Food prep

[busymommy]

What are some food you guys prep and how long does it last?  I am huge on having as much food as possible ready to grab so meal time doesn't take long.  I make turkey patties, bake chicken breasts, hard boiled eggs and have my pepper, cucumbers and jicama cut to snack on but would love more ideas of food to have prepped ahead of time and how long it lasts. 

Thanks!

[1Maryann]

I've always found it easy to have protein ready.  My downfall is having enough veggies on hand to round out the meal.  So once a week I do a roast-a-thon.  I fire up the oven, prep a mess of veggies, and just rotate out cookie sheets full of them.  I usually do a couple of trays each of carrots, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and one each of asparagus and beets.  They last the whole week.

 

I also brown up enough ground beef or homemade sausage to last a week of sweet potato hash.  Breakfast has to happen quickly, or it won't happen at all.

[Laspiaggia]

I'm on my 7th day today and here's what I've been doing. I roast butternut squash and use it in salads and other dishes, make a container of cucumber salad, homemade mayo, and food processed shredded sweet potatoes for hash browns for breakfast for maybe 3 times a week (trying not to overdo it but these are so good). I also sat down and planned out two weeks of meals so that I wouldn't have to think about what I was going to eat. I didn't necessarily always follow the plan exactly because there were nights I ate leftovers from the previous day instead.

[amberino21]

have you checked out the other threads in the "meal planning" section of the forum - there are literally hundreds of ideas for food prep and pre-planning!!

[busymommy]

have you checked out the other threads in the "meal planning" section of the forum - there are literally hundreds of ideas for food prep and pre-planning!!

I looked but must not have looked far enough

[busymommy]

I've always found it easy to have protein ready.  My downfall is having enough veggies on hand to round out the meal.  So once a week I do a roast-a-thon.  I fire up the oven, prep a mess of veggies, and just rotate out cookie sheets full of them.  I usually do a couple of trays each of carrots, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and one each of asparagus and beets.  They last the whole week.

 

I also brown up enough ground beef or homemade sausage to last a week of sweet potato hash.  Breakfast has to happen quickly, or it won't happen at all.

is sweet potato hash just diced sweet potatoes (pan fried or baked or what?) mixed with the ground meat of your choice?

then for veggie prep, I have tried to bake some veggie ahead of time but never liked the texture later but I think I did zucchini and a few other slimy ones.  do sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts  and squash hold up better?

[1Maryann]

Yes, basically sweet potato hash is SP and whatever meat, plus anything you want to add for more flavor.  And roasted zucchini or other soft veggies don't hold up well.  The others do okay and can be zapped to reheat.

 

For hash you can pan-fry, zap, or roast the sweet potato.  I like the texture of the roasted best, and the microwaved are quick when time is an issue, but they come out a bit gummy.

[Bet]

This time of year, I am doing a lot of root veggies. On Sunday, I roast a bunch of beets and cubed butter nut squash. Then I have it in the fridge and can pop it in the microwave to reheat. I've even put beet slices on the grill.

 

I've also fell in love with squashes. All those pretty things I used to think were just great fall decorations. Most of them you just slice in half, scoop out the seeds, fill with coconut oil and cinnamon/salt and bake in a dish (I fill mine with water) for about an hour. You can then store them in the fridge and reheat.

 

This way I have a lot of cooked veggies for quick sides during the week.

[trezkholl0806]

Sunday is my meal prep day. I use the food processor to shred and slice veggies for the week. I do bell peppers & mushrooms for breakfast dishes, and end up using them at other times as well... I shred zucchini & squash.. and as of this week rutabaga (YUM!). I already diced sweet potato for hash. I will bake several sweet potatoes for use post-workout. Throw chicken breasts in the crockpot with compliant broth or water & compliant salsa, or water and seasonings. (these will get so tender you can shred and use for breakfast hash or salads, etc). It takes several hours for me to meal prep, but then it's easy during the week because I just heat up and go.

