Weekly meal prep

Especially in winter time, I tend to do a lot of soups. they're easy to thaw and eat, warm for the winter, and you can easily add in other foods when you serve them, like rice, or sour cream and chives, etc...

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I do better with routine. Lunch is always chicken, celery, baby cut carrots (or I might prep carrots myself) an apple (with skin) and a serving of triscuits.

I put 5 pounds of chicken breasts in the crock pot with some lowry's seasonings and cook for most of the afternoon. Then I pull it out and trim any fat off and dice into two 2-cup containers and freeze one. That gives me 5 lunches per container.

I buy two bunches of celery, cut off the bottoms, very small "branches" and at the top wherever there is a good break, wash and wrap in paper towels and put back into the bag (I researched celery storage and this works!) - one bag per week.

The broth in the bottom of the crock pot gets strained, then skim off fat, chop and add celery tops, measure and add water up to 2 cups and make brown rice for dinner one night. Before cooking the rice, I put a cup of broccoli slaw on top for added veggies. When done I store in the fridge for later that week.

I have a dry erase board on my fridge so I have meals on the right and shopping list on the left. As I use up ingredients I add to the shopping list. Before I go shopping I take a snapshot of the list with my phone.

Often when I make something, there is a secondary use for leftovers or part of the meal.

That rice is served with turkey kielbasa and unsweetened natural applesauce. That's one of those quick dinner nights - I slice and brown the kielbasa in a deep skillet and toss in the rice at the end long enough to warm it and dinner is done.

When I get a pound of 93% lean ground beef, I use half in chili and double the beans and tomatoes. The other half I use in spaghetti sauce along with more of the broccoli slaw for added vegetable punch and fiber - along with whole grain spaghetti.

Baked acorn squash stuffed with browned sausage and a green vegetable - I use half of the sausage per squash (only 2 of us). (i.e. quarter pound of sausage per squash half = one serving)

The other half of the sausage I use in a quiche along with a can of drained chopped spinach. It adds lots of flavor and since it's browned/crumbled, it's well drained to remove a lot of the fat. Served with the applesauce or fruit.

I save the ends of loaves of wheat bread, dry them and crush with a rolling pin and use for breadcrumbs. I brush fish filets with olive oil and coat in breadcrumbs, sprinkle with dill or lemon pepper and cook in non-stick pan. Also use broccoli slaw to actually make slaw (blanch slightly first) as a side for the fish along with steamed veggies.

Leftover fish gets crumbled, add an egg and old bay/seasonings and breadcrumbs to make fish cakes along with any veggies.

Hope this gives you some good ideas for lean protein and minimal waste! If I knew when I would use the broccoli I could make my own broccoli slaw with the stems but I buy frozen florets. Hmmmm....

That's my issue too...love avocado's, but hate how quickly they turn brown. I was trying to figure out the letters on the eggs to.

votkuhr wrote: »

GSlate wrote: »

What's with the letters on the eggs @tat2cookie ? lol

HAHA, yeah! I was wondering the same. What do the letters stand for lol @tat2cookie
I'm trying to make wild guesses here. R = Raw, H = Hardboiled?

Lol yes that's what it means.

For the work week, breakfast is always 1/2c of egg whites, 1/3 bell pepper, 1/4 onion, and some random amount of mushrooms, sauteed. I usually will add 2 slices of Canadian bacon. Then I make 40g snack bags of cinnamon and spice 5 grain hot cereal. I have an electric kettle at work at my desk for this.

My lunch is broken into a pre and post work out snack. One of them is always 1c of homemade non-fat Greek yogurt with either berries and vanilla flavoring or homemade reduced sugar apple butter flavoring. The other can be a portioned cup of last night's leftovers or I keep vacuum packs of tuna and crispbread at my desk. My work has free coffee and sugar free cocoa, so I often make a mocha to go with it.

I eat the lion's share of my calories after work.

i prep 1day a week. (feeds5) make ahead bfast sandwiches(egg/meat/cheese on english muffins(bagels for 1on weight gain)& bfast burritos wrap in plastic wrap (freeze)then 1.5 mins in micro in am. make 1pasta dishx2,1rice dishx2,1soupx3,chilix3. cook sausage,bacon,6lbs chicken breast all in oven & make up25 salads( with paper towel to keep fresh) this normally takes 4hrs by myself but then im done for week & mornings are easier;) lunches covered(1/2chick breast goes into sand bag frozen in am, thawed by lunch)everyones covered & i feel like theyve gotten good meals. i add fresh spinach or kale to bfast sand in am also. along with snacks this covers my 1200 cals& add more for 1on weight gain. bfast meat can be froze after cooked, wax paper between for easy cook in am too.anything left from soups,chili goes in freezer for easy meal later after day 4

I get a bag of frozen chicken breast and throw it in a crockpot, shread it once it's done. then on one meal i'll do cheese, another bbq, ect.

I'm guessing R = raw and H = hard boiled?

lifeandleaves wrote: »

igsalem wrote: »

That's my issue too...love avocado's, but hate how quickly they turn brown. I was trying to figure out the letters on the eggs to.

If you store an avocado in a sealed container with a cut onion, it lasts for several days without turning brown. This is by far the most effective method I have used.

I've heard of this, too, and that the avocado doesn't smell like an onion either.