Ever bite into a meal so good that you are immediately happy knowing you get to eat it for lunch everyday that week? If the answer is yes, then you are doing meal prep and eating right! (And probably making some of the recipes I've posted ;-)... like this one!) This is the kind of recipe that your friend who "never uses recipes" makes. Real simple ingredients, real easy, real quick. I busted out the cast iron skillet for this one and doubled the recipe below to get at least 8 servings for the week. While I was making the chicken I had the sweet potatoes roasting in the oven, so time in the kitchen was efficient! Now I do have to point out that when I first started meal prepping I used to avoid recipes that called for ghee, simply because I didn't have the ingredient and I didn't want to pay for it. Fast forward a couple years later and now I'm using it all the time and wondering why I didn't try it earlier. For those who are wondering what ghee is, it's just clarified butter, which means it is butter with all the milk solids removed (so it's free of lactose and casein protein). This creates a higher smoke point and also gives it a nutty, more rich and intense flavor. It's not hard to make by yourself, but you can purchase it at the store as well. I mention all of this because I recommend trying ghee out if you haven't yet and I definitely recommend using it in this recipe if you can!
One-Pan Garlic Herb Chicken Asparagus Ingredients:
Notes: In place of the dried basil, oregano, and thyme, you can use about 1½ teaspoons dried Italian seasoning. Original recipe found here My Roasted Sweet Potatoes Ingredients:
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A Nom Nom Paleo recipe! My sister has made this a couple times and loved it, so she suggested I make it for our mom too. This batch ended up making me 14 muffins, and after talking with my sister we both agreed that the extra 1/3 cup of sweet potato was definitely too much. Other then that though, this recipe as-is turned out pretty tasty! Since I didn't actually eat this though, I am going off my sister's opinion, who doesn't even like sweet potatoes, and my picky mom who devoured these every morning without complaint despite the visible "green things." Anyways though, I asked my sister for her review, and this is what she had to say... "The tuna cakes were the perfect lunch. They were easy to make and they had a sweet-spicy combination. I am not a fan of sweet potatoes at all, but in this recipe they were the perfect combination with the tuna." Let me know if you give them a try and what you think!
Spicy Tuna Cakes Ingredients:
Original recipe found here I haven't made roasted sweet potatoes in a long time, mainly because I have to roast A LOT of sweet potatoes to get my desired 8 oz in each meal, but I was craving them and decided it was time to make them again. Since the roasted sweet potatoes were the deciding factor for this meal, I found an incredibly easy and delicious baked chicken to pair with it! The only spices I threw on the sweet potatoes were salt and paprika, and since I did that I also threw some paprika on the chicken as well. Of note, if you increase the chicken amount make sure to increase the spice amount too. Rookie mistake on my part and I came across some bites that were definitely less spiced then others. I'd actually just recommend increasing the spice amount anyways to make sure the chicken turns out tasty. Overall, this meal was simple to throw together with very limited ingredients, which always makes for a great meal prep!
Easy Baked Chicken Breasts Ingredients:
Original recipe found here My Roasted Sweet Potatoes Ingredients:
I am currently running our spring nutrition challenge at the gym and we had a potluck this past weekend, so this is what I made for it! A potluck full of delicious Paleo friendly foods... what more could you ask for!? Alright maybe that's just my kind of potluck, but for once I didn't get made fun of for bringing the Paleo dish to the party. Anyways, I selfishly made this one because I've been wanting to try it for a while and it's highest in carbs, which I am always in need of. Not only was this a really simple recipe to make, but it turned out so freakin' delicious! It had more of the consistency of bread rather then a mashed sweet potato and those warm blueberries on top... oh my gosh, just amazing!! The 9x5 loaf pan is small, so I ended up making two loafs for the potluck. I cut each loaf into 8 bars, which put each bar at 13g Carbs, 5g Fat, and 4g Protein (using the measurements I indicated below). I don't know if I would call this breakfast since one bar is definitely not a substantial amount of food, but this was a great snack or post-meal treat. If you think this looks even a little bit yummy, then I definitely recommend you give this one a try! I will for sure be making it again soon.
Paleo Sweet Potato Blueberry Breakfast Bars Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Oh my goodness this meal was delicious!!! I have missed me some Brussels sprouts! Below is my version of the original recipe - I basically just doubled everything, but kept the oil amount the same, so I could get 8 meals. Since I increased the ingredient amounts, I decided to bake the Brussels and red onions separately from the chicken. This added some more time to meal prep, but I had the sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot anyway, so it didn't really make a difference to me. I baked the Brussels and red onions for 20 minutes, mixed them around, then baked for another 10 minutes and set them aside. Once those were done, I baked the chicken for just 20 minutes and they were done. Since I used bite size chicken breast pieces instead of chicken thighs, the chicken did not take too long to cook at all. Of note, you do have to marinate the chicken for 2 hours before cooking. I hate when I forget this piece, then go to meal prep only to realize I didn't marinate the meat yet. It's almost as if that happened to me this weekend or something... Anyways though, this meal is definitely worth making! Super easy, not many ingredients, and it turned out so delicious! I will be making this one again for sure!
