Here is week 2 of my Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep posts. If you have any questions about what I purchased or how I prepared it then let me know.
I buy quite a bit of produce but I don’t always use it all every meal prep session. I try to keep some fresh produce around for weeknight dinners. Last week we didn’t make very many dinners, instead we used the already prepped foods for that meal.
I try to keep a nice balance of fresh foods and prepared foods in the refrigerator so that we can make a nice dinner if we have time and feel like it, or we can throw together a 5-minute meal if we get home late or are being lazy. Some of these foods I’m mentioning I already had in the refrigerator or pantry, so I didn’t need to buy them this week on my shopping trip.
Grocery Shopping List:
- 2 1/2 lbs pork loin chops
- 1 lb 92% lean ground hamburger
- 1 lb cod fillets (frozen)
- 2 dozen eggs, large
- 32 oz Fage 2% Greek yogurt, plain
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
- Bare Snacks Banana Chips, cinnamon
- 2- 16 oz jars 505 Green Chile, medium
- 1/2 gallon unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- Veggies: Romaine hearts, broccoli/cauliflower mix, 1 head green cabbage, Brussels sprouts, 11 oz cherry tomatoes
- Fruit: avocados, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, lemons
Meal Prep:
I microwaved one spaghetti squash. I cut it in half lengthwise and scooped all the seeds out. In a large glass baking dish I put about 1/4″ of water in the bottom. I put the spaghetti squash cut side down in the glass dish. My microwave is too small to allow the large dish to rotate, so I turn the turntable off when I microwave spaghetti squash. I cooked it on high for 12 minutes, turned the dish the other way and cooked it on high another 10 minutes. After it is done, I flip the squash over and allow it to cool before removing the squash with a fork.
While the spaghetti squash cooked I roasted some tomatoes. I halved all the cherry tomatoes then tossed them with 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little Italian seasoning. On a foil-lined cookie sheet I spread the tomatoes out so they were not touching. I cooked them for 20 minutes at 425°. The timer went off and I got distracted and didn’t take the tomatoes out of the oven. They probably cooked more like 25 minutes, which was a bit too long. Whoops!
After both of those were done, I sautéed the green cabbage. I sliced the cabbage super thin so it turned into shreds. Using medium heat, I sautéed the shredded cabbage in 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. To speed up the process I covered the pan with a large lid so it partially steamed the cabbage too. I sprinkled salt and pepper on it while it was cooking.
I had Donny grill everything else. He grilled pork chops, chicken, cod (in foil packets), sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, mini bell peppers, purple cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and the broccoli and cauliflower mix.
As for my mid-morning snack I made Greek yogurt parfaits again. They were so good last week that I decided to make them again, but with a few different ingredients! I mixed together Greek yogurt and vanilla protein. I topped it with diced apple and cinnamon. I put 1/2 oz of dry roasted, unsalted peanuts in a snack-sized baggie to sprinkle on top before eating too. I’ve never done the whole peanuts before. I typically stick to peanut butter, but this might be a nice change!
Once everything is cooked I simply start mixing and matching proteins with veggies and carbs. My veggies are usually ready to go before the meat, so I start by taking 2-3 containers and portioning out zucchini. Then I’ll take a different 2-3 containers and measure the broccoli/cauliflower. I do this until all 10 containers have some type of vegetable I them. If I have a large variety of vegetables, then I’ll occasionally do two half-servings of different veggies, so for example, 50 grams of zucchini and 50 grams of broccoli rather than just 100 grams broccoli.
Once that is done, I’ll start mixing and matching with the carbs. I’ve been eating fewer carbs during the daytime lately, so I’ll take 4-5 containers and put a carb in them (this week sweet potatoes, last week quinoa salad).
The meat is generally last, so I’ll divide whatever meat I have among the containers. This week I had beef, pork, chicken, and fish, which is rare. I had quite a few meatballs, so I had enough to fill four containers. I then took the other three proteins and filled the remaining six containers, so two pork, two chicken, and two fish.
I really try to mix it up so I don’t end up with the same veggies with the same types of meat. If I put pork in a container with broccoli, then I try to put pork with zucchini in another. I like doing that so I don’t end up eating EXACTLY the same meals every day. You wouldn’t have to mix it up like this, but I prefer it.
I try to cook extra food each week. Some of it Donny with take with him for lunch and the rest we leave in the fridge to make dinners. This week we had extra carrots, broccoli, zucchini, both colors of cabbage, sweet potatoes, chicken, and pork. Should be good enough for us to week this week!
Tomorrow I will have a Day in the Life: Mel’s Meals post where I’ll show you exactly how much I’m eating and when.
Did you meal prep this week? What did you make?
