BBQ Shredded Chicken with Garlic Sweet Potato Mash

Not the most quality picture, but this is an important meal prep post so keep reading! This is the one blog post you should definitely bookmark, well besides the main LiveSqueezy page of course. Here are my recipes for the super easy meal prep we all resort to when we don't feel like cooking. First, the classic slow cooker shredded chicken. This chicken can be a little bit tastier with a little cooking fat, chopped onion and garlic, and a few spices. Now you have a ton of plain shredded chicken that you can dress up however you want throughout the week, or throw into the freezer to have ready whenever you need. Ideas for dressing up plain shredded chicken:

• Mix with your favorite BBQ, buffalo/hot sauce, mustard, salsa, etc.
  (My favorites: coconut aminos, mustard, balsamic vinegar, Tessemae's Paleo sauces, Steve's Paleo Good's (love the Wing sauce), The New Primal marinades, or Primal Kitchen sauces and marinades.) Also, check out this EASY Buffalo Chicken!
• Make a chicken or egg salad
  (Mix with avocado and/or together with the yolk(s) from a hard boiled egg. Here's a recipe for inspiration. Primal Kitchen Mayo is also a good pair for chicken salad.)
• Simply just top it on your favorite salad
• Throw it in a soup, omelette, casserole, or with rice/cauliflower rice 
  (This Buffalo Chicken casserole and Fried Cauli Rice are my favorites!)

Hopefully those ideas get your mind going and you came up with even more creative ideas that you enjoy. Feel free to post your own ideas and tips below to help others too (and myself)!

For this week's meal prep I simply dressed my shredded chicken with Steve's PaleoChef Peach BBQ sauce since I already had a bottle in the kitchen. The next easiest bulk meal prep recipe to make is this pressure cooker sweet potato mash. If you are someone who likes to meal prep, cook in bulk, or just save time in the kitchen, then the pressure cooker is absolutely worth the investment. Anyways, I have now posted this sweet potato mash recipe way too many times, which is the biggest indicator that it's not only my favorite, but it's also extremely efficient, simple, and delicious. Although I post it a lot, I try to vary it up slightly each time. This week I added some garlic cloves into the mix (I know, huge difference). You can play around with this recipe by adding different spices and cooking fats, or adding coconut milk or unsweetened applesauce at the end. You can also add in other vegetables/squashes, like cauliflower or butternut squash, to roast in with the sweet potatoes as well. Get creative! I like to make a TON of sweet potato mash so I can have some for dinner too if I want. I love to make up my own Sweet Potato Bowl and add almond butter, paleo/gluten free granola/muesli, and blueberries. I have also tried topping it with a couple eggs, shredded coconut, ghee, spinach, and bacon. There are so many possibilities! 

Hopefully these ideas help your meal prep get a little easier or different! I know I post a ton of recipes and it might seem overwhelming, so if you are new to meal prep or just hate being in the kitchen, these are some ways to have the basics prepped to get you through your week. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions. Happy meal prepping!

Pressure Cooker (or slow cooker) Shredded Chicken
Ingredients:

• 3-4 Pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts Or Thighs
• 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1-2 Tablespoon Avocado Or Coconut Oil (or your favorite cooking fat)
• 1 Yellow Onion, Chopped
• 4-5 Garlic Cloves, Chopped
• 1 cup Chicken Broth

Directions:

1. Place all of the chicken into the pot of your pressure cooker or slow cooker. Sprinkle the chicken with sea salt, pepper, oil, onion, and garlic. Using a pair of tongs, lift and turn the chicken to distribute the seasonings evenly. Pour the broth down the side of the pot.
2. If you’re using a pressure cooker, cook on high pressure for 30 minutes and release the pressure using the natural or quick-release method.
3. If you’re using a slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 5–6 hours or on high for 3–4 hours.
4. Shred the chicken and return it to the pot with the juices. Serve immediately or divide the chicken up into equal portions and chill or freeze.

Original recipe found here

Super Fast Instant Pot (Garlic) Sweet Potato Mash
Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes*
• 4-6 cloves of Garlic
• 1 cup of water
• 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil or ghee (to your tasting)
• salt and seasonings to taste

Directions:

1. Peel your sweet potatoes and cut them into 1″ cubes.
2. Add sweet potatoes, garlic cloves, and water to the instant pot. Close pot and set to sealing.
3. Cook on manual, high pressure, for 4 minutes*.
4. Immediately quick release the pressure as soon as the 4 minute cooking cycle has completed.
5. Use oven mitts to carefully remove the inner pot from the Instant pot, carrying it to a colander in your sink to drain the potatoes.
6. Quickly wash out the inner pot and dry it with a kitchen towel.
7. Immediately place the clean inner pot back into the instant pot, add the coconut oil/ghee and press the sauté button.
8. Once the coconut oil starts to sizzle, add your potatoes back to the pot along with any seasonings** you desire. Use a wooden spoon to stir and turn your sweet potatoes, cooking until a desired consistency is reached. This step should only take a few minutes before you are ready to serve your sweet potato mash! Enjoy!

Notes
*I always use at least 6-7 lbs of sweet potatoes, 2 cups of water, and cook it for 10 minutes. 
**I always add at least 1 tsp of salt.

Original recipe found here