I am starting to make some videos of the recipes I make more frequently then others in hopes that it will help others realize meal prep really isn't that bad! Plus, I personally think the meals I pick out are truly tasty and meals that people would look forward to eating... I mean why prep meals for the week that you aren't actually going to enjoy? Anyways, I've made this Vaca Frita with chicken multiple times and absolutely love it. It is a relatively simple meal to make without a ton of ingredients whatsoever. I personally love eating this chicken with some Barnana’s Himalayan Pink Sea Salt Plantain Chips (paleo, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, amazing), but this time I just had it over cauliflower rice. For not a ton of ingredients, this chicken sure packs a lot of flavor and is not lemon or cilantro dominant at all. This is a great protein to prep in bulk that you can dress up throughout the week however you want, so that you're not bored of the same meal everyday. One of these days I plan to make this Chicken Vaca Frita with some roasted plantains, which I think would be a bomb meal. If you give this one a try let me know how you enjoy it! 
​
​Instant Pot Chicken or Turkey Vaca Frita
Ingredients:

• 4lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or turkey breasts
• 1 cup bone broth
• ¼ cup tallow or bacon fat (divided)
• 3 large sweet onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 lemons
• 3 tsp pink Himalayan salt
• 1 cup minced cilantro

Directions:

1. First you need to cook your chicken breasts. Open your pressure cooker, add in my chicken and broth and set to poultry (20 min, high).
2. While the chicken cooks get prep the rest of the ingredients; peel and slice all the onions and the garlic. Juice the lemons and mince the cilantro. Once the chicken is done, release the pressure manually. Remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and place in a bowl. Shred with two forks and set aside.
3. Empty the bowl of your pressure cooker. Heat, with the lid open on sauté mode, medium or low heat. When it comes to temperature add in 2 tbsp. cooking fat and all the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes until the onions are very tender, translucent and sweet.
4. Remove half of the onion from the pot and add in half of the shredded chicken, one tbsp. fat, sprinkle in some salt and set the saute heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes until crispy bits begin for form. Add in half of the lemon juice and a handful of cilantro. Stir well and remove from the pressure cooker. Next add in the remaining fat, onions, chicken and repeat. Same with the remaining salt, lemon and cilantro.
5. Once it’s all done, mix it all together and toss well and let it sit for 5 minutes. Mix again, make sure you scrape and crispy bits from the bottom of the pot. Then you’re ready to serve! Garnish with remaining cilantro. This is great over cauliflower rice, with plantain chips or over greens! Buen Provecho!

Original recipe found here

​Another video for your viewing pleasure! Figured it was time to share how I have been making bulk sweet potatoes for meal prep literally every week these days. The best part is that it is super FAST and super EASY to do, which is why this one has been my go-to. The video really says it all, so I'll just add my notes and commentary. I typically buy larger sweet potatoes and stuff my Instant Pot to the max, so I always cook on manual for 30 minutes. However, like I noted below, if your sweet potatoes are smaller in size then 25 minutes should be plenty enough. The skins on the sweet potatoes naturally break open when cooked through, and once cooled I'll either put them into meals or store in one big container to have with dinners for the week. If you are someone who needs to mix up how they eat sweet potatoes then don't go anywhere yet! This is just like a plain chicken bulk prep where once you have it made you can dress it up as you want throughout the week. You can make this cooked sweet potato into a mash by adding some spices, cooking fat, and coconut or almond milk. If you want to step the mash game up even more you can steam some cauliflower, butternut squash, carrots, or pumpkin and blend that into the mash as well. I've added cooked sweet potato to smoothies and gluten-free oatmeal, made sweet potato pancakes, mashed them with bananas to make a fun snack, and my favorite is making a sweet potato bowl -- add an egg or two on top, some nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut shavings, spinach, chicken or other protein... the possibilities are really endless! Although these aren't true baked sweet potatoes, I do think they come pretty close to the real thing. Plus, you don't have to spend and hour or two waiting and checking on them in the oven until they are done. With no prep involved, just pop these in your Instant Pot first thing in the morning or when you get home, and continue on with your life. 

