{Motivational Monday}

Hello beautiful cupcakes!

I have some fun and exciting news to share with you! I am teaming up with Maddie from Maddie Butterfield Blog to bring you all a Monday Linkup. If you would like to participate in the link up, just use the image above and mention our blogs in your post! That's all we ask. 

Monday's have a bad rap within the seven days of the week. People don't like Monday because it means they have to go back to work. I think Mondays should be fun and like a fresh start. That is one reason we chose Monday to feature our link up. 

"Exercise because it feels good. Exercise because it makes you happy. Don't exercise because you're terrified that you ate too much for dinner. Don't exercise because you hate the way your body looks in the mirror. Loving yourself will get you so much further than hating yourself."

Meal prep helps keep me motivated to eat healthy during the week. Today I want to share with you my meal prep for my third week of the Whole30. I also got a new camera this weekend, so I am currently trying to figure the thing out. I never knew a camera could be so complicated, but I am totally excited to learn more about it. I used my camera to take the photos below. 

Here is my meal prep plan:

-Breakfast: oven roasted potatoes, over easy eggs, and prosciutto with green onions and Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo

-Lunch: stuffed acorn squash with the same mayo

-Dinner: Whole30 chicken salad

So I have to share my favorite picture first because I am just too excited to show off the images from my new camera. This acorn squash is to die for. I made the same thing last week & I just can't get enough of it. To find the recipe, follow this link: {Meal Prep Whole30 Week 2}

Here are my groceries and food items I will be using for meal prep. 

I like to start meal prep with the things that are going to take the longest. So in this case, I started with the potatoes and squash. I roasted the potatoes and squash in the oven at 400 degrees. I cook the squash for 30-45 minutes or until tender. For the potatoes, I chop them up and add them to cold water. Then dump the cold water out and place on a pan with seasoning and oil of choice. Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes then take them out of the oven and flip/mix. Return the potatoes to the oven for 15 minutes or until they start to get crunchy on the outside. 

While the potatoes and squash was cooking, I started chopping up the veggies and fruit for the chicken salad. I used green onion, grapes, apple, and celery for this chicken salad. I also used Primal Kitchen Avocado Mayo to toss everything in. 

After the veggies & fruit were chopped, I started cooking my eggs. I cooked 2 eggs for every breakfast, so 12 total eggs {I prepped for 6 days}.

I also cooked chicken in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. 

I already had leftover stuffing for the squash from last week. So once the squash was done cooking, I stuffed it and placed it back in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Here is what it looked like after cooking it. 

Just to back track a bit, here were the potatoes before going into the oven. I used Olivado Macadamia Nut Oil and Flavor God Everything Spicy. 

Here was the finished breakfast. 

Here is the finished chicken salad.

And the final product: 6 breakfasts, 6 lunches, & 6 dinners!

Also, here is another one of my motivations... my boyfriend. He motivates me to be the best person I can possibly be. He understands me better than anyone else & he is just the sweetest. Look what he sent me for Valentine's Day. This is our third Valentine's Day as a couple. 

And lastly, I love relaxing and enjoying my weekend. I try to give myself some free time during the weekends since my weeks are crammed with classes, school work, 20 hours of internship, and 20 hours of my graduate assistantship. Life can get crazy busy & stressful, so laying in my bed on the weekend with a cup of tea or coffee is just the motivation I need. Weekends I get to blog for you all as well. I am wondering what you would like to see more of? Comment below and let me know. 

Later Taters!

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away." 

An InLinkz Link-up