In this weekly series, “Meal Prep Friday,” I want to show you how do-able it is to eat healthfully throughout the week with wholesome meals if you put a little effort into planning and prepping in advance. I will share with you my weekly “game plan,” my purchases at the store, and any helpful tricks and tips I’ve learned along the way. Let’s get cookin’!
Returning home after an extended vacation is always rough. I always feel like I need a vacation after a vacation, and I KNOW I'm not the only one who feels this way ;). We got back to Austin last Saturday afternoon, and seriously, I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. Although the fridge was in dire need of replenishment since I cleaned it out completely before we left, I decided to take things nice and slow. I still need to do some Costco shopping, but that can wait until this weekend...my to-do list is getting out of control.
Total - $43.72
While I thoroughly enjoyed all the foods I had in San Diego, I'm so happy to have my greens and fresh produce back in my life. You may be thinking, how did 2 people survive a week (well technically 5 days) on this? Well, let's take a look 😉
My usual drill...
As you can see, I didn't make any "complete" dishes that can simply be reheated. Slaving over the stovetop was the last thing I wanted to do this weekend. Instead, I did what I could without putting pressure on myself to get things done. We all have these slow-moving moments, and my advice to you is - take it easy. Honor and respect your desire to simply rest. And that my friends is the key to long-term success when it comes to meal prepping and anything else for that matter. Remember what I said about stress and how it can attribute to hormonal imbalance? Yup..totally not worth it.
What you see in the above picture is what I did over the course of two days. Then came the fun part - getting creative with assembling all the prepped ingredients into a well-balanced meal.
Weekly Eats
Swiss chard salad - took out a container of frozen chickpeas the night before and added it to the bowl along with the rest of the prepped veggies. I especially loved the addition of cara cara oranges. Drizzled a simple balsamic vinaigrette at the end. Prep time: <5 minutes.
I was really craving something spicy, so I made this gochujang sauce on Monday. It's a great sauce to make ahead and will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. I added some to this Spicy Korean Farro Nourish bowl.
And some to this soba noodle dish (is this close enough for ya? ;)) What's awesome about soba is that it literally takes less than 8 minutes to cook.
And this week's mason jar...
Spinach Harvest Salad with Honey-Orange Dressing
Makes 4 jars
Ingredients:
Past Posts:
- Meal Prep Friday - 3.27.15
- Meal Prep Friday – National Nutrition Month Edition
- How to build the perfect mason jar salad
- Meal Prep Friday 2.27.15
- Meal Prep Friday 2.20.15
Regan @ Cabot Creamery says
So many great ideas! And I'm loving the idea of the sweet potato & apple combo in the salad jars 🙂
Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking says
Wow this salad looks amazing! The orange dressing sounds so delicious and I bet it would really tasty over other things as well!
Meg @ Noming thru Life says
Oh my goodness these mason jar salads are not only delicious looking, but so PRETTY! Pretty food is always a plus. And I love how fresh the dressing is. Can't wait to get my mason jar salad making on!
Ohmydish says
Woww every dish looks so amazing, I really love food like this. Still have to buy some mason jars though 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Well you did a crazy awesome job! All those plates look amazing!
Marisa @ Uproot from Oregon says
I love seeing how creative it is possible to be from a small grocery haul! I have been trying to stay on a similar budget in order to use up freezer and pantry items (beans, grains, random things I thew back in there!) and I love seeing your ideas.
Shawn Z. says
Hi Min! Just curious as to how your store your greens...do you just wash the greens and then place in a gallon size ziploc with a damp paper towel? Do you replace the paper towel every day? Thanks! The mason jar salad this week looks fab!
Min says
Hi Shawn! I wash my greens,dry them as much as possible using a salad spinner,lay them down and on paper towels and roll them up. I will either use a ziploc bag or a container to store. I don't predampen the towels, and I never had to replace them - over time, the towels will get damp, but not soggy. However, I will say that if I wash the more tender greens, like spring mix, then I will try to eat them within the next 2 days as they get soggy really fast! With more heartier ones like kale, swiss chard, etc., they will last up to 5 days, or atleast that's what I've found ;). Hope this helps!!
crissy ~ BeginWithin Nutrition says
This is so helpful, thank you for sharing your brilliant meal prep ideas....pinned 🙂