The Meal Prep Series task for this week is to make a whole grain to last the week. My favorite whole grains to have on hand include brown rice, quinoa and oats. I decided to make a Cilantro-Lime Quinoa Salad to eat during the week. If you are looking for a quick meal prep idea that involves a whole grain then try this out! It was so easy and quite flavorful!
What meal prep ideas do you have in terms of whole grains? What are your favorite grains to prepare and eat all week?
Here are all the clean eating foods I purchased and how I prepared them to create healthy meals to last the week. I keep these containers in the refrigerator all week and grab them before I leave for work each morning. After cooking all the foods I try to mix and match proteins with different vegetables so that I don’t get bored eating the same thing day after day.
Grocery Shopping:
- 93% lean ground beef, lean ground turkey, boneless skinless chicken breasts and beef tenderloin
- eggs, fresh mozzarella and 1% cottage cheese
- Brussels sprouts, green beans, zucchini, bell peppers, cauliflower, red onion, yellow onion, cilantro and carrots
- avocados and bananas
- canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes
Meal Prep Ideas:
Donny grilled the vegetables for me this week using a grill basket similar to this. We added a little extra-virgin olive oil and a little salt to each bowl of raw vegetables. Use about 1Tbsp oil and 1tsp salt for every 3 cups vegetables.
He also grilled the chicken breasts for me. He seasoned the chicken with salt and black pepper.
For my mid-morning snack I made a frittata. I started by sautéing 1/2 red onion (diced) with some diced yellow bell pepper and diced red bell pepper in an extra large cast iron skillet over medium heat. As the veggies cooked on the stove I whisked together 6 whole large eggs, 20 large egg whites, 1/2c 1% cottage cheese and 1 tsp salt.
After the vegetables were tender, I added the egg mixture and let it cook on the stovetop until the bottom was set. Then I put the entire pan into the oven that had been pre-heated to 350°.
The frittata baked for 30 minutes and then I cut it into five even pieces. For a more detailed recipe, check out my Kale & Red Pepper Frittata recipe. Each serving ended up being 175 calories with 24g of protein.
As the frittata cooked, I made some meatballs. We had some ground pork in the freezer that a friend of our gave us. I mixed 1lb pork, 1lb lean ground turkey, 1tsp salt and 1 large egg together and formed that mixture into meatballs.
I baked them on a foil-lined baking sheet at 350° for 15 minutes. The recipe made 34 meatballs and each one is 50 calories.
While the meatballs were in the oven I started preparing filling for stuffed peppers. Over medium heat I sautéed two minced garlic cloves, 1/2 red onion and 2lb lean ground beef (93% lean). As the meat was cooking I cut four bell peppers in half and removed the stems, seeds and the pepper ribs. Next, I set those 8 halves onto a foil-lined baking sheet, then stirred 2Tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning into the cooked meat mixture.
Finally, I divided the mixture among the 8 peppers (about 1/2 cup of meat per pepper) and topped them with a thin slice of fresh mozzarella cheese. For the stuffed peppers that I was taking I added about 1/3 of an ounce of cheese, but the other four (for Donny) I added more like a full ounce. I put the baking sheet in the oven at 350° and baked them for 15 minutes.
The last thing I did was make quinoa salad. Week 3 of the Meal Prep Series is to prepare whole grains for the week. I decided to make a Cilantro-Lime Quinoa Salad and it turned out great! Here is the recipe:
- 1/2c quinoa cooked with 1c water (prepared according to package directions)
- 1 can black beans
- 1 cup sweet corn (frozen, then thawed in the microwave)
- the juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp salt
- 3-4Tbsp roughly chopped cilantro
I added the rest of the ingredients to the bowl after the quinoa was fully cooked and stirred it together. That was it! It was really easy to make and has a lot of flavor!
I didn’t pack any of this quinoa with the meals I packed for the week, but I will enjoy it for dinner several times this week.
Well that was everything that I prepared this week. I have extra meatballs, chicken, vegetables and the Cilantro Lime Quinoa Salad to throw together quick, healthy dinners. Your meal prep ideas can be quick and simple or a little more complex. It just depends on what you are comfortable doing and how much time you have to devote to cooking.
Don’t forget to check out 12 Week Meal Prep Series Week 3: Whole Grains. Sign up below for emails for even more meal prep ideas, tips and recipes to help you prep healthy meals for the entire week.
