It has been four weeks since we brought Abby Jo into this world and I am finally meal prepping again! It looks a little different than before because I am still on maternity leave. No need for pre-portioned lunches or snacks yet!
We’ve had a ton of family and friends bring us meals so that we didn’t have to cook those first few weeks. It was awesome to have those available, but I am ready to get back to (somewhat) healthy eating! I cooked a few things to eat for lunches and dinners.
Check out what healthy groceries I bought this week and what meal prep ideas I had. Again, I didn’t make any “meals” because I am not going to work. Instead I cooked these foods so that I could easier to throw together healthy meals throughout the day.
If you have questions about these meal prep ideas then please ask! Email me anytime at eatliftplayrepeat@gmail.com or comment below.
Groceries:
- bananas, apples, lemons & red grapes
- romaine lettuce, celery, carrots, bell peppers, yellow onion, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, russet potatoes & guacamole
- Italian seasoned lean ground turkey, lean turkey patties, 2% Greek yogurt, eggs & a variety of Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurt cups
- Powerseed Dave’s Killer Bread, Thin-Sliced Dave’s Killer Bread & a variety of Larabars
Meal Prep Ideas:
Meal prep looks a little different this week because I am still on maternity leave. Since I am not going to work everyday I don’t need to pack up meals and snacks.
I did cook a few foods so that I would have some healthy options to make quick meals. Instead of portioning out lunches and snacks I just put the cooked foods in containers and stored them in the refrigerator.
First I baked a few potatoes. I washed, dried and pierced each potato with a fork, then wrapped each one in aluminum foil. Then I baked these at 350° for 1 hour 20 minutes. These potatoes were HUGE so they took a lot of time to cook! In hindsight, I should have increased the oven temperature a little in order to cut down the cook time.
As those were baking I cooked a spaghetti squash in the microwave (I bought the squash last week, by the way). I cut the squash in half lengthwise, scooped out the stringy pulp, placed it cut-side down in a glass baking dish filled with a little water and microwaved for 22 minutes, turning halfway through. Our microwave doesn’t have a turntable, so I went ahead and flipped it around after about 12 minutes.
You can also bake a spaghetti squash. Check out How to Cook Spaghetti Squash for more details! It is super easy either way, I promise.
After the potatoes were done baking I cooked some extra chicken breasts. Donny had bought a package of chicken breasts to make some chicken chili and we had a couple leftover (I did not include this in the grocery shopping trip or picture).
First, I sprinkled both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Then I heated a little extra-virgin olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. I seared both sides of the chicken (about 1-2 minutes per side), then placed them on a foil-lined baking sheet. I baked the chicken for 20 minutes at 350°.
This is my favorite way to cook chicken breasts and chicken thighs! Searing the chicken helps keep them moist as they bake in the oven. For a full tutorial check out How to Bake Chicken Breast.
Note: Cooking times will vary based on the size and thickness of the chicken. Make sure you check the internal temperature of your chicken to make sure it is fully cooked. You want it to be 160° in the fattest part of the chicken breast.
The last thing I prepared for the week was some turkey burgers. I cooked these on a flat-top griddle over medium heat. Before cooking I did sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.
We ended up having plenty of food for the week, so I decided to freeze the Italian seasoned ground turkey to use later. Now I just need to decide what to make with it…. Lasagna rolls? Spaghetti with meat sauce? Zoodles with turkey meatballs?
Well that was everything that I made this week in terms of meal prep ideas. If you have any questions about the groceries I purchased or these meal prep ideas then please let me know! Email me at eatliftplayrepeat@gmail.com or comment below.
