Tomorrow is the big starting point of normalcy. I had teacher work day last week and lunch was provided for us. Tomorrow, we are back to normal working schedules and back to healthy eating after the holidays. Now that I have a house with 2 full-size ovens and a full size stove, my weekend meal prep days are back!
I cannot emphasize enough how crucial these meal prep days are for me. I have really missed them and had way too much fun today playing in the kitchen. Each week, I plan to share my menu for the week and share my meal prep results. My meal prep works for our family so if you are new to a weekend meal prep, you may want to experiment with different variations.
Any google or instagram search for #mealprep will show counters full of pre-portioned meals and snacks. Some people prep ALL their meals for the week. Some prep their lunches and snacks. Others may prep the separate ingredients to quick-cook later in the week. There is no wrong way to do this.
I am actually changing my complete routine this year. Before the house construction, I would make several separate dishes and store in the fridge for my lunch and breakfast. The problem I noticed was that by Friday, we had not eaten all the food I prepared. Either an unexpected eating out night happened or I didn’t feel like cooking and we snacked, etc. I was stuck with having to either get creative with a big pot of soup or dividing food into containers for freezing.
This year, I am prepping my breakfast and lunches, and batch cooking protein for week night dinners. I absolutely love to cook, and even more so in my dream kitchen. I do not want to make EVERYTHING on Sundays, but pre-cooking garlic ground beef or roasting some chicken or pork is a great time-saver. I am not pre-cooking lunches for my husband because his work schedule is rotating days and nights and he loves whatever is leftover from dinner.
Now that I have explained my whole thought process, what’s on the menu this week? (check back for the recipes!). Because Whole30 begins this week, all meals are Whole30 compliant.
- Greek beef and zoodles
- Chicken fajitas with cauli-rice
- Breakfast casserole with mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes
- Roasted sweet potatoes
- Burrito bowls
- Salmon with some vegetable. Jury is still out on that one.
Here is my first meal prep in the house and in 2018!
