The Meal Prep Series task this week involves preparing vegetables to last the week. Well this week I made a TON of vegetables! Roasting them is one of my favorite ways to cook, because while they are in the oven I can do other things. My sister wanted to prepare some foods for the week, so she joined me in the kitchen preparing a lot of veggies! What are your favorite meal prep ideas for vegetables?
I split meal prep up a little bit this week. Rather than doing it all in one day I split it into two days. I cooked all the vegetables on Saturday, then prepared all the protein (turkey, chicken and beef) on Sunday. Check out some easy meal prep ideas for simple, healthy foods to have on hand throughout the week.
If you missed Monday’s post, then check out Meal Prep Series – Week 2: Prepare Vegetables. Don’t forget to sign up for emails in order to get additional meal prep ideas, tips and recipes for healthy cooking and food prep!
Grocery Shopping:
- lean ground turkey, 93% lean ground beef and boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2% Greek yogurt, 1% cottage cheese, 2% milk, parmesan cheese and eggs
- green beans, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, yellow onion, green onion, broccoli, carrots and banana
Meal Prep Ideas:
My sister wanted to meal prep a little bit this weekend, so she came over and joined me! We prepped and cooked a bunch of vegetables together then split them up to eat throughout the week.
We started by roasting broccoli. I had roughly 12 cups raw broccoli once I cut it off the stems. In a large mixing bowl, I drizzled 2Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil over the broccoli and spread it on a foil-lined baking sheet.
I sprinkled the broccoli with 1tsp salt and put 1/2c shredded parmesan on half the pan of broccoli. Adding just a small amount of parmesan can add a ton of flavor to the vegetable – simple and delicious! Next, I baked the broccoli at 350° for 15 minutes.
While the broccoli was roasting we prepared Brussels sprouts and carrots. My sister peeled her carrots and cut them diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. I cut the stems off of the Brussels sprouts and then halved the large ones, ending up with 6 cups total. I drizzled the Brussels sprouts with 1Tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled them with 1/2tsp salt.
We roasted those two vegetables together at 350° for 20 minutes. The picture below was not taken during this particular meal prep, but during one prior, hence the baby carrots rather than the sliced carrots.
Rather than grilling vegetables outside, I used our grill pan inside to cook green beans and zucchini. We have a Pampered Chef grill pan that does a great job grilling inside!
I turned the burner on to medium-high, added 1Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and let that heat up. Once the pan and oil was hot, I added the green beans. I had bought a TON of green beans for my sister & I to share, so I cooked them in two batches.
I stirred them every once in a while using metal tongs. They cooked for about 10 minutes total. While cooking, I added 1tsp salt and 1tsp salt-free lemon pepper seasoning.
After both batches of green beans were done, I cooked the zucchini. The zucchini that I found this week was super tiny! I sliced each one into small coins.
Using the same hot grill pan as the green beans, I added an additional 1Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil then added the zucchini. It takes less time to cook the zucchini, but needs stirred a little more often compared to the green beans. I added 1tsp salt to the zucchini and cooked it about 7 minutes.
Last week I bought some spaghetti squash, but we never got around to preparing it. So after Lindsey left with her vegetables I cooked it, but used the microwave rather than roasting it in the oven.
If you want to roast the squash in the oven, then check out How to Cook Spaghetti Squash. Microwaving spaghetti squash is a great option if you have less time.
Start by cutting the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and stringy pulp. Using a large glass baking dish, pour enough water to cover the bottom (about 1/4-inch) and place the spaghetti squash in the dish cut-side down. Place the baking dish in the microwave and cook on high for 25 minutes. Allow the squash to cool before handling, then use a fork to pull the inside flesh away form the outer skin.
I cooked all the vegetables on Saturday, then prepared all the protein on Sunday morning. Rather than baking the chicken I used my slow cooker. Last week during meal prep I cooked chicken breasts in the slow cooker, but this week I cooked chicken thighs. For easy clean up, I used a Reynolds slow cooker liner then added 1/2c water (I was out of chicken broth) and 4.5lbs chicken.
I started cooking the chicken on low, then after an hour turned it to high in order for it to cook faster. It took roughly 3 hours to cook the chicken thighs.
After it was done, I shredded the chicken using a fork and metal tongs then added 1tsp salt. Add the salt after the meat is cooked. Adding it before can effect cooking times in a slow cooker.
I am working on cleaning out my freezer, so I pulled out a 1lb package of Italian seasoned lean ground turkey. I used the turkey to make meatballs to go with the spaghetti squash. First, I started by mixing 1 egg, 1tsp salt and the turkey together, but it was a little runny so I added 1/4c quick oats.
After mixing that all together I formed them into meatballs and put them on a foil-lined baking sheet. I baked them for 15 minutes at 400°. The recipe made 15 meatballs and each one is 47 calories.
While the meatballs cooked I also made homemade hamburgers. I kept it really simple added 3.5lbs 93% lean ground beef, 2 large eggs, 1Tbsp salt, 1Tbsp Dijon mustard and 1Tbsp Worcestershire sauce.
Next, I formed the meat mixture into patties and placed them on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean-up. Then I sprinkled each side with salt before cooking. The mixture made 15 burgers and I used 2tsp salt among both sides of all the burgers.
Note: Salt should go into the meat mixture, then additional salt will go on the outside to help form a crust while cooking. Black pepper can also be added to the outside.
Then I cooked the hamburgers on an electric griddle at 350°. The first side cooked for 6 minutes, then I flipped them and cooked the other side for 4 minutes. Each burger came out to 170 calories. PS this is a picture from a previous session – no onion was added to the burgers this week.
After packing all the meat and vegetable meals together I made my mid-morning snack. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it is basically the exact same snack as last week! I try to change it up, but this is a good one!
First, I mixed Greek yogurt with vanilla protein then divided that among five containers. I defrosted some blueberries in the microwave and divided them among the yogurt. On the side, I packed five baggies with 1Tbsp pepitas and 2Tbsp Uncle Sam’s Wheat Flakes cereal in each.
Well that was everything that was involved with meal prep this week. I have a TON of extra vegetables in the refrigerator so that Donny & I can throw together quick, healthy dinners and I can also easily add some vegetables to breakfast too! Check out Monday’s Meal Prep Series post and sign up for emails to receive extra tips, ideas and recipe to help you quickly and easily prepare vegetables!
