Summer Meal Prep Ideas Recipe
Summer Meal Prep Ideas July 6, 2016 0 Comments » As many of you know, I love my meal prep but I like to keep meal prep EASY by preparing just a handful of ingredients on the weekend that I can then turn to during the week to help save some time while keeping things clean and delicious.
In this case, veggies, quinoa, and roasted chicken are prepped on the weekend and then easily used for 8 different, easy and healthy weeknight meals.
Watch my Summer Meal Prep video HERE.
The very first thing I focus on are my veggies mostly because they take the most time to clean and prep. I find when I do the ‘dirty work’ ahead of time it’s SO much easier for me to eat my veggies throughout the week.
So here’s what I do; I start with two big air tight containers. I like these OXO GoodGrip LockTop containers because they are nice and big, stack easily in the fridge, and have airtight lids.
I always line each container with a couple of paper towels to help absorb any moisture that comes off of the veggies, this helps the veggies last longer.
Then I choose a 4-5 different veggies, wash them, chop them and store the in the bins.
For this meal prep I chose the mandatory carrots and celery (my kids love them so they just about always make the cut), radishes some Persian cucumbers (I don’t cut the cucumbers because they would spoil too quickly, but I do wash them and dry them so they are ready to grab and go).
Then in my second bin I have cauliflower florets, cherry tomatoes, and green beans which I’ve trimmed and cut in half.
Here are a few easy ways to use these veggies throughout the week:
Note: I don’t have photos of all of the meals but you can see them in my Summer Meal Prep video HERE.
Cucumber Hummus Turkey Bites
Slice the cucumber into rounds, lay little pieces of nitrate-free sliced turkey on top and then add a dollop of your favorite hummus. I am currently addicted to the beet hummus from Trader Joe’s, not only is it beautiful but it has a bright, sweet fresh flavor that is perfect for the warm summer weather. But any hummus you like will work. As a matter of fact, my Roasted Pepper Hummus would be great.
Radish + Avocado Rice Cake
Take a handful of radishes and chop them into smaller pieces. Mash half an avocado with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder. Spread the avocado on top a rice cake and sprinkle the radishes over the top. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and enjoy.
Green Bean Tomato Salad
Take a handful of green beans, and give them a steam in your handy dandy microwave steamer (I love this thing). If you don’t like using the microwave, you could also steam these over the stove in a steamer.
Then cut a handful of tomatoes in half and add them to a bowl along with the green beans. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, 1 clove of crush garlic and some salt and pepper. Toss that all together and top with some crumbled feta cheese and you’ve got another super easy, veggie based snack, that also happens to be insanely delicious.
And of course, we do plenty of snacking on the raw veggies. My son likes them dipped in mustard, I like hummus, my daughter likes ranch dressing and my hubby is a hot sauce kind of guy.
Another ingredient I like to have prepped and ready to go is Quinoa.
I make a big bowl and then leave it in my fridge as an easy and delicious, slow-carb option (learn more about quinoa HERE.).
A few things I like to make with my Quinoa include:
Yogurt Peach Quinoa Parfaits
Simply top Greek yogurt with a fresh juicy peach and a scoop of quinoa (about 1/4 cup). Add a little cinnamon, stir and enjoy. Great for breakfast or to fuel a workout.
Quinoa Veggie Seaweed Wraps
Start with a package of roasted seaweed. You can buy these at most grocery stores these days, I’ve even seen them at Costco. If you can’t seem to locate them you can order them online here.
Mix your quinoa with a little coconut oil and Garlic Gomasio (a flavorful combo of garlic, salt, and sesame seeds that makes everything taste delicious). Chop some avocado and cucumber into small strips.
Scoop a small spoon of quinoa onto your seaweed and add a few strips of cucumber and avocado. Fold the seaweed over to make a little taco and enjoy!!
Kitchen Sink Quinoa Salad
Grab a handful of veggies from your pre-prepped veggies. Chop them super fine and then mix with a cup of quinoa. Season with a clove of raw garlic, fresh lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. Eat and enjoy!
And finally, a rotisserie chicken. I know this doesn’t really count as meal prep, since I buy it pre-made. But having it in the fridge, cut up and ready to go for quick and easy meals makes a busy week that much easier (and more delicious).
Here are a couple of ways I like to use my chicken:
Apple Waldorf Rounds
Take a handful of your chopped chicken and combine it with chopped celery, raisins, and walnuts.
Core an apple and slice into thin rounds. Top each apple round with a dollop of chicken salad and finish with a sprinkle of diced red onion. Yum-Scrum!!
BBQ Chicken + Spinach Burrito
Chop up some of the chicken meat and heat it in a dry non-stick skillet over a medium high. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder before adding in a couple of tablespoons of BBQ sauce and heat until everything is warmed through.
Next grab your favorite whole grain tortilla and lay some baby spinach down the center. Top with the BBQ chicken and roll. Slice in half and enjoy!
So that’s what I’ve got for you guys today. This is a very realistic look at the basic type of meal prep I will on the weekend and how I put it to work during my week!
This helps me and my family SO much when it comes to keeping things Clean & Delicious during the week and I hope it helps you too!
Remember, you can watch the step-by-step video HERE.
Recipes, Summer, Videos 0 Comments »