Country Heat Meal Prep for the 1,800–2,099 Calorie Level
It’s time to turn up the heat, y’all! With Autumn Calabrese’s new workout program, Country Heat, you’re going to heat things up on the dance floor and in the kitchen. This program will have you moving and grooving to the hottest country tunes, and making healthy foods that are worthy of any Southern cookout. With Autumn’s eating plan and calorie-scorching workouts, you can eat your favorite foods and still reach your weight-loss goals.
For the 30-day program, you’ll use portion-control containers to measure out the exact amount of food you need each day. They’re color coded to match the different types of food. Green is veggies, purple is fruits, red is protein, yellow is carbs, blue is healthy fats, and oranges is for seeds and dressings. These containers are also excellent for transporting your meals!
Depending on your calorie range, you’ll be allotted a certain number of containers each day. You can figure out your calorie range by using the formula found on page four of your County Heat Eating Plan packet, and the Container Plan Chart found on page five.
To get you started on your Country Heat experience, we created a complete, five-day meal prep plan for the 1,800–2,099 calorie level (Plan C). For this plan, you get:
- 5 green containers
- 3 purple containers
- 5 red containers
- 4 yellow containers
- 1 blue, container
- 1 orange container
- 5 teaspoons
This meal prep menu incorporates some comfort food favorites that are tweaked to be healthier so you can still enjoy the food you love. Follow the step-by-step guide below to make it the meals as quickly and efficiently as possible.
This Week’s Meal Prep Menu:
Breakfast (M/W/F): Hard boiled eggs, turkey bacon, sautéed spinach, oatmeal, and apples.
Breakfast (T/TH): Greek yogurt, whole-grain cereal, blueberries, turkey, and asparagus.
Shakeology Snack: Shakeology, kale, berries, and nut butter.
Lunch (M/W/F): Shrimp with snow peas, broccoli, sunflower seeds, brown rice, and black beans.
Lunch (T/TH): Mixed salad with grilled chicken, quinoa, edamame, corn, and sunflower seeds.
Afternoon Snack: Almonds and berries.
Dinner: (M/W/F): Grilled chicken with sautéed kale.
Dinner: (T/TH): Grilled steak with sautéed carrots.
Here’s what your meal prep for the week will look like when you’re done.
BREAKFASTS
M/W/F: 2 hard-boiled eggs, 4 slices turkey bacon, 1 cup sautéed spinach, 1 cup cooked oatmeal with cinnamon and 1 cup sliced apples = 2 red, 2 yellow, 1 purple, 1 green
T/TH: ¾ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt sprinkled with ground cinnamon, ½ cup whole-grain cereal with 1 cup blueberries (not shown), 6 turkey slices with 10 asparagus spears = 2 red, 2 yellow, 1 purple, 1 green
SHAKEOLOGY SNACK
Water, Shakeology with 1 cup kale, 1 cup berries, 2 tsp. sunflower seed butter = 1 red, 1 purple, 1 green, 2 tsp.
LUNCHES
M/W/F: 4 oz. shrimp cooked in 1 tsp. olive oil with a no-salt seasoning mix, 1 cup steamed snow peas, 1 cup steamed broccoli with 2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds, and ½ cup cooked brown rice with ½ cup black beans and fresh cilantro to taste = 1 red, 2 green, 2 yellow, 1 orange, 1 tsp.
T/TH: Mixed salad (1 cup spinach, ⅓ cup cucumbers, ⅓ cup tomatoes, ⅓ cup bell peppers), 3 oz. grilled chicken breast cooked in 1 tsp. olive oil, ½ cup quinoa with ¼ cup edamame and ¼ cup corn topped with 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds = 1 red, 2 green, 2 yellow, 1 orange, 1 tsp.
SNACK
12 raw whole almonds with 1 cup berries = 1 blue, 1 purple
DINNERS
M/W/F: 3 oz. grilled chicken breast with no-salt seasoning mix and 1 tsp. olive oil and 1 cup kale sautéed in 1 tsp. olive oil = 1 red, 1 green, 2 tsp.
T/TH: 3 oz. steak grilled with 1 tsp. olive oil and no-salt seasoning mix and 1 cup carrots sautéed in 1 tsp. olive oil (with spice or fresh herbs) = 1 red, 1 green, 2 tsp.
