I’ve found that the best way to stick to the Body-for-Life challenge is to make sure that I have plenty of Body-for-Life authorized foods prepared ahead of time. I usually spend a few hours on Sunday (the free day) shopping and cooking for the week ahead. I find that the time I spend preparing on the weekend really makes a difference during the week when I can just pull something quick out of the refrigerator and microwave it rather than preparing things from scratch every time I need a meal.
The best food to prepare ahead of time is boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders. Of course fried chicken and chicken nuggets are out of the question on Body-for-Life, but a grilled bit of chicken breast is priceless.
My favorite way to prepare chicken for the week is to marinate it for 24 hours and then grill it on my George Foreman grill. Marinating it adds just enough flavor to make eating it plain a pleasure but not so much flavor that adding salsa or sauce to it causes flavors to clash.
Here is how to prepare your chicken for a Body-for-Life week:
Ingredients
1 4-pound bag of Frozen, Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Defrosted and Drained
1 Gallon Sized Ziploc Bag
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Crushed Garlic
1/2 Teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Parsley
(Feel free to vary the basic recipe with your favorite Mrs. Dash seasoning or by adding a chopped onion to the marinade.)
Place all of the items in the Ziploc bag and seal it, removing any extra air inside.
Carefully knead the bag to cover all chicken breasts with the marinade.
Place the bag in a bowl (just in case the seal isn’t good) in the refrigerator for 24 hours or overnight, occasionally turning the bag to make sure all the chicken marinates evenly.
Preheat grill (I use an indoor George Foreman Grill).
Grill chicken breasts on both sides until they turn white inside. (Simply cut through the thickest breast to see that there is no pink inside.)
Do not overcook the chicken! A juicy, grilled chicken breast is delightful but a dry one can really ruin your day.
The short amount of preparation time makes grilled chicken breasts a simple staple for the Body-for-Life program. Once you’ve grilled them, you can bag or wrap them individually and refrigerate for use throughout the week. By preparing them in a large batch like this, you’re saving yourself a great deal of cooking hassle during the week when you are likely to be the most busy.
Lisa Pietsch is a regular Families.com Blogger on Weight Loss. You can read more of her blogs by clicking here.