Prepping for the week...ideas?

SallyJoT

Hi there,
I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on making a prep day successful for the week. I usually grocery shop on Sundays and I would like to be able to precook foods or prepare them for the crock pot for meals later in the week. Our days are crazy busy and I would love to minimize the amount of time it takes to get a healthy dinner together. If it is not easy, it is not likely to happen then we end up eating quick and processed foods.

Thanks so much for your input!

badtastebetty

I usually make a very basic salad for the week (I add extras with each salad)
Hard boil eggs and bake some yams.
Chop veggies for roasting.
Cook some salmon.
Have lots of fruits and veggies for snacks.

This gives me a good base for the week.

twinmomtwice4

I always prepare a basic salad in a huge container (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and shredded carrots or broccoli slaw). Then I can add other things to it, depending on my mood. I always have at least 10 hard boiled eggs ready to go for a snack or to add to my salad.

I have almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds already measured out and placed in those little snack-size baggies, ready to go.

When I make dinners, I'll usually make a larger serving and save the leftovers for lunches for later in the week. Like, last night I made turkey chili in the crockpot and I'll be having that again for lunch today.

For the crockpot, you can place all your ingredients in those freezer ziplocs and then all you have to do the evening before is take it out of the freezer, thaw it and then throw it in the crockpot the next morning. Very easy to do.

My kids all have after school activities (karate, soccer and dance) so we're usually not home until after 6:00 on most evenings so I rely heavily on my crockpot to make sure we have healthy meals ready to go when we get home!

twinmomtwice4

oh and here's couple links to ideas for crockpot freezer meals:

http://www.six-cents.com/2012/08/crockpot-freezer-cooking-5.html

http://kojo-designs.com/2012/08/freezer-crockpot-cooking-round-2-more-recipes-more-organization/

Christie0428

hi, We prep food for the week on Sundays as well.

Breakfast:
I usually make a huge pan of scrambled eggs with lots of veggies (it is usually 50% greens - spinach or swiss chard and onion and sometimes pepper) adn divide it up in to 2 egg servings in small pyrex containers for myself to bring to work and a largert container for my daugher adn we just give her some each day. it is easy to heat in the microwave for a few second and you have a healthy filling breakfast.

Lunches
-As others hav said I make a big salad - I actually make 10 salads (one for each day for my husband and I to have for lunch) in serving size containers: mine consist of a small amy of romain, a lot of prewashed babg spinach and spring mix, shredded carrot, cukes, and roasted mushrooms. Sometime I add tomato when I eat it for lunch
-then I cook a bunch of chicken - enough for 10 servings and put it on the salads when it is cool. (sometimes I leave it in a separate container and add it when I am leaving for work in the am.
- also sometimes I make an extra one just to have in the fridge so I can have a healthy lunch on Saturday and am not tempted to eat junk if nothing healthy is readily available when doing housework

Dinners
- we usually make a big pot of something and eat is a few nights, last week I made a couple of spaghetti squashes and browned beef and added with green beans and Raos tomato sauce. that was dinner for 2-3 nights...
- Also on Sunday I roast a head or two of cauliflower and the mushtooms for my salads, bake or grill some sweet potatoes, and steam some green beans... this way I have sides ready to eat and can just steam some fish (which takes like 15 minutes) and we have a healthy dinner.

hope this helps, I am looking fwd to seeing what others do too. Thanks for the links

antitek

I do quiche in muffin tins. Individual portion sizes are frozen and can just go in a single large zip lock bag in the freezer.

Other than that I just chop the vegies and pre wash the lettuce.

I grow most of my own vegetables. Beyond a few small items like the quiche there is rarely room in the freezer for premade meals. : )

Lyerin

I need to do more prepping on the weekends (hard during the sports season for my DD because we are gone on the weekends so much). In any event, I try to prep my next day's meals at night. Last night I made pumpkin refrigerator oatmeal and put it in the fridge for my breakfast today. I keep a huge box of organic spinach in the fridge at work. I add almonds, tuna fish (or leftover chicken if we have some) and dressing at work and that's my lunch. I keep yogurt and other snacks at work too.

Also, when we cook during the week, we make more than we need so we can use the meal for dinner/lunch the next day or later in the week.

The crockpot is great too. Sometimes I will prep a meal (recently made the chicken cassoulet out of Tosca Reno's cookbook - really tasty) at night and then just throw it in the crockopot in the AM - dinner is all ready when I get home.

A few weekends ago, I made meatballs (turkey with a little beef - based on a Tosca Reno recipe) on the weekend and during the week we had them on pasta with red sauce, as meatball subs and just by themselves as a snack. It was a big hit around here.

thepinkpacker

We have Steel Cut Oats for breakfast almost everyday. So I make a big pot once a week. Only takes a couple of minutes to heat in microwave. So easy and good.

libertygirlfla

Lots of good suggestions here! May I add: I make a crust-less quiche which equals 4 servings for breakfast or lunch and it keeps all week if wrapped well. Also, don't underestimate the value of making the major part of a meal and then freezing it. Having healthy spaghetti sauce in the freezer means just boiling some pasta for dinner. Pre-making turkey meatballs can be the start for hoagies and lots of other meals. Healthy lasagna can be divided into meal-sized portions and used when needed. The same with most soups, chili and stews. I often make a big pot and then freeze single serving sizes (because it's just me eating it), but they could be frozen in larger containers for family sized meals.

I also pre-wash and slice fruits and veggies as soon as I get home from the store. I used to throw away tons of fresh foods because I'd get too lazy to prepare it when I was feeling snacky or because trying to get out the door quickly in the mornings.

It takes some practice, but you're on the right track! Keep up the good work.

Lib