Roasted Balsamic Chicken with Brussels Sprouts Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Super Fast Instant Pot Sweet Potato Mash Ingredients:
*I always use at least 6 lbs of sweet potatoes, 2 cups of water, and cook it for 10-15 minutes. Original recipe found here This meal was incredibly easy to make and it turned out tasting delicious! I've been making this similar Buffalo Chicken meal every other week lately, so it was slightly refreshing to at least not have a shredded buffalo chicken meal. However, yes, both taste incredibly similar. This one though is all done in one pan on the stove top, so if you don't want to do the slow cooker or pressure cooker buffalo chicken then give this one a try! The recipe also calls for cauliflower rice, which I clearly did not make. Instead, I paired this with the basic sweet potato! I got really lazy with the sweet potato this time around though and simply threw 8 lbs of peeled sweet potato in the Instant Pot, added 1 cup of water, and set to manual for 25 minutes. Once it was done, I let the sweet potatoes sit in the strainer to drain the excess water while I made the chicken, and that was literally all I did to the sweet potatoes. No added spices or fat whatsoever, so basically just a boiled sweet potato. This is another easy way to bulk make a lot of plain sweet potato, and have it ready to dress up as you want throughout the week. Anyways though, this was an easy meal to throw together for the week and one that I really enjoyed eating!
Buffalo Chicken and Broccoli Bowls Ingredients: For Cauliflower Rice
To make the Cauliflower Rice
Notes: *Make sure the broccoli florets are not too large and are of even size. This will allow them to cook faster and also make sure that they are all done at the same time. **If using a pan that is not non-stick, I would suggest using a little oil when cooking the chicken. Otherwise it may stick to the pan. ***If you prefer more sauce, just increase the amount of hot sauce you use. This amount makes enough to fully coat everything but doesn't leave much extra sauce. Original recipe found here This turned out pretty amazing! I made this with breakfast sausage and used one orange pepper instead of red and green. I make these breakfast meal preps for my mom and she tends to pick out red peppers and anything green, so I thought the orange pepper would camouflage in better. Anyways, this was a delicious casserole to prep ahead of time and have ready for breakfast all week. Just like egg muffins, you can adjust this casserole to your liking and simply throw in any ingredients you enjoy. If you want a leaner protein source just swap the sausage out with some lean ground meat, or if you don't eat meat then add in some butternut squash, spinach, or other veggies! Who has time to make breakfast in the morning? Meal prep a casserole like this and be set, eating good, for the week!
Paleo Breakfast Casserole Ingredients:
Original recipe found here This meal turned out so delicious and was extremely simple to make! I threw the pork in the slow cooker first thing in the morning, so that it was done by the time I got home later in the day. Since there was not much prep for the pork, it did not take much time at all to get it started in the slow cooker. When I got home later in the day, I took the pork out to shred and brought the remaining sauce to a boil on the stove top (or put on the saute function if you used an Instant Pot), then let it simmer until it thickened up some and poured it back onto the pork. While that was going on I started the Chipotle Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Mash. I originally wanted to make a Pumpkin Sweet Potato mash, but since pumpkin is not in season I couldn't find any at the store. I guess I could have went for the canned pumpkin, but instead I swapped it out for butternut squash. This combination still turned out tasting amazing and it was a good change up from my normal plain Jane sweet potato mash. The chipolte chili powder spice also gave it a little kick and it paired great with the Apple Cider Pulled Pork. This is a meal I really look forward to eating all week!
Apple Cider Pulled Pork Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Super Fast Instant Pot Sweet Potato Mash - Chipotle Butternut Squash version Ingredients:
*I used closer to 7.5 lbs of sweet potato and 3 lbs of butternut squash for this recipe, so I put them in the pressure cooker separately. I put the sweet potato in the Instant Pot for 20 minutes, then let the sweet potatoes drain while the butternut squash was in the Instant Pot for 10 minutes. This meal definitely came out tasting like a Chinese Chicken and Broccoli dish! I loved this meal and it was all done in the Instant Pot, which made for an easy meal prep. I basically tripled this recipe below to get more meals prepped for the week, but I only doubled the chicken broth, coconut aminos, and fish sauce. I also did not use any arrowroot flour, but instead removed the chicken and left the sauce in the pot on the saute mode until it thickened up some (while stirring every so often). Oh and I totally forgot to add in the apple cider vinegar at the end, which I was really bummed about because I feel like that would have only made this meal even tastier. Anyways, if you think you would enjoy this meal then you will and you should definitely give it a try! If you don't have fish sauce or can't deal with the smell then I recommend just leaving that ingredient out because it does have a very distinct fish smell. I decided to pair this with my go-to super fast Instant Pot sweet potato mash, but this can easily be paired with rice too!
Chinese Chicken and Broccoli Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Super Fast Instant Pot Sweet Potato Mash Ingredients:
*I always use at least 6 lbs of sweet potatoes, 2 cups of water, and cook it for 10-15 minutes. Original recipe found here Trying out a new breakfast quiche for my mom's breakfast this week! My mom has always loved quiches, so one way to keep her happy with all of her paleo food is to make meals with familiar names of foods she used to like. It works majority of the time at least. For this quiche I totally changed the original recipe below and used ingredients I thought my mom would enjoy instead. Specifically, I swapped the cubed pumpkin for sweet potatoes and kale for baby spinach, and I left the mushrooms out all together. This was a pretty basic veggie and pumpkin quiche, so you can make ingredient swaps to your liking just like I did. Maybe next time I will try the recipe as is and see how my mom likes it. Anyways, if you don't have time for breakfast in the morning then prepping your breakfasts ahead of time can really help you out during the week. These egg recipes are always simple and easy to prep, always turn out tasting good, and are a great on-the-go breakfast option!
Crustless Vegetable & Pumpkin Quiche Ingredients:
Original recipe found here |
Erika CopelandSharing the recipes I prepare to help others eat more nutritious food and begin their journey to a healthier life. categories
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