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’! 

This week was a continuation of my mission to clean out my pantry and freezer. Like I had mentioned, I'm pretty good about stocking up but terrible at using up my purchases. That's def not smart shopping! So, just like last week, only the basic essentials came home with me (and yes, those TJ's Triple Ginger Snaps are a necessity). It turns out I had enough food in my arsenal to last me through these last two weeks.

 Total: $46.80

As usual,

Weekly Meals

Overnight oats = the perfect grab-n-go breakfast. Now that the weather is in the 90s, it's time to bring these guys back into my routine. I normally like to add equal parts old-fashioned oats and milk (I used coconut milk) + ½ banana + 1 teaspoon chia seeds. I've found that the banana sweetens the mixture just enough, so that when I add the toppings in the morning (usually fruits & nuts), it doesn't become overly sweet.

You know the drill by now. If you are new to this series, every week all the prepped veggies get thrown into a giant bowl to make a hearty and nutritious salad. No matter how hectic your weekdays may be, you, too, can enjoy a nourishing meal like this if you invest some time to prep ahead!

The Hungryman wanted to take a break from the Mason jar salads, so I made him Asian soba noodle salad in almond butter sauce. While going through my pantry, I marveled at how much Asian noodles I  had on hand! I mean 3 soba noodle packages?!? I won't even start with the rice noodles.

To the salad, I added the roasted pork that I made and froze last week. Apparently, I didn't do a good job of mixing all the ingredients together, as the Hungryman didn't hesitate to let me know in his text - "there were 2 pieces of pork in my lunch today! (insert angry face emoji)" Oops...sorry?

I got home pretty late on Wednesday, and while I was super tempted just to eat a bowl of cereal and call it a night, the Hungryman would have none of it. So I threw in some broccoli, sugar snap peas and shrimp (frozen and thawed) onto a baking sheet (followed this recipe). After about 20 minutes, we sat down to a meal that was much.much more nutritious than cereal. Again, I can't remember when I had purchased this shrimp, but I asked myself what I was thinking at the time. I mean could they be any smaller?

I also came across this jar of pesto and quinoa (yes, one of my impulse purchases) that was tucked away in the dark corner of my pantry as well as a frozen whole wheat dough from Trader Joe's...and so this pizza was born. Whenever I make homemade pizza (Bulgogi Kimchi Pizza, Vegetarian Mexican Pizza), I always turn to this dough.

Carmalized onions + apples + pesto + cheddar cheese = oh my heavens!

 Caramelized Apple & Onion Pesto Cheddar Pizza

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium, yellow onion, thinly sliced
• salt & pepper, to taste
• ½ tablespoon butter
• 1 apple, cored and thinly sliced (I used Fuji)
• ¼ cup pesto of choice
• 1 large prepared pizza crust
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook until caramelized, stirring every 5 minutes, 20-30 minutes until soft and caramelized. Season with salt and pepper and set aside (see note)

Preheat oven to temperature indicated on a pizza crust package.

Wipe skillet clean; add butter and melt over medium heat. Add apple slices and saute for about 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring frequently.

Top pizza crust with pesto, caramelized onions, apples, and shredded cheese in that order. Bake for time indicated on package or until cheese has melted.

Note: To shorten cooking time, caramelize the onions ahead of time. You can even prepare them in a slow cooker.

Adapted from Oh My Veggies

While fresh pizza always tastes the best, we enjoyed it a couple of days later (surprisingly, toasted quite beautifully in our toaster oven) with a random side of veggies + hummus.

I still have a lot of food in my pantry that I can use for the upcoming weeks, but I've made a big enough dent in my stash that I don't feel too guilty now. Time to go shopping! JK...or am I? 😉 Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Oh, and don't forget to enter for a chance to win a Cabot Cheese Creamery Cookbook + a cheesy-licious package! The giveaway ends this Sunday.

Questions

• Are you a food hoarder like me?
• Do you examine what's in your pantry before you go shopping?
• Whatcha making this weekend?

Past Posts:

• Meal Prep Friday - 4.24.15
• Meal Prep Friday – 4.17.15
• Meal Prep Friday – 4.10.15
• 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