Meal prepping

meganlindeman

hey yall!
I started meal prepping today and have these next 8 days done, but I am wanting to switch it up just so j don't get tired of eating the same stuff! What do you suggest or what do you do for meal prepping. This week I have grilled chicken, rice and broccoli for 4 days and the next for days I have chicken, assortment of beans and cauliflower!
Also, what is your favorite oatmeal? I just bought Natures Path variety pack and I don't like how dry it is! I like my oatmeal more watery. It didn't matter how much water I put in the oatmeal, it still was mushy and dry.

Thank you, looking forward to hearing yalls feedback!

Queenmunchy

This baked oatmeal is definitely my favorite. I don't even like oatmeal, but that is delicious. You can cut it into portions, freeze until semi-solid, then take the "squares" and put them in a freezer bag side by side to warm up a portion in the morning.

I like to make one pot meals (soup, chili, stew, curries, stuffed peppers - of all varieties), portion into tupperware and freeze. We also flash freeze (freeze directly onto a metal cookie sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag when frozen) things like meatballs, nuggets, burgers, muffin tin recipes (like pot pie or meatloaf), casseroles cut into portions, and burritos. We make sauces and freeze them in ice cube trays or in jars, depending on the amount we'd use.

We also freeze small bags of pre-cooked chicken or steak, flash freeze leftover rice, pasta, and cauliflower rice.

We really use the freezer because then we don't need to eat the same thing daily or even the same thing within the house, but we don't waste anything. We have PLENTY of time to eat all of the dishes, and a lot of variety from day to day.

If my daughter wants some chicken noodle soup for lunch - bam, take out a frozen chicken noodle soup and some frozen noodles. Microwave until hot and add it to her thermos before school. If I want some chili for dinner, I just heat up my portion and add some chopped scallion, cilantro and jalapeno, if my husband wants chicken/zucchini nugget sandwich, he pulls those out and adds them to a roll, and so on.

For breakfasts I typically make a few crustless quiche "frittatas" or egg muffins or egg bakes. Depending on the number of servings, I'll either freeze them or just put them in the fridge for the week so we can heat up a portion when we want.

gaelowyn_pt_duex

I buy in bulk and break down into more manageable sizes. I put marinades/dry rubs on grillable meats and then vacuum seal and freeze. when I want to have them for a meal, I pull out and thaw. I always either just have leftovers for lunches, or repurpose them into different meals. Roast chicken(or rotisserie) becomes shredded chicken tacos, chicken "pot pie"(skinny taste recipe), and any little bit of left over meat and bones go into making stock for soups. Do basically the same thing for beef roasts, pork roasts and turkey breasts.
I cook up huge batches of ground beef or turkey, and make them into taco/burrito meat, sloppy joes, chili, and spaghetti sauce. divy up into meal or indi portions and freeze. (vacuum seal bags are the bomb for this!) I also leave some plain and freeze. I don't cook up many meals in advance on any one night, as I've done a lot of the prep right after purchase.
I've also cooked up gads of corn, removed from cob and frozen. sliced peppers and freeze, and dice onion and freeze. I'd like to try out some recipes for breakfast stuff that can be frozen- muffin sized poppers of egg, potato, onion, cheese and some ham or bacon.

OldHobo

Not much to contribute on prepping 8 days out. I understand freezing batches of chili, tomato sauce or gumbo. But rice?

Oatmeal: Steel cut is the way to go. It gets a creaminess that is destroyed in the precooking, pressing and dehydration process that produces rolled oats. Brand doesn't matter. I've used Quaker and Bob's Red Mill but usually buy bulk from Kroger. Just don't get pre-cooked, quick cooking, or anything like that. By the way, you can make large batches of steel cut oats and store servings in ice box or freezer. Add your blueberries or peanut butter/banana when you heat it up. I don't do that, but folks I trust say it doesn't works out well.

Re prep. I do like to roast all the beets at once and leave them, wrapped in foil, in the crisper. Also roast peppers and freeze between layers of wax paper or refrigerate in a jar with vinegar. Does this count as prep?

onmyweigh_

Lasagna, stew, soup

rosebarnalice

OldHobo wrote: »

Not much to contribute on prepping 8 days out. I understand freezing batches of chili, tomato sauce or gumbo. But rice?

Hardier rices such as wild rice, black rice, and red rice flash freeze nicely. I cook completely according to package directions and then form little balls or stacks on a silicon tray to freeze it.