Lunch in 4 minutes!

Last week my husband started a new job (YEAH!) and now I FINALLY get to make his lunches. I've been waiting years for this, let me tell you. 

On a side note - I am terribly nervous about uploading these videos and the many others I have made. I make no apologies for my messy kitchen, fast talking, or funny faces. This is just me...Becoming Annie. 

On morning #2 I got up and realized I had made lunch the night before, just not for me! I had to be at work quickly and needed to just throw things together that I already had in my fridge.

Here is the intro that I posted to Instagram.

Here is me & my hurrying to a meeting/trying to get comfortable in front of the camera, self getting my lunch ready at Annie speed (which is kind of fast).

Salsa Crock Pot Chicken (1/2 C)

1 C Spinach

Rice & Quinoa packet from Costco (1 serving)

1/4 C black beans cooked with minced onion

Green onions

Olives

Cafe Yumm Sauce (1 TBSP)

1/2 C Pineapple

1 barre3 Pumpkin Spice Cookie

Water (the other 2 liquids I drink aren't allowed at work ;)

This lunch has enough protein in it to get me through the day. This chicken is so moist I can actually eat it cold in a wrap, and I've brought it to conferences like that before. Cafe Yumm Sauce is only available in the PNW. The sauce itself is best bought from the retailer because the value for the size is unbelievable! Buying it at Whole Foods or New Seasons is a very large price hike. 

The key to this lunch: salsa crock pot chicken! More on this to come but it is as easy as it sounds. Thanks to my bestie Robyn for teaching me this trick years ago. Or rather, thanks to her Mom for teaching it to her! 

Happy Lunching! 

labeling & portioning!

Part of my success has really been watching how much food I put in my mouth {aka portion control}. Seems simple, right?!? Well, not for me. That's why I got to where I was. My husband is the same way and I am proud of how far we have come!

One simple thing I recently started doing is labeling and portioning the leftovers for lunch. Sometimes my husband {who leaves for work before I do} would accidentally take the smaller portion. While I was sometimes secretly happy that I got more food for lunch, I knew that wasn't what I needed {but don't let yourself be fooled, I still ate the bigger portion}!

To aide in this I've started to label the portions, that way my husband can't grab the wrong meal when he leaves at 5am!

My method is simple. Small square post-it notes and a pen. It isn't anything special but it is working to help us control our portions! And I'm proud of myself for not color coding the tupperware like the freak organizer in me really wanted to...

J = Jason and A = Annie. Trust me - this method is husband proof!!!

1 = 1 portion
1.5 = 1 and a half portions

My husband generally gets 1.5 portions because he is just overall a bigger eater and guy {and gets WAY more WW points than I do}. It took me until about, oh, last week to realize this. We were talking about a picnic lunch we'd been on a few months ago and how I'd packed him the same portions as me and it wasn't near enough for him. He said that sometimes he needs more than I do to function and it really got me thinking how true that statement was. I DON'T need a portion of a man because I am a woman. *insert lightbulb moment here*

For the last almost 9 years I've been serving up equal portions when I make food because I thought it wouldn't be "fair" if he got more food. All the while I was probably over-feeding both of us, myself in particular.

Fair isn't always equal - especially when it comes to portions between a husband and wife.

Fingers crossed {that I can keep up the portion control good thoughts}!