Super Fast Instant Pot Baked Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:

• 2-4 pounds of sweet potatoes
• 1 cup of water

Directions:

1. Pour 1 cup of water into your Instant Pot.
2. Place your steamer basket over the water in your Instant Pot. 
3. Add as many sweet potatoes as you want cooked (or in my case, that can fit into your Instant Pot). 
4. Cook on manual, high pressure, for 25-30 minutes*.
5. Immediately quick release the pressure as soon as the cooking cycle has completed.
6. Remove sweet potatoes from your Instant Pot with tongs and let cool down. The skins should naturally break open and the sweet potatoes should be clearly soft throughout. 

Notes:
*If your sweet potatoes are larger in diameter cook for at least 30 minutes. If they are smaller in diameter then 25 minutes should be plenty enough!

​About this recipe though... I wrote in parenthesis below, but I will typically increase the chicken amount to anywhere between 6-7 lbs since I am meal prepping for 3 people, and I love having extra for dinner when needed. If you don't need that much chicken though, just use the suggested 2.5-3 lbs as the recipe calls for below. No need to adjust anything else, although sometimes since I have so much chicken I'll increase the oil and spices some. This is a low fat and carb chicken recipe, so it definitely needs to be paired with a carb and vegetable of your choice, which you can then load with more fat according to your goals. I typically bake sweet potatoes to go with this buffalo chicken, and will roast some broccoli with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and salt to complete the meal. If you need even more fat, I suggest increasing the coconut oil in the buffalo chicken, throwing some ghee or nut butter on your sweet potato, definitely using EVOO (or bacon fat 🥓) to saute or roast your vegetable of choice in, or top everything with a fried egg or two. The options are endless! This meal is typically what I eat before I head to the gym, so it's higher protein and carb, and low fat. If all this macro talk is going over your head though, don't pay any attention to it. The point of this post is to show how incredibly easy bulk making something delicious for your lunches all week is. That knocks out one meal on track everyday! If you are looking for more specific guidance then check out the nutrition coaching tab and send me a message!

Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:

• 2.5 - 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use closer to 6 lbs)
• 1 bottle hot sauce (I used PaleoChef Wing Sauce, or you can simply use Frank's RedHot Original as well!)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne
• 6 sweet potatoes (or however many you need)
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water to create a slurry*
• Chopped green onions, for serving

Directions:

1. Place the chicken in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
2. Place coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Microwave until the coconut oil is melted (about 45 seconds), then stir until smooth.
3. Mix the the hot sauce, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne in with the coconut oil.
4. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the Instant Pot, place the vent to “sealing” position, and set it on manual for 25 minutes.
5. While the chicken is cooking you can bake the sweet potatoes: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, then place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon the size of your sweet potato. (I always buy large ones, so they can take me anywhere between an hour to an hour and a half to bake.)
6. When the chicken is finished cooking, you can either use the natural or quick stream release method. Shred the chicken inside the pot (it easily shreds when I press down on the chicken with my wooden spatula).
7. Once the chicken is shredded and while the sweet potatoes are baking, mix the arrowroot starch and 1 tablespoon water together to create a slurry.* Add it to the liquid in the Instant Pot, and mix around to combine. Put the Instant Pot on "Saute" mode and continue to mix the chicken around every so often until sauce thickens and reduces.
8. Split open the sweet potatoes, then top with the Buffalo chicken, and green onions. Enjoy!

Notes:
*You don't absolutely need the arrowroot starch - it just helps thicken the sauce some. If you do not use it, you can still put the cooked chicken on "Saute" mode in your Instant Pot to thicken the sauce. It usually takes me around 10 minutes when I don't use the arrowroot starch.

Original recipe found here