microwave.

Not too bad, right?

For the kale & brussels sprouts chopped salad, squeeze a wedge of lime and add 1/2 tsp of Splenda or use your favorite low-calorie, low-carb dressing.

DSC_3030-2

Serve the crunch salad with either salmon or tilapia. Salt and pepper to taste.

Now you can enjoy a meal with minimal prepping or cooking. Stay tune for more posts later next week to learn more about our ‘no cooking methods’.

Tag: no cooking

Meals without Cooking – Part II

How to Eat Healthier Without Cooking :D