 

Also, if you blanch some veggies they will last longer, from there you can either keep in the fridge for easy use, or throw in the freezer. Green beans, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower work really well. Just throw them in a pot of boiling water for a few mins (2-5 mins), and immediately take out and cool off in a bowl of water & ice (stops the cooking process and keeps the veggies crisp not mushy).

[MrsStick]

What kind of food processor do you have? Making my Christmas wishlist...

[Vian]

I hate leftovers that have been in the fridge for more than a day. I will eat leftovers from dinner for lunch the next day, but not beyond that. My compromise for time is to chop my veggies on the weekend and store them raw in ziplock baggies in the fridge. I thaw my meat by putting it in a bowl in the sink with cold water dripping over it and leave it like that while I'm at work or overnight, depending on if I plan to cook it when I get home, or leave it in the slow cooker all day. For quick dinners, I either go for one-skillet meals, or roasted/steamed veggies and pan-seared meats.

[praxisproject]

Don't forget frozen veggies and bagged half-prepped or full-prepped veggies.

Some supermarkets have: cooked baby beetroot, carrot sticks, salad bags (triple washed - ready to eat), bagged kale, coleslaw mix, fruit salad, etc.

 

Baking is a great prep-cheat if you can fit lots in your oven, just make sure you have enough trays for a roast-a-thon, and enough time to get everything cooked.

 

Think about how you like to cook or eat for certain meals and try to plan meals that fit the slot nicely.

 

I like an easy no-fuss, portable breakfast. Egg muffin cups are great heated up (you can cook 12 if you have a 12 hole muffin pan) and you can make each "muffin" a different flavour, so good if you get bored easy. These work okay for lunch too, but you may get sick of eggs if you have them for breakfast & lunch.

 

Things that keep well like curry and soups are also good, veggie soup can be great for all those oops-I-didn't-use-you finds in the fridge

 

Mayo is well worth the effort! Great for tuna salad, for dipping salmon patties in or whatever else you like mayo with.

So is pesto, although I freeze my pesto leftovers as my homemade pesto goes mouldy much faster than the old jar-kind.

 

Freeze a few extra meals for those times when you just can't be bothered or run out of time. Single serves are much easier to reheat than a four-serves-frozen-together lump. If you freeze veggies and meat, do them separately for a mix n match quick meal anytime.

 

I try to have two "prep days" where I do more work than other days, one on the weekend and one mid-week. For the midweek day, I have leftovers on that day so I'm not cooking twice.

[busymommy]

Don't forget frozen veggies and bagged half-prepped or full-prepped veggies.

Some supermarkets have: cooked baby beetroot, carrot sticks, salad bags (triple washed - ready to eat), bagged kale, coleslaw mix, fruit salad, etc.

 

Baking is a great prep-cheat if you can fit lots in your oven, just make sure you have enough trays for a roast-a-thon, and enough time to get everything cooked.

 

Think about how you like to cook or eat for certain meals and try to plan meals that fit the slot nicely.

 

I like an easy no-fuss, portable breakfast. Egg muffin cups are great heated up (you can cook 12 if you have a 12 hole muffin pan) and you can make each "muffin" a different flavour, so good if you get bored easy. These work okay for lunch too, but you may get sick of eggs if you have them for breakfast & lunch.

 

Things that keep well like curry and soups are also good, veggie soup can be great for all those oops-I-didn't-use-you finds in the fridge

 

Mayo is well worth the effort! Great for tuna salad, for dipping salmon patties in or whatever else you like mayo with.

So is pesto, although I freeze my pesto leftovers as my homemade pesto goes mouldy much faster than the old jar-kind.

 

Freeze a few extra meals for those times when you just can't be bothered or run out of time. Single serves are much easier to reheat than a four-serves-frozen-together lump. If you freeze veggies and meat, do them separately for a mix n match quick meal anytime.

 

I try to have two "prep days" where I do more work than other days, one on the weekend and one mid-week. For the midweek day, I have leftovers on that day so I'm not cooking twice.

so for your egg muffins are you just mixing eggs with various veggies and spices and baking them?