Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

I am so excited about my meal prep achievement this week that I couldn’t wait until next week to post! I have been cruising Pinterest and adding ideas to my “Meal Prep” board for a few weeks now. I wanted to share what I was able to make and how it’s been working for my family.

My goal by adding this to my schedule was for ease of dinner preparation as well as lunches. AJ has been trying to lose weight and by focusing on healthier options that are portion controlled I know he can reach his goal. Also, having these precooked foods in the house will make lunch choices at home easy as well.

My purchases included:

• Chicken thighs and tenders-4 packages, approximately 2.25 pounds each. I love Lucky’s and they had both of these on special for $1.88 a pound.
• Ground beef 85/15 – 3 packages, approximately 2.25 pounds each. Also purchased at Lucky’s on sale for $1.88 a pound. Also, Fresh Market has ground beef for $2.99 a pound every Tuesday.
• Zucchini-6 small/medium.
• Pineapple-2, on sale at Kroger for $1.88.
• Strawberries-2 pounds, Sam’s Club $3.98.
• Grape tomatoes – 2 pints, on sale at Lucky’s for $1 each.
• Bertolli pasta sauce – BOGO at Publix.
• Chobani plain Greek yogurt – BOGO at Publix.
• Shrimp (frozen, raw, sustainably harvested) – 2 pounds, Sam’s Club.
• Broccoli florets – 2 pounds, Sam’s Club.
• BBQ sauce – Kroger brand.
• Ginger Stir-in paste – Kroger.
• Feta Mediterranean Herb crumbles.
• Hand Spiralizer – for making zucchini noodles. This tool came with 3 sizes; noodle, thick spiral and ribbon. It is goodcook brand and works very well!
• Flour tortillas – frozen for taco night.
• Green onions.
• Green leaf lettuce – Lucky’s.
• Honeycrisp apples (organic) – on sale at Lucky’s for $1.77 a pound.
• Pears – on sale at Lucky’s for $.98 a pound.

I prepped the following:

• 2 pounds of taco meat – nachos on Tuesday and the other pound in the freezer for next weeks taco night.
• Spicy chicken and sweet potato bowls – AJ didn’t care for the sweet potato with this meal. I used Cajun seasoning for the “spice.” The bowl included steamed broccoli although the recipe called for asparagus.
• Hawaiian chicken bowls – AJ said he really liked this meal! I enjoyed it too. I warmed all ingredients together and in hindsight would have preferred the pineapple as a topping, cold.
• Honey Sriracha Glazed Meatballs – I personally, LOVE this one! My kids were not thrilled with the smell of the sauce or the finished product. More for me!
• Marinated chicken thighs – I will chop this on salads or shred to use in other recipes. My friend shared this recipe with me and the marinade is the bomb! It could also be combined with some roasted zucchini, grape tomatoes, and the feta cheese and herb quinoa I made for a Greek inspired lunch or dinner.
• Strawberries and pineapple were washed, sliced and stored in the fridge for additions to salads, breakfasts, or topping yogurt.
• Hard boiled eggs – After discussion with friends about our dissatisfaction with how our eggs were cooked as well as peeling this is the method I’ve been using and it works great! Water should cover the eggs by at least 2 inches. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and salt to the water. Once boiled add eggs. Boil for 8 minutes. Immediately remove, drain and ice. Happy peeling!

We had a lot going on over the weekend and I wasn’t able to get all my grocery shopping done on Friday or Saturday. I had to finish on Sunday afternoon and didn’t get home until around 5 PM.

WHAT I ACCOMPLISHED ON SUNDAY (2 1/2 HOURS):

• Marinated 1 package chicken thighs. Grilled both packages of thighs. One plain for use in other recipes.
• Cut, seasoned and baked chicken (used tenders) for Spicy chicken bowls.
• Cut, cooked and added BBQ sauce for Hawaiian chicken bowls.
• Washed 3 apples and 2 pears. Peeled 1 1/2 apples and sliced all storing in baggies for quick grab lunches and snacks.
• Soaked green leaf lettuce, drained and stored in a gallon Ziploc for salads, tacos, etc.
• Washed strawberries, sliced and stored in gallon Ziploc for salads, snacks and breakfast additions.
• Cooked 2 pounds ground beef and added taco season. Separated into 2 gallon Ziploc.
• Washed 1 zucchini and used spiralizer to test noodles that will accompany Hawaiian chicken bowl.

WHAT I ACCOMPLISHED ON MONDAY (1 1/2 HOURS):

• Prepared meatballs for Sriracha recipe.
• Prepared 1 pound beef into breakfast sausage patties.

WHAT I LEARNED:

• The time I allocated to this was appropriate.
• I would like to include my family in planning and prepping in the future.
• I need to plan better dinners. The meals I chose were designed for lunches, but can easily convert to a dinner item. AJ wouldn’t want to have the same thing for lunch and dinner.
• I will be adding a few “dump” recipes (designed for a crock pot) to my Meal Prep board so that I can include these on my planning. These are designed to be put together in a bag or container and dumped in the crock pot on the day you decide. Easy peasy!
• I purchased a pack of 5 of these Meal Prep containers at WalMart. True to form the 2 times I’ve been back to purchase more of these they don’t have any. I might order them online or just use Prime. If I was working outside of the home I would want enough for AJ and I to pack our lunches for all 5 days; 10 total. However, since I’m not and can conveniently make my food at home or prep in another Tupperware to carry out the 5 we have are sufficient for now.

Please share your meal planning/prepping ideas! I’d love to add some new recipes.