MY FOOD PREP ESSENTIALS

Hey y'all! 
    Is it just me or does it seem like there is just not enough time in the day? One way I make more time in my day is to dedicate some time one day a week to meal prep. Yep - to make more time, I have to take some time. 

Food or meal prep is one of our essentials to eating more healthfully. It is most often overlooked, but it shouldn't be. It creates more time throughout your week (trust me), alleviates stress from the question of "What's for dinner?" and brings dinner (lunches, snacks) together in no time. 

Try it out. Look at your schedule. Find a place where you have 30 minutes of free time. Take this 30 minutes and meal prep for your week. Now, what we mean here at The Meal Planning Method when we say meal prep is not making your dinners in their entirety during this 30 minutes; but rather to prep the more time consuming components to these meals. 

Today, I am sharing a list of the 5 foods I meal prepped this week. I am including how I plan to use them plus some tips to prepping them. 

CHOPPED VEGGIES

If you don't have time for anything else - this is the one I recommend to do. Chopping vegetables is an easy task. But, let's be honest, it can be time consuming. We can have the best of intentions to create a healthful meal after work, but it is easy to change that plan real fast if all of sudden it is 7:00 (or later!) and we still have to chop, cook, bake, eat, clean. By pre-chopping the vegetables you will need throughout the week. It cuts the recipe prep time by a lot! Plus, it makes adding vegetables even easier to your meals throughout the week such as in scrambled eggs, salads, chicken or tuna salad, pasta, etc. 

This week, I chopped

• Onions 
• Green Bell Pepper 
• Carrots
• Celery

HARDBOILED EGGS

Hardboiled eggs are always on my meal prep list. They are a quick and nutritious boost of protein to any meal or snack. I will slice these up and put on top of avocado toast, have as a snack with a piece of fruit or chop up and make an egg salad for lunch. 

How to make perfect hardboiled eggs:

1. ​Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. 
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. Once boiling, turn heat off. 
4. Keep saucepan on the warn burner and set the timer for 15 minutes.
5. Add ice to pot or run under cold water - this stops the cooking process.
6. Let them cool and place in a bowl to keep in the fridge for the week. 

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* Did you know the gray ring around the egg yolk is a sign that the egg is over cooked? This method will create perfect hardboiled eggs every time.

FREEZER OATMEAL MUFFINS

I've talked about these before on here, but they truly have been a breakfast game changer for me. I'll be honest - I don't always give myself tons of time in the morning to make an elaborate breakfast + get ready for work. (Continuously working on my morning routine - it's a work in progress). These freezer oatmeal muffins allow me to have a filling and nutritious breakfast with minimal cooking and time in the morning. Check this post and this post for more tips on these amazing oatmeal muffins. 

My Freezer Oatmeal Muffin Method:

• I make a big batch of oatmeal on the stovetop. (Make it the way you like it)
  • I add half almond milk and half water as my liquid and cook the oatmeal. 
  • Once cooked, I add in most of my mix-ins such as almond butter, cinnamon, turmeric (that's where that golden color comes from), vanilla extract and frozen blueberries.
  • I then spoon the oatmeal into my muffin pan and freeze.
  • Once frozen, I let them thaw slightly on the counter. Then I remove them from the pan and into plastic baggies to freeze until ready to use.
  • To eat: I thaw in the fridge overnight. Then, in a microwave safe bowl, add oatmeal muffin plus a large splash of milk. Microwave for about 2 minutes. 
  • I top with chia seeds, hemps seeds, fresh fruit, and dark chocolate chips. 
• This is a great method that you can tailor to exactly how you and your family like to eat oatmeal. You can even make multiple variations and get your family involved to individualize their own. 

BAKED CHICKEN

Baking chicken on my meal prep day is another great way to prep a meal component instead of the complete meal. This gives us options for variety. My husband makes chicken quesadillas and brings them to work for his lunch (would be great for a quick dinner as well). We also will add this chicken to salads or pasta or make a homemade chicken salad. 

​Simply, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a baking dish add chicken, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes depending on your oven. Store in a glass container. 

You can also freeze this chicken. (I froze half this week - it was more than what we needed). Tip for freezing foods: Always write on the food: (1) what it is (2) date it was frozen. Trust me on this. Once frozen, everything looks the same and you will know how long it has been in there to make sure it is still safe to eat. 

HOMEMADE HUMMUS

I like to add a dip or sauce to my meal prep day for quick and easy snacks or for lunches. This was was homemade hummus. Other weeks, it may be my cashew veggie dip or cashew cream cheese. Making homemade hummus is super easy and cheaper than the store bought kinds. Next week, I will post my recipe for homemade hummus. :) 

How will you incorporate meal prep into your week? Share with us my commenting below or by using the hashtag #MealPlanningMethod. 

christy