Weekly meal prep is where it’s at, yo, especially if improving your health and spending less are on your priority list this year. I love to eat healthy, wholesome foods and do right by my body, and my family, but my reality isn’t quite so simple. The truth is, some days there just isn’t enough time to prepare 3 fresh meals from start to finish, and then clean it all up. Then the drive-through window with the chicken sandwich, diet coke and waffle cut fries becomes too great a temptation. You know the one. It’s so easy. But so bad. Taking one hour on the weekend to conquer some meal prep keeps me in check. With lots of fresh options ready and waiting, healthy meals and snacks get on our plates (or in our lunch boxes) in a snap.
Carrots, cucumbers, celery, and peppers are perfect snacks or addition to lunch boxes and salads. Same goes for sliced apples and oranges. Pre-chopped carrots, celery and onions make favorite soups and stews come together in a snap. Brown rice works well with just about anything. Add some chopped peppers to an omelet. Hard boiled eggs are a great high-protein snack, or an addition to a salad. Cooked shredded chicken can be added to soups, stews or salads also. See all the mixing and matching going on here? Tonight, the chicken, rice and peppers are going into burritos. So easy. All those options ready to go for the week and it all took me an hour! One little hour! Choose which veggies and fruits your family likes best, and start there.
Apples and Oranges–slice the apples, soak in ice water and lime juice for 5 minutes, pat dry and store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge. They stay fresh for 3-4 days. For oranges, just slice and store in the fridge.
Carrots, Celery, Onion, Cucumber, Bell Peppers
Eggs, Chicken, Brown Rice, Pancake Mix
First: Get that brown rice going in a rice cooker or on the stove. It takes about an hour.
While the rice is cooking, start your chicken–season lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper, then bake or grill. While the chicken is cooking, boil some eggs. Hard boiled eggs make a great high-protein snack, or a filling addition to a salad with greens and chopped veggies.
Now that everything is cooking, it’s time to start chopping all those veggies–make sure they are thoroughly rinsed first. I slice some, I chop some, then refrigerate.
When we do pancakes on Saturday or Sunday morning, we make a double batch for the freezer. Just pop those frozen pancakes into the toaster or microwave on a busy morning and you’ll have happy kiddos. We like this brand for hearty pancake mix, but if you’d rather just amp up your regular pancake mix, try adding some quick oats and/or mashed ripe banana.
It feels really good to have all that color and protein smiling back at me. All of this you see here (not pictured: apples and oranges, pancakes) took me an hour, start to finish. I timed it. One hour now is going to save me lots of time and regret later in the week when things get crazy. It goes even faster if family members pitch in. If you, too, like a good marathon meal prep session, I’d love to know what you include.
Kimberly
...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.
