Weekly Meal Prep #2

My routine was thrown off a little bit this past week because I went out of town but I still wanted to share my meal prepping menu with you. I typically like to do everything all at once, but this time I had to spread things out a bit…and that works too! You should know that when it comes to meal prepping you don’t have to prepare ALL of your meals for the week in one marathon-type session…you can spread it out. In fact, it’s probably best to do it that way when you’re just getting started so you’re not so overwhelmed.

Typically what I do is when I make one meal to eat, I also prep enough for 3-4 more days. And then when I get to the next meal I do the same thing until I have enough for the week. So sometimes it takes me 1 or 2 days to get everything prepped. I hope that makes sense!

SHOPPING LIST

baby carrots – 1 lb.
fresh green beans – 2 lbs.
cherry tomatoes – 2 pints
zucchini – 2 small
Dole’s Greener Selection X 1 12oz. bag
fresh spinach leaves x 1 10oz. bag
bananas
strawberries – 16 oz. (standard size container you find at the market)
blueberries – 4 oz. (again…standard size)
lemon x 1
fresh basil (or you can use dried basil)
almond slices – at least 1 cup, I typically buy 1 lb. bulk bag
cannelli beans – 2 cans
feta cheese or fresh parmesan cheese (optional)
extra-virgin olive oil
lean ground turkey – 1 package
fresh salsa – 1 container
old fashioned oats – (at least 1 cup)
low-fat plain yogurt (or Greek if you prefer) – 32 oz. container
unsweetened almond milk
eggs
chicken breasts (optional for white bean salad)
Shakeology

OK, so this was my menu for the week:

BREAKFAST

Berry Yogurt

STEPS:

1. First, divide the yogurt evenly into 4 storage containers. If you’re OCD like me :o) you can use a food scale to measure out the 227g serving sizes.

2. Next, cut up the strawberries and mix with the blueberries and store in a glass jar. You can store the berries in a plastic container, but they’ll taste fresher on the fourth day if you use a glass jar.

3. Last, toast the almonds. I usually just stick them under the broiler until they start to sizzle and turn slightly brown. Careful though! It only takes a couple minutes and if you walk away they WILL burn! #LearnFromMyMistakes You don’t HAVE to toast the almonds, but they’ll taste a lot better if you do. :o)

4. When you’re ready to eat breakfast, add 1 cup berries and 1-2 TBS almonds to your yogurt.

AM SNACK

Veggies

Each bag contains:

8-10 cherry tomatoes
10 baby carrots
a handful of raw green beans*

*You could do celery sticks instead of beans…but I’m personally not a big fan so you won’t see celery in most of my food pics. 😀

LUNCH

White Bean Chopped Salad with Spinach and Romaine

Mix together and then divide evenly into four containers:

* 2 cans (15.5 oz each) white cannelli beans, drained/rinsed
* 2 small raw zucchini, chopped
* 4 oz. or 3/4 cup green beans, trimmed and chopped
* handful chopped fresh basil
* 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
* juice of 1 fresh lemon
* salt and pepper to taste

OPTIONAL: On top of each container sprinkle 2 TBS feta or Parmesan cheese.

TIPS: Eat each salad as is or before eating mix with 2-3 cups chopped greens (Greener selection + spinach). For a protein boost you can also add half of a cooked chicken breast. If you don’t have fresh basil use 1 tsp dried basil and work your way up from there (according to taste). Also, small zucchini typically tastes sweeter, especially when used raw.

PM SNACK

Shakeology

My go-to Shakeology recipe is 1 scoop chocolate vegan with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 banana, and a handful of ice.

YUM!!

DINNER

Turkey Meatballs and Green Beans

These are so simple to make and who doesn’t like finger food?!?

For this meal prep I used my standard turkey meatball recipe and then evenly divided up whatever green beans I had left from my snacks and white bean salad into four storage containers. But it should work out to about 4 oz. green beans for each container. And since you already have fresh basil and a lemon, you can use seasoning Option #2.

Do you have questions about anything you see here? Please post them on my Facebook page and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!