Prepping and a Clean Fridge

I don't think I've mentioned it yet but my brother is moving down here to go to Trinity (same as his big sis) and I am so excited! My mom flew down with him Saturday and while I was ecstatic I was a little nervous about how it would effect my eating/habits. I'm a person who needs a lot of structure and a set schedule. When change occurs I get completely thrown off and go a little nuts. I don't take my medications, I don't work out, and I eat really poorly. My schedule has been completely out of the norm since the 26th of July so that's partially why I let myself get off track health-wise. Saturday and Sunday I was still off track but my family left for Corpus Christi to visit some friends and I had my first full day of vegan in a while! The first day is ALWAYS the hardest but once I get through it I remember what a piece of cake it is! I did meet my points and usually I like to be under but I'm trying to adapt to portion control and healthy eating again so I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Last night after dinner I decided to go ahead and put together my salads for the week!

I love prepping veggies because it gives me an excuse to watch Supernatural while still being productive :) In total I put together 6 jars of salad. 

Aren't they pretty?

Four of them had:

• 2 tablespoons fat free Italian dressing (0pts.)
• 2 tablespoons chickpeas (1pt.)
• 1/4 cup cucumber
• 3 radishes
• 4 baby carrots
• 4 cherry tomatoes (sliced)
• 1/2 romaine

The other two had:

• 2 tablespoons fat free Italian dressing (0pts.)
• 1/4 cup cucumber
• 3 radishes
• 4 baby carrots
• 4 cherry tomatoes (sliced)
• 1/2 avocado (4pts.) 
• 1/2 romaine

Depending on how these taste I might use fewer 'toppings' next time just because I wasn't able to fit much lettuce in. They look really good and I grabbed an avocado salad for today because I don't think the avocado will last that long in the fridge. I'm hoping these taste great because they were really easy to make, they don't take up a lot of room in the fridge, and they're easy to bring with you! I made sure to bring a bowl with me to work because I am not going to attempt to eat this salad out of the jar. 

In the spirit of preparation I decdided to make some green smoothies ahead of time. I usually blend the night before anyway but last night I decided to make enough for either 2 smoothies a day or 4 days of smoothies. I don't think they'll last that long in the fridge but I won't have any problem drinking two a day. 

6 ounces Coconut Water
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup mango
1 banana

Tropical smoothies are my very favorite so now I buy nothing but those ingredients. These fruits also don't separate on me which I like. I like storing them in jars because they're easier to bring with me that way and they take up less room in the fridge. 

Since I was being such a good girl yesterday I also decided to make sure that my fridge was up to par!

Sorry about the quality. Paint was not being my friend nor was the lighting in my apartment. This is what my fridge looks like when I'm being good (so basically all the time except for the last 3 weeks). 

Crisper Cooler: I generally will have a few more fruits and veggies such as snap peas, grapes, sliced grapefruit, and strawberries but I had already finished most of those (grocery trip time!). I find that buying baby carrots already separated into little baggies is more convenient and worth the little extra I have to pay. I also keep my apples in the fridge because they last so much longer that way. The shredded coconut is for smoothies. It is sweetened (it's hard to find unsweetened coconut!) but I bought it as a treat so I'm okay with it being sweet. 

Small Shelf: Since my mom's in town and eats a high protein diet I picked up the eggs and turkey bacon for her. I buy Kraft's fat free Zesty Italian dressing. I think it's okay as far as non-fat dressings go and a little goes a long way. I always have a bottle of all natural, unsweetened, 100% cranberry juice on hand for when I do the Jillian Michaels de-bloating water. It's basically 60 ounces of dandelion tea, lemon juice, and a little bit of cranberry juice. 

Large Shelf: That's where I keep the stuff I reach for everyday (and the big stuff). My jars of salad, pre-made smoothies, bottled water, cut watermelon, and spinach are there. I buy big boxes of spinach from Cost Co and they give me about a week and a half of smoothies. Last night I pre-cut the quarter of watermelon I had bought and separated it into different containers for lunches. It definitely made leaving the house this morning a lot quicker. 

Door: I buy my coconut water in bulk from Cost Co because I get a better deal on it that way and the big containers are nice because they last a long time. I started keep a pitcher of lemon water on hand and I find that I drink more water throughout the day when it's so convenient to grab. I use almond milk in protein smoothies (almond milk, protein powder, almond butter, and ice). I don't like it in coffee or cereal so one box lasts a long time in my house. The pineapple juice came from a larger can of pineapple juice. I use this when I drink the Tone It Up Bombshell Spell. I keep mustard on hand because I find that it can add some nice flavor to vegetables while they're cooking. Crushed garlic, pretty self-explanatory, I'm a garlic junky. I love blackberry jam and on the occasional days when I don't have peanut butter or I want something sweet I put this on top of my english muffins and it's only 1 pt./tbsp. Coffee creamer, ya'll have heard enough about that. I have yet to try the almond butter on toast. I keep it around for protein shakes. One of these days I'll have to eat it by itself. 

That's basically my fridge. My freezer needs to be defrosted so it's kind of a mess. All I have in there is frozen pineapple, frozen mango, frozen bananas, two bags of frozen asparagus, a bag of frozen green beans, one bag of frozen broccoli, and a box of Dreyer's Outshine bars. As you can see my fridge is really small so I have to be choosy about what I put in there. I also have to be really careful about the temperature because if I let it get too cold then the spinach freezes and I can't use it. 

I really try hard to use tools and an organization technique that makes being easy healthy. So far, what I'm doing right now is really working. Everything is easy to grab, I know where it is, and I don't have to do a lot of prep work (other than on Sundays). Let me know if ya'll have any suggestions for improvements or tips on stocking small fridges :) 

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