My Sunday ritual has become meal prep. The busier my life gets, the more essential this has become. Prepping some of our food for the week allows me to have a healthy, stress-free week when it comes to meal planning. I don’t prep everything, but most of the essentials. That way when I do have to cook, I only have to prepare one or two side dishes. This prepped food usually lasts until Wednesday or Thursday, and then I’m back to freestylin’ for the rest of the week. I could prepare food for the whole week but by Thursday I’m usually ready for something fresh and new.
From the big shop to the clean-up it does take me a few hours but I more than reclaim that time during the week. It’s well worth it.
Before you start, make sure to pour yourself one of these: ;)
Here is what I made this past Sunday:
I use a mixture of chicken parts: 5 breasts, 10 thighs, and 4 drumsticks. I lay the chicken on two foiled and oiled pans (I used olive oil). Sprinkle chicken with a generic “all spice” (or whatever you prefer), flip and sprinkle the other sides.
Bake at 350f/175c for 35-40 minutes.
I use All Spice to keep the chicken versatile. There is no overpowering flavour when I want to use the chicken in other dishes, like in a pasta sauce or on a sandwich.
After the chicken comes out the sweet potatoes go in. Cube four sweet potatoes. Submerge in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Strain and lay on an oiled pan. Sprinkle with desired herbs. I use garlic, salt, and pepper.
Bake at 425f/220c for 20 minutes.
I love salad, I just don’t love making salads on a daily basis. It takes me ten times as long to prepare a salad as it does to eat it. Solution: the big ass salad (#BAS!). Here is what I used in this salad:
Chop all vegetables finely… And I mean finely! I could (and often do) eat my salad with a spoon. This is mostly for my children’s benefit because it makes it easy for them to eat. A few people I’ve told can’t believe my children will sit down and eat a salad. I think some children don’t like salad because the large chunks of vegetables are awkward for them to eat.
Tip: to keep your salad as fresh as possible, store in an airtight container with a dry piece of paper towel to absorb moisture. Each time you use the salad, give it a good stir and replace the damp paper towel with a dry one. (This is also handy for storing fresh chopped vegetables.)
I have steaming pots from Ikea that have really simplified the steaming process for me. Maybe I was behind the times, but I didn’t know these stacking steamers existed until a few months ago. I used to use multiple pots! This week I layered four heads of broccoli (each cut into 3-4 large pieces), 8 carrots (sliced), green beans, and one head of sliverbeet/swiss chard (chopped).
How long to steam your vegetables? It depends how soft you want them. I steam mine for about ten minutes. Mine are fairly soft because I have an eight month old with only two teeth! :)
I boil my eggs for about ten minutes. I keep them in the shell and store them in the fridge in the container I bought them in. I peel each one as needed.
As mentioned, this is not the only food I eat throughout the week. I may add chicken and vegetables to a pasta sauce or I might use the chicken in a stir-fry. Here are just a few of my meals from the past week I used this food with:
1. Chicken salad sandwich with cheese and mustard on a whole grain bun 2. Salad with chicken breast and oil and vinegar dressing 3. Cheesy scrambled eggs with red onion and a side of sweet potatoes 4. Chicken, sweet potatoes, and steamed vegetables topped with parmesan cheese 5. Red peppers with hummus, half a peach, and two boiled eggs 6. Salad with shrimp sauteed in garlic butter
I hope you found this helpful. I’m looking forward to sharing next weeks meals with you too! Do you meal prep? What are some different foods you prepare?
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