Preparing weekly protein ahead of time
FloridaFatty345
Posts: 32 Member
Not groundbreaking but I like to cook up my protein (meats) for the week on the weekend. Today I used my BBQ grill and cooked up at least 5 days worth of chicken breast. This way, during week, I just reheat my 4-8 oz chicken and add to a salad or just make sides and I’m good to go. 🙂👍
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Yas! The best way to ensure smart choices on the run. Sunday afternoons are typically my meal prep days.
Good job, hun! 🙌🏻1 -
Yep. When I don’t do this, like you said, it usually leads to bad choices when I come home exhausted from work.1
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I try to keep a couple weeks ahead in the freezer.3
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I always wished the meal prep thing worked for me. I can see how convenient it could be and I've tried it a few times but it just never seems to last for long.
To begin with I really don't like cooking so the idea of spending a whole afternoon doing it was just the worst so I'd end up not doing it! The other thing is I tend to need spontaneity in my eating. I never know what I'm going to feel like eating until it's time to eat. This meant that each time I did force myself to cook and meal prep there was a better than average chance that come meal time in the days following I wouldn't be in the mood to eat what was prepped resulting in the meals sitting in the freezer until they got tossed out.2 -
I hear ya. I honestly don’t cook up full meals, just my meats for the week. And here’s a tip: BBQ your meatbin the grill About 15-20 mins and your finished. Then mix up your meals during the week knowing the thing that takes the longest to cook (meats) are already finished - just cook up some healthy sides. It kinda works for me, but we are all different.I always wished the meal prep thing worked for me. I can see how convenient it could be and I've tried it a few times but it just never seems to last for long.
To begin with I really don't like cooking so the idea of spending a whole afternoon doing it was just the worst so I'd end up not doing it! The other thing is I tend to need spontaneity in my eating. I never know what I'm going to feel like eating until it's time to eat. This meant that each time I did force myself to cook and meal prep there was a better than average chance that come meal time in the days following I wouldn't be in the mood to eat what was prepped resulting in the meals sitting in the freezer until they got tossed out.
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FloridaFatty345 wrote: »
I cook chicken to “just done “ so it has room to reheat without going rubbery. I also always include a little broth in the container, and usually I add beans , sometimes rice.
I also use an instant pot for cooking batches in a few hours. I do not lose an entire day to meal prep anymore because the pressure cooker makes fast work of the job.1 -
I always wished the meal prep thing worked for me. I can see how convenient it could be and I've tried it a few times but it just never seems to last for long.
To begin with I really don't like cooking so the idea of spending a whole afternoon doing it was just the worst so I'd end up not doing it! The other thing is I tend to need spontaneity in my eating. I never know what I'm going to feel like eating until it's time to eat. This meant that each time I did force myself to cook and meal prep there was a better than average chance that come meal time in the days following I wouldn't be in the mood to eat what was prepped resulting in the meals sitting in the freezer until they got tossed out.
If you don't like cooking, I recommend checking out getting a slow cooker. You can make super juicy chicken with just a couple of ingredients, and all you have to do is put it in the pot and let it cook while you go on with your life.3 -
I always wished the meal prep thing worked for me. I can see how convenient it could be and I've tried it a few times but it just never seems to last for long.
To begin with I really don't like cooking so the idea of spending a whole afternoon doing it was just the worst so I'd end up not doing it! The other thing is I tend to need spontaneity in my eating. I never know what I'm going to feel like eating until it's time to eat. This meant that each time I did force myself to cook and meal prep there was a better than average chance that come meal time in the days following I wouldn't be in the mood to eat what was prepped resulting in the meals sitting in the freezer until they got tossed out.
If you don't like cooking, I recommend checking out getting a slow cooker. You can make super juicy chicken with just a couple of ingredients, and all you have to do is put it in the pot and let it cook while you go on with your life.
I've actually tried a slow cooker but I also forgot to mention that along with not liking to cook I'm absolutely TERRIBLE at it. I swear I could screw up a pot of noodles
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I even had my sister lend me her Thermomix which is supposed to be foolproof but I still managed to make inedible goop LOL! 2 -
This week was the first time I meal prepped.. Cooked my chicken, boiled those eggs, prepared a tray of baked oatmeal.. I noticed I was making very poor choices when I didnt have food waiting for me at home..1
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How do you keep your chicken moist? Mine dries out after two days...0
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Key is to not over cook them. I prefer to oven bake mine on a cookie sheets. 4 breasts at 350 for 30 minutes and they’re perfect. Then I divvy them out from there. Always keep moisture super well for the week..!How do you keep your chicken moist? Mine dries out after two days...2 -
I find chicken breast is boring and tasteless, How do you prepare or season yours?0
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I find chicken breast is boring and tasteless, How do you prepare or season yours?
I use all manner of seasonings.. Mrs Dash, turmeric, cumin, flavored peppers, soak in low sodium soy sauce.. or sometimes I’ll make a sauce in a small container to pour over when I’m ready to eat it.
There’s a Thai recipe that’s my go-to for chicken. Has spiral cut veggies, cut up chicken (about 4 ounces) (can substitute chicken with garbanzo beans to keep the protein) and a homemade peanut (or any nut butter.. I do almond) sauce. Amazeballs!! The recipe is on a blog I follow for great meal prepping. She uses chicken fairly frequently and it’s never dull and always super easy and fast to throw together.1 -
great ideas, thank you0
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I find chicken breast is boring and tasteless, How do you prepare or season yours?
I use my instant pot pressure cooker for perfectly tender moist chicken breasts.
boneless skinless breasts, whole, seasoned with dry rub of choice ahead of time and left for about 30 minutes to absorb flavors.
8 minutes on pressure with 8 minutes natural release and 5 minutes to rest before slicing yields amazingly tender meat that freezes and reheats very nicely.1 -
Meal prep is super helpful for a lot of people. If it fits your schedule to do it on the weekend, that's great. If it doesn't, then you can also cook larger dinners on weekdays and then measure and portion out the leftovers into individual boxes rather than sticking the entire pan in the fridge. Depending on the meal, cooking 8 portions may not be that different than cooking 4, and you're already doing the work anyway, so you may as well make it count.
I also use my crock pot a lot. Most of my crock pot recipes make 6-12 servings depending on what it is, and require very little work on my part. Put in ingredients, let the crock pot do its thing, portion food into individual boxes when it's done.
If you like beans, you can easily cook dried beans in the crock pot and then freeze them in recipe-sized portions. It's much cheaper and wastes less packaging than buying canned beans, and you control the salt and other seasonings. In addition to beans, I also freeze chili and spaghetti sauce that I make in my crock pot.3 -
This is such a great thread. Lots of good ideas I’m going to use! 👍👍1
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I always wished the meal prep thing worked for me. I can see how convenient it could be and I've tried it a few times but it just never seems to last for long.
To begin with I really don't like cooking so the idea of spending a whole afternoon doing it was just the worst so I'd end up not doing it! The other thing is I tend to need spontaneity in my eating. I never know what I'm going to feel like eating until it's time to eat. This meant that each time I did force myself to cook and meal prep there was a better than average chance that come meal time in the days following I wouldn't be in the mood to eat what was prepped resulting in the meals sitting in the freezer until they got tossed out.
I LOVE my crockpot-I dump a bunch of frozen chicken breasts in on Monday and turn it on high for a few hours-gives me chicken for the week that I throw in everything (salads, rice bowls, stir-frys, eat it by itself etc). Sometimes I cook it with just salt and pepper, other times I'll dump in a bottle of bbq sauce or Italian dressing to dress it up a bit.1
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