21 day healthy eating challenge: Meal Preparation Week 1

Menu: February 15^th

Breakfast:

1)      Egg Casserole

2)      1 egg plus 2 egg whites; 1 cup spinach; 1 orange

Snacks:

1) Veggies and Hummus

2) Snack-sized bars

Lunch:

1) Turkey and Barley Soup with 3 crackers

2) Kale Salad

Dinners:

1)Meatloaf with a twist; ½ sweet potato; 1-2 cups veggies

2) Chicken and veggie stir-fry; ½ cup brown rice

3) Pork loin with ½ cup brown rice; 1-2 cups veggies

 

 

Meal planning and preparation are most important for staying on track with your healthy eating plan.  Before you go to the grocery store, decide what you will eat for the week.  Make a list and buy only the things on that list.  Some people like to cook every day.  If this is your preference and you have the time to do this, carry on.  However, most people cite TIME as the biggest barrier to health and wellness.  We’re busy!  It’s important to acknowledge this and plan for success.  One way to free up time on weeknights  (when most families are crazy busy) is to pre-make your meals.

When possible, I prepare most of my meals for the week on Sunday afternoon.  Many of these recipes can be doubled and stored in the freezer.  The only meal that will not freeze well is the kale salad. 

This amount of meal prep usually takes about 3 hours.  Once you have a stock of frozen items, you will not have to make as many meals.  Try to set aside time for this process.  The benefits are that you only dirty your kitchen once so you’ll save time on cleaning during the week.  Also, you’re more likely to stay on track because everything is already done. 

 

Designate an area for vegetable preparation.  Have a cutting board and knife only for produce.  I also place a large bowl nearby for the peels and scraps.  This is much easier and more sanitary than going into the garbage can every few minutes.  I will put all of the vegetables I want to use as well as anything extra I find in the produce drawer that needs to be used.

Have another area for meat preparation.  When you handle the raw meat, wash your hands with soap and water before you return to your vegetable station.

 

Now we’re ready to cook.

Start by setting up your crock pot in an out of the way place, not near your veggies.  Place the pork loin into the crock pot.  Mix up the marinade.  Pour on top of the pork and cook on low for 4 hours.

Figure out how much rice you will need this week.  The serving size is ½ cup.  I have decided to have rice two times this week (I’ll also make some extra for the family).  Place the amount of rice you want into the rice cooker (I put 1 cup) and add twice as much water.  Press start.

Next we’re going to make the egg casserole.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.   Cook the chicken sausage on the stovetop until it’s done.  Place it into the casserole dish.  Next cut up the vegetables ( I used ½ onion, 1 cup broccoli and 1 cup mushrooms along with 2 cloves of garlic).  You can substitute any vegetable based on availability, cost and personal preference.  I usually check out my produce drawer to see if anything needs to be used up as well.  Saute your chosen vegetables for a minute and then add then to the dish.  Add the spinach and mix everything up.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and ½ cup almond milk along with salt and pepper.  You can experiment with different spices.  I added a sprig of thyme from my garden.  Pour the eggs over the top of the sausage and veggie mixture.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until set.

While the casserole is baking prepare the turkey soup.  In your meat preparation area, cut the turkey into bite sized pieces.  If the turkey is not already cooked, use your saucepan and cook it until no longer pink.   Add the onion and garlic along with the remaining vegetables (except for the spinach).  Add the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for about 30 minutes.

While the casserole and soup are still cooking, prepare the meatloaf.  I decided to double this recipe and make 2 loaves.  I froze 1 for another time.  Use a food processor to finely chop the zucchini.   You want to wring out the excess water from the zucchini.  Then use the food processor to finely chop the mushrooms. Dice the onion on the cutting board.  Place the vegetables into a large bowl and bring to the area designated for handling meat.  Add the meat into the bowl.  I used lean ground turkey.  You can use lean ground beef if desired.  Add ¼ cup tomato sauce and seasonings and mix it all up.  Place the mixture into a meatloaf pan.  Top with ¼ cup tomato sauce and put aside.  Wash your hands.

By now, the egg casserole should be about done.   Remove it from the oven and place on a cooling rack.  Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.  When the oven is ready, bake the meatloaf for about 30 minutes or until set.

Stir the soup and let it continue to simmer.

Next we’re going to make the protein bars.  This is really easy.  Place all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  I used nuts (almonds and walnuts) and seeds (pumpkin and sunflower) I had on hand.  My favorite protein powder is Warrior Blend.  It uses vegetable based proteins and is low in carbohydrate.  You can use any protein powder you like, but make sure the carbohydrate content is less than 5 grams.  When mixed, put it into a glass baking dish.  I used an 8x11 dish.  Place in the refrigerator for an hour. 

Your soup should be done.  Remove it from the heat and let it cool.

 

Almost there… We’re going to prep the ingredients for the stirfry.  Take a large ziplock bag and combine all the marinade ingredients.   Cut up the chicken in the meat preparation area.  Add it to the bag and mix really well.  After washing your hands, return to the veggie prep area.  Cut up the vegetables you planned to use.  Do you have anything else that needs to be used up?  This is a good place to put your veggies that would otherwise go bad.  Place the veggies in a separate ziplock bag and put both bags into the refrigerator (You can use airtight sealed containers if you prefer.  I like the baggies because if I do not end up cooking this meal, I will throw the bags in the freezer.  They will stay fresh for months.) 

On the day you want the stir fry, heat up a small amount of olive oil in a large stir fry pan.  Cook the meat first and add the veggies and good until done.  You may need to add water or chicken broth during this process. 

The last meal is the kale salad.  Combine all ingredients for the salad in a medium bowl and cover in the refrigerator until you want to eat it (You can also divide this into large mason jars and it will stay fresh a bit longer.  For dressing, you can use an oil and vinegar combination or try the cashew mayonnaise.  I made the mayonnaise and it really wasn’t difficult.  When it was time to eat the salad, I combined 1 Tablespoon of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and a tablespoon of lemon juice.  Do not put the dressing on the salad until you are ready to eat it.

Now everything is made.  Remove the bars from the fridge.  Cut them into squares.  If you’re planning on using these as a meal, make 12 squares.  If they are a snack make 24 squares.  I made 6 meal replacements for emergencies and cut the rest into snack size portions.  I always have bars in my freezer.  Any time I do not have time for a meal, I can eat a bar on the run.

Prepare the remaining food for storage.   Add the spinach to the soup.  Portion out the soup into 4 containers.  I use mason jars which freeze very well.  I also always have soup in my freezer for a quick meal.  Cover the meatloaf and refrigerate.  I made an extra loaf, so I put that into a freezer bag and froze that as well.  Cover the egg casserole and put into the refrigerator.  This makes 8 servings so if you’re not sharing it with someone else in the household, cut individual portions, wrap in a paper towel and put into a freezer bag.  Store in the freezer.  The rice should be done by now.  Place it into a covered container then store in the fridge.  Check on the pork loin.  If it is mostly cooked through, let it cool, the store it in the fridge.  Your meals are ready for the whole week!  Most of the meals just need to be heated up.  You’ll notice we did not make the sweet potatoes.  You can either put these in the oven on days you plan to eat them.  You can microwave them in a pinch as well.  I usually, check my stock around day 4.  Sometimes life happens and I don’t eat everything I expected to eat.  When that happens I put anything freezable into the freezer.   Most of the meals just need to be heated up.  You’ll notice we did not make the sweet potatoes.  You can either put these in the oven on days you plan to eat them.  You can microwave them in a pinch as well. 

I hope you enjoy your meals this week.
Here's to your health!