Kimberly Garrison: Here's a week's worth of meals for your diet plan

WOW, SO many of you responded to last week's column

("5 steps toward keeping your fitness resolution")

that I've decided to share my secrets for preparing multiple nutritious and delicious meals with everyone.

First is simply organization. With today's hectic lifestyle, most people feel overwhelmed and believe they have little time forexercise and good nutrition. That's simply not true. With a little organization you can regain control over your health, fitness and nutrition.

At your local market or big-box store, buy a minimum of 14 3-cup-size containers, three or four cookie sheets and some natural parchment paper.

Write down the dishes you'll want for the week. Then list ingredients, including seasonings, with other items like fresh fruit that you'll eat. Never go to the market without a shopping list. You will get distracted and put a lot of unhealthy and unnecessary items in your cart. I also avoid going down the aisles and pretty much shop the periphery. Supermarkets are full of dangerous land mines of high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated fat-laden chips, cookies, candy and ice cream (and that's just the obvious stuff).

My list starts with fruits and vegetables. During the winter, I hit the frozen fruits and vegetables section for frozen berries, mango and pineapple, string beans, asparagus and broccoli, so I'll have fruits for my winter smoothies and vegies for meals. I also buy large packs of skinless, boneless chicken breasts, tilapia and salmon.

Check the circulars, because every week there is always one supermarket that has the staples you need on sale.

Once I get home with the groceries, I clean and season all the meats and cut them into serving sizes (4 ounces raw will shrink to a 3-ounce serving after cooking). Next, I get the cookie sheets out, line each one with parchment paper (it makes cleanup so easy!) and spray each sheet with Pam cooking spray. I use one cookie sheet for the chicken breasts, another for the tilapia and salmon, and one for the potatoes, yams or vegetables like eggplant.

I preheat the oven to 375 degrees and put the filled trays in the oven. I set the timer for 15 minutes, then remove the tilapia. Immediately, I place each serving of tilapia on one side of a container, leaving space for a cup of green vegetables and a half-cup of starchy food (if desired).

I reset the timer for 20 minutes, then I remove the salmon. At 30 minutes, the chicken comes out. The vegetables, especially root vegetables, take about 45 minutes. Each time, I repeat the storing process above. When I'm done, I'm good to go with well-balanced lunch and dinner meals. The process takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

One-pot meals are also another way to make delicious and nutritious meals. One of my favorites is chicken stew. The ingredients are simple: an onion, 2-3 fresh carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, 2 new potatoes, 1 cup of frozen peas and one quart low-sodium vegetable stock. Dice the veggies and chicken and put them in a large pot with the vegetable stock. Simmer this for 35 to 40 minutes and you have a meal. You can also make this stew without chicken or replace the poultry with beef or fish. Vary the vegetables, too. The options are endless.

For the vegetarians out there, send me an e-mail and I'll send you my no-pasta vegetable lasagna recipe. Mmmmmmm, good! You don't have to give up taste to regain or retain your shape. *

Kimberly Garrison is a certified personal trainer and owner of One on One Ultimate Fitness in Philadelphia (www.1on1ultimatefitness.com).

E-mail her at kimberly@1on1ultimatefitness.

com. Her column appears each Thursday in Yo!