GROCERY LIST
Protein:
half dozen eggs
12 oz shrimp
15 oz chicken breast
6 oz steak
12 slices turkey bacon
12 turkey slices
5 packets Shakeology
1½ cups reduced fat (2%) plain Greek yogurt
Fruit:
3 apples
2 cups blueberries
10 cups mixed berries
Vegetables:
3 cups snow peas
3 cups broccoli
8 cups kale
7 cups spinach
1 cucumber
1 carton cherry tomatoes
1 bell pepper
1 bag kale
½ cup edamame
20 asparagus spears
2 cups carrots
1 bunch cilantro
Dry and Canned Goods:
1½ cups uncooked oatmeal, steel cut
1 cup whole grain cereal
½ cup uncooked brown rice
¼ cup uncooked quinoa
10 tsp. sunflower seed butter
6 Tbsp sesame seeds
2.5 oz almonds
1 can black beans
1 can corn
Pantry:
cinnamon
olive oil
no-salt seasoning mix
Your step-by-step plan to assemble the meal prep:
1. Place six eggs in a saucepan, and add enough water to cover the eggs by one inch. Bring water just to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 12 minutes. While eggs cook, prepare a large bowl of ice water. Carefully remove the eggs from the hot water with a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice water. Place in refrigerator.
2. In a large pan, heat 3 tsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add 5 cups spinach and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until spinach is wilted.
3. Prepare the oatmeal: Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1½ cup steel-cut oatmeal. Reduce heat to low. Gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until thick and soft. Remove from heat. Divide evenly between three food storage containers, and sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Slice three apples and divide evenly between three food storage containers. Add 4 slices turkey bacon to each container.
5. Heat oven to 400°F. Arrange 20 asparagus spears on a baking sheet, and season with Himalayan salt if desired. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender crisp. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 20 minutes. Divide asparagus evenly between two food storage containers. To each container, add ¾ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt sprinkled with ground cinnamon, ½ cup whole-grain cereal with 1 cup blueberries, and 6 turkey slices.
6. Combine ½ cup brown rice and 1 cup water in medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle boil; cook, covered, for 15–20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let rice rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Do not remove lid. Open lid and fluff rice with a fork; let cool completely. Mix with 1 cup black beans and cilantro to taste. Divide evenly between three containers.
7. Place 3 cups broccoli in steamer basket. Steam broccoli until cooked to your liking, about 4–5 minutes. Remove it from the steamer basket, but leave the heat on. Let the broccoli cool, and divide evenly between three containers.
8. Place 3 cups snow peas in steamer basket. Steam snow peas until cooked to your liking, about 4–5 minutes. Remove it from the steamer basket. Let the snow peas cool, and divide evenly between three containers.
9. Preheat grill or broiler on high. Mix 12 oz. shrimp with 1 tsp. olive oil and a no-salt seasoning mix. Grill or broil shrimp for 3–5 minutes, or until shrimp is opaque and firm. Divide evenly between three containers.
10. Mix 2 cups spinach, 1 cup chopped cucumber, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, and 1 cup chopped bell peppers. Divide evenly between three containers.
11. Preheat grill or broiler. Brush 15 oz. of chicken breasts with 3 tsp. olive oil and season with a no-salt seasoning mix. Grill or broil chicken for 5 minutes on each side or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Remove from heat, let cool, and divide evenly between two food storage containers for lunch, and three food storage containers for dinner.
12. A rice cooker will make quick work of cooking the quinoa, and will shut off automatically when it’s done. If you do not have a rice cooker, it can be cooked on a stovetop. Cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water, and then set aside to cool. Then, mix with ½ cup edamame and ½ cup corn topped with 4 Tbsp. sesame seeds. Divide evenly between two containers.
13. In a large pan, heat 3 tsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add 3 cups kale and cook for 3–5 minutes, until kale is wilted.
14. Pre-heat grill or broiler for the steak. Brush 6 oz. steak with 1 tsp. olive oil and season with a no-salt seasoning mix. Grill or broil steak for 5–8 minutes on each side, or until the internal temperature reaches desired temperature on your meat thermometer (rare is 120° F, medium rare is 125° F, medium is 130° F). Remove from heat; let steak rest for 5–10 minutes before slicing. Divide evenly between two food storage containers.
15. Heat a medium pan over medium-high heat for 4–5 minutes. Add 2 cups carrots, 1 tsp. olive oil, and spices or fresh herbs. Cook for 1–2 minutes, or until carrots are tender-crisp. Remove from heat and divide evenly between two food storage containers.
16. Smoothie bags will help make your Shakeology snack even easier. Add 1 cup kale and 1 cup berries to five smoothie bags. Combine with 2 tsp. sunflower seed butter and Shakeology when you’re ready to drink.
