Last weekend was another typical week of meal planning and prep. I tried to add in a few different meals, but for the most part it was the same old stuff, especially breakfasts and lunches.
Meal Plan Week of 3/1-3/7:
Sunday: Homemade pizza with grilled chicken, broccoli, and spinach
Monday: Paleo stuffed peppers
Tuesday: Turkey veggie meatball “pasta”
Wednesday: chicken thighs, green beans, red potatoes
Thursday: Pasta with chicken and salad
Friday: salmon, sweet potato fries, asparagus
Saturday: dinner with my parents
Breakfasts: smoothies, egg frittatas, grain-free pancakes
Lunches: Leftovers, salads with grilled chicken or steak, roasted veggies
Snacks: fruit, baby carrots with almond butter, paleo blueberry muffins (made with chocolate chips), paleo coconut flour brownies
Here was the prep I did:
-washed and stored berries
-washed, cut and stored cucumbers and peppers
-roasted spaghetti squash
-cooked steak
-baked muffins
-baked brownies
-roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli
-cooked egg frittata
-made “turkey meatballs” which ended up being more of a meat sauce (I think I used too many veggies so they wouldn’t stick together)…still came out good though!
This took me 1 hour and 45 minutes. I was able to roast the spaghetti squash at the same time as the sweet potatoes/broccoli (I put the potatoes in first at the same time as the squash for about 25 minutes and add the broccoli for the last 12-15 minutes). While that was cooking I washed and stored the other fruits and veggies. Then I got to work on the egg frittata (I used some of the veggies I had already roasted) and cooked the steak. I saved the baking for the end and was able to make the meatballs and start cleaning up while that stuff was in the oven.
Do you have a “system” to your meal prepping?
Are there any new meals you tried last week?
I’ll be joining Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers on Sunday for their meal planning link-up!
I used to have a system of roasting all of the vegetables at once and setting up salad bases for the week but then I stopped when I stopped working in an office…and maybe even before that because I was picking at the roasted vegetables which left me nothing for my lunches lol. I did make a turkey meatloaf for my son to have this week though! I pureed in carrots and spinach and he was totally clueless.
Great idea to add the veggies to the meatloaf! I added pureed veggies to the meatballs I tried to make which is why they fell apart haha.
Your meals look great! No new meals this week, I have definitely lost some creativity in that department lately 🙂 I usually roast squash and sometimes other veggies ahead of time for breakfast and lunches but sometimes skip it. Definitely saves time when I do though.
If I don’t roast stuff over the weekend that I need to plan to use that stuff on a night when I know Ill have alot of time. And I actually don’t really mind doing something like that because its really not that much work, just time consuming!
This looks so beautiful and healthy! I’m back to my waitressing job which means I get amazing french food for free so no meal prep for me 🙂 I used to very much enjoy doing though and it’s such a healthy habit! 🙂
Oh that is a nice perk of your job!
This sounds great! I think I would go crazy without my meal prep. I need to be better about breakfast and lunch though.
I only started prepping breakfast and lunch about a year ago..before that I ate cereal and sandwiches. Its nice to have more (healthier) options available!
Your meals sound so delicious and healthy! No new meals for us this week, I am such a creature of habit sometimes! I could honestly eat the same few dinners and never get bored, but it is fun to try new recipes!
With certain meals I am ok eating them alot. I think I could eat burgers with sweet potato fries every day! I enjoy trying a new recipe but I still tend to fall back on my favorites.
I love homemade pizza! Do you make your own dough? I’ve always just purchased the Trader Joe’s kind but I want to try making my own at some point.
We made our own dough the first few times but realized it was really messy and took too long! It was delicious, but just not worth it to us.
My system is saying, “Hey Paul, will you make me chicken?” haha. But seriously, Paul is home all day, so he keeps up with the chicken. I keep bags of broccoli in the freezer, and make sure there is some sort of carb ready for my lunches- cous cous, quinoa, or sweet taters. On Sunday night, I get out 5 tupperware containers and dumb chicken, broccoli, and the carb in each one so my lunches are ready to just grab and go for the week! Bfasts are cereal, so no prep there. There is no pattern to our dinners lately, but they usually don’t take long to make, so I don’t really prepare ahead of time- except if you count the things I already have made for lunch.
Thats a great plan- I should probably just put my lunches together on the weekends too! Except I use the same container everyday so I guess that wouldn’t work:)
Sounds like you have a good meal planning system down! Mmm, I love spaghetti squash… and would like to try those brownies!
I would definitely recommend the brownies! They were easy and delicious!
Yum! Everything looks and sounds great as usual 🙂 I’m really good at planning out dinners but not as great with breakfasts and lunches. I notice when I do plan all three meals I snack less than if I don’t. Need to get back on that…
My week goes alot smoother when I plan all my meals too. Only problem is if I make a frittata on the weekend then I feel like Im committed to eating that all week because I usually won’t have enough other foods to make a different breakfast. And some mornings I like to be able to eat whatever I am craving on that particular day!
I have never prepped plain ground turkey before for meal prep, but I am definitely doing that next week because it’s so versatile!! thanks for sharing!
My husband actually did some food prep for me today. I made some bran muffins and he did a roasted chicken with roasted veggies…. I love having food in the fridge!
Roasted chicken is a great idea! I always forget to do that but it would be perfect to use for lunches and dinners throughout the week!
Right now I have the flexibility to cook most nights but I’d love to get back in the habit of meal prep- love how you show everything that you do!
It is nice to have things ready to go before cooking a meal! But some weekends I really dont feel like doing it- but I am always glad I did!
Your prep looks yummy!! I love raspberries! I don’t usually prep too much, I prefer to plan and then take the time to cook as I go.
There are definitely times when I prefer that too! Lately my evenings have been kind of busy so its nice to have one less thing to worry about. I’m thinking once it warms up and we can grill out regularly I will cut back on the meal prep and take more time to cook in the evenings.
You have meal prep down to a science. My meal prep system helps make my weeks go smoothly for meal times.
Agreed! And it is sort of a rhythm that you need to find…but I am always figuring out new tricks and things that work well!
I am going to have to try those brownies! I have everything on hand and my daughter has missed her sweet treat after school this past week 😉 Menu looks tasty, I hope you have a wonderful week!
I really like them because you can tell they’re not loaded with sugar like regular brownies, but still nice and fudgy:) I hope you and your daughter like them!