Does meal prep seem overwhelming to you? It doesn't have to be. Find what works for your family... this works for us weekly:
1. On Saturday evening or Sunday morning I look through my cookbooks, Pinterest and favorite cooking websites to select 2 meals, 1 breakfast for the kids for the week, snacks and/or treats.
2. I create a detailed grocery list and send my sweet husband on Sundays so I do not have to go with both kids. This is such a huge help. While he is at the store I can play with the kids so that they'll be worn out when I am ready to cook.. and because I love them of course:)
3. Sunday afternoon, I cook one meal that we will eat Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night. I also cook the breakfast muffins or pancakes for the week
4. On Tuesday or Wednesday I cook another meal that we will eat Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night. I will also bake a treat for the week or snacks. We typically eat our on Saturday night or I will grab something quick to cook or pick up a prepared meal at Whole Foods.
This process works really well with our schedule and we don't mind left overs. I even give Lola leftover dinner for lunch a few days. We eat a lot of left overs, therefore I try to make each week pretty different to keep interest.
Lola and Hayes playing dress up while I cook.
1. Cut out and discard the core of the cauliflower, then break the cauliflower into florets. Pulse the florets in the food processor (1/4 of the florets at a time in the processor and PULSE, dont puree or it will turn into Cauliflower mash potatoes). Pulse until you have rice-sized pieces
2. Heat the oil, add the cauliflower rice, cook, stirring until the rice is crisp-tender. 8-10 minutes.
3. IN a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, mirnin, honey and ginger.
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add the chicken and cook until browned and cooked through. Reduce the heat to low and pour the sauce over the chicken and cook until the sauce lightly thickens. Remove from pan and place in a bowl to prevent the sauce from dying out.
5. Serve chicken and sauce over rice and top with scallions and sesame seeds.
(I didn't use the scallions and sesame seeds for the kids)
What the cauliflower looks like if you puree too long .. because cauliflower mash, which is awesome, but not for this recipe:
1. On Saturday evening or Sunday morning I look through my cookbooks, Pinterest and favorite cooking websites to select 2 meals, 1 breakfast for the kids for the week, snacks and/or treats.
2. I create a detailed grocery list and send my sweet husband on Sundays so I do not have to go with both kids. This is such a huge help. While he is at the store I can play with the kids so that they'll be worn out when I am ready to cook.. and because I love them of course:)
3. Sunday afternoon, I cook one meal that we will eat Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night. I also cook the breakfast muffins or pancakes for the week
4. On Tuesday or Wednesday I cook another meal that we will eat Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night. I will also bake a treat for the week or snacks. We typically eat our on Saturday night or I will grab something quick to cook or pick up a prepared meal at Whole Foods.
This process works really well with our schedule and we don't mind left overs. I even give Lola leftover dinner for lunch a few days. We eat a lot of left overs, therefore I try to make each week pretty different to keep interest.
Lola and Hayes playing dress up while I cook.
Teriyaki Chicken Bowls with Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients- 2 heads of cauliflower
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1.5 Tbs honey
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1. Cut out and discard the core of the cauliflower, then break the cauliflower into florets. Pulse the florets in the food processor (1/4 of the florets at a time in the processor and PULSE, dont puree or it will turn into Cauliflower mash potatoes). Pulse until you have rice-sized pieces
2. Heat the oil, add the cauliflower rice, cook, stirring until the rice is crisp-tender. 8-10 minutes.
3. IN a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, mirnin, honey and ginger.
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add the chicken and cook until browned and cooked through. Reduce the heat to low and pour the sauce over the chicken and cook until the sauce lightly thickens. Remove from pan and place in a bowl to prevent the sauce from dying out.
5. Serve chicken and sauce over rice and top with scallions and sesame seeds.
(I didn't use the scallions and sesame seeds for the kids)
What the cauliflower rice should look like:
What the cauliflower looks like if you puree too long .. because cauliflower mash, which is awesome, but not for this recipe:
My Bowl:
The Kids' Dinner- they thought it was all chicken
Zucchini lasagna
Ingredients
- 4 large zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 pound extra lean ground turkey
- 1 - 14 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 - 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- handful of basil, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- handful of parsley, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- red pepper flakes, if desired
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 15 oz cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 12 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place sliced zucchini on large baking sheet coated with non stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes to help dry out the zucchini a bit. This is a critical step.
- While the zucchini noodles are roasting, you can make the turkey meat sauce. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onions, and peppers and cook a few minutes until onions become translucent and garlic is fragrant; stir occasionally so that you don't burn it. Add in ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Add in tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, and a few dashes of red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 25 to 30 minutes or until sauce really thickens up! Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat to cool.
- In a medium bowl, combine egg white, cottage cheese, and Parmesan. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Add in 1/2 cup of the slightly cooled meat sauce and stir to combine.
- To assemble lasagna, spread 1/2 of the turkey meat sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Place zucchini slices evenly over meat sauce, spread on 1/2 of the cottage mixture, then sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella on. Repeat layers again starting with the meat sauce, zucchini slices and ricotta mixture and finishing with mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove foil and bake for 15 minute longer uncovered.
Healthy Cookies (version 1: -no butter, no sugar, no grains)
- 10 dried dates
- 2 cups almond butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TB water
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3-4 tbs of local honey
- Start by boiling the dates for a couple minutes, just to soften them.
- Once soft, remove from heat, drain, and add to food processor. Add 1/4 tsp sea salt and 2 TB water. Chop until coarsely ground.
- Add 2 cups almond butter, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 eggs, and 1/2 TB baking powder and 3-4 tbs of honey. Blend.
- Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips using a spoon (not food processor)
- Form batter into balls less than 1/4 cup each in size. Place on greased baking sheet or on parchment paper.
- Bake for 9 minutes at 350 degrees.
Healthy Cookies (version 2: No butter, no sugar)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup almond butter, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter
- 1/4 cup apple butter (or you can do 1 and 1/4 cups almond butter and use apples in the mix)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 large banana, mashed
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup raisins
- ! apple chopped
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- chocolate chip (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer or use food processor. Mix until all of the ingredients are combined. The dough will be quite stiff... can add water if needed for easier mixing.
- Take 1/4 cup of dough and drop onto prepared cookie sheet. Slightly flatten the tops into desired thickness. top with chocolate chips, if using. The cookies will not spread in the oven.
- Bake for 15-16 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Allow to cool on the cookie sheets completely.
I used the food processor so it makes a cookie batter consistency, if you use a mixer you will see whole raisins and cranberries.. which I love but think the kids like it more mixed like a cookie:
Coconut Flour Carrot Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 6 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cups shredded zucchini
- 3/4 cups shredded carrots
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Set up a muffin tin–I like using silicone, but you can also use a metal muffin tin with liners
3. In a large bowl, mix everything except the zucchini and carrots until smooth.
4. Stir in the zucchini and carrots, then divide the batter into the muffin cups.
5. For muffins: bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
6. They will be golden brown on top.
7. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Enjoy! (I recommend storing it in the fridge)