Meal Prep

Chicken Fajita Feast

A few months ago I began a subscription to my favorite meal kit service – also the best value IMHO:  EveryPlate.com. This meal kit service offers your choice of three dinners, for two or four people, from a selection of eight different meal options with a range of proteins and sides. Since my kids can be picky, I’ll often make the EveryPlate meal for dinner for myself, my husband and my younger son and let my two teenagers pick what they’d like for dinner. Sometimes the choice of EveryPlate meal lends itself to “upsizing” with additional sides, so I’ll use that as the base for a meal for our whole family.

First, I opened a package of fresh corn on the cob and tossed the ears on a sheet pan with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, cilantro and my favorite seasoning, Tajin. This citrusy, spicy blend gives a little kick to anything you shake it onto. I roasted the corn at 425 degrees on the top rack for about thirty minutes, turning each ear about halfway through, until the ears were beginning to char.

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Second, I made two packages of Knorr Taco Rice. This packaged rice is a quick and easy side with fajitas or tacos, and you can boost the veggie value by mixing diced fresh tomatoes, green, red and jalapeño peppers into the rice while it’s cooking.

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Then I got into preparing the EveryPlate recipe for Classic Chicken Fajitas. Everything you need, with the exception of some kitchen staples like butter or olive oil, is included in the box you get from EveryPlate each week. The recipe card gives the exact quantities you’ll need of each ingredient and offers clear instructions with photos on the back. I diced and cooked the fajita green pepper and red onion, then tossed the diced chicken in salt, pepper and southwest seasoning. The chicken cooked in my cast-iron skillet – yum!

Last but not least, I diced up the tomato, red onion and jalapeño pepper and tossed with some salt and lemon juice to make a quick salsa, then mixed up the lime crema.

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Everyone got one ear of roasted corn, which I topped with queso fresco, a serving of taco rice and a chicken fajita on a flour tortilla topped with the fresh salsa and lime crema. What a delicious Sunday dinner!

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Do you want to try EveryPlate.com? Click here! You’ll get $20 off your first box. Weekly boxes start from around $39 for three dinners for two, which is only $6.50 per serving (the best value I’ve found in meal prep kit services). The serving size says it’s for two, but I nearly always get two adult servings plus a kid’s portion out of my EveryPlate meals.

Meal Prep Hack

As a busy mom, my meal planning and prepping is constantly evolving. I find that it’s hard to prep too many days of the same meal at one time because I like variety in my meals. I’ve also spent whole Sundays cooking food for the week and then ended up making a frozen pizza for dinner because I’m so over being in the kitchen. What’s a girl to do?

For this week’s meal prep, I used three recipes to make enough food to both feed my family for Sunday dinner and prep four lunches for the week – two for me and two for my husband. Combined with a couple of salads and one meal out during the week, these meals will get us through the workweek eating healthy.

First, I prepped my sweet potatoes by dicing them into chunks about 1/2″ wide, then tossing them in vegetable oil and salt. I roasted them in a 450-degree oven while I went to work prepping my proteins. I cut a pound of chicken breasts into about 1″ chunks then tossed in oil and cajun seasoning before arranging them in one layer in a glass baking dish. Next, I peeled a pound of shrimp and placed them in one layer into a different glass baking dish, then drizzled with oil and topped with salt and pepper. I popped the two baking dishes into the oven and grabbed a couple heads of broccoli. I chopped the broccoli florets into small pieces, drizzled with some oil and sprinkles with salt and pepper, then into the oven they went!

While everything was cooking in the oven, I sliced my leftover broccoli stalks and made a quick slaw with some diced almonds, chopped grapes, 1/4 cup of mayo and 2 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar.  I put a package of Green Giant zucchini noodles in the microwave to cook, then mixed up my sauce for the shrimp and zucchini noodles – 2 tbsp. mayo and 1 tsp. diced chipotle peppers in adobo.

Once everything was cooked, I packed up four lunch containers with a little bit of everything in each, then we enjoyed a delicious dinner from everything that was cooked. The kids enjoyed the cajun chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and the shrimp and zucchini noodles (they aren’t big on green vegetables – more roasted broccoli for us grownups!).

 

Healthy Meal Prep – Turkey Taco Salad and Tuna Sushi Roll Bowls

We’re all looking for ways to eat healthier, and meal prepping is one method I’ve found that helps me to save money by avoiding eating out, as well as eating healthier since I’m planning and preparing my own meals.

Turkey Taco Salad is a great recipe that lets you customize your meal for whatever type of diet you follow. If you’re going low-carb, leave out the corn and tortilla chips. Only add vegetables you like. Customize the level of heat in your salsa, and add guacamole if you like, or just plain avocado (or none!).

Simply brown a pound of ground turkey, drain any excess fat and add a packet of taco seasoning (or make your own!). Prep your bowls by adding 1/4 cup of corn and 1/4 cup of black beans to each bowl. Add 1/5 of the turkey to each bowl, then top with shredded cheddar or any other cheese you like. I like to bag my cold ingredients so I can heat up the turkey and let the cheese melt, then mix in the other veggies so the lettuce doesn’t wilt. Throw into sandwich bags your choice of lettuces or other greens, diced tomatoes, sliced avocado or a spoonful of guacamole, a spoonful of salsa and a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Add a dollop of southwest ranch dressing if you like. Each day, pack one bowl and one bag for your lunch. You can take a bag of tortilla chips with you to crumble over the top if you choose.

For the Tuna Sushi Roll Bowls, mix up a quick marinade of Japanese ponzu sauce, a couple drops of sesame oil, 1 tsp. grated ginger and 1 diced garlic clove. Marinate the thawed tuna steaks for at least thirty minutes while you prep the rice. I use a rice cooker so I can “set it and forget it.” White or brown rice is fine – I make enough for three cups cooked. Once the rice is done, it needs to sit out at room temperature to cool down. Whisk in a bowl 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1/3 cup sugar or agave and 1 1/2 tbsp. salt. Once all the sugar and salt has dissolved, use a wooden spoon to mix the vinegar mixture into the cooled rice. Lay down a layer of rice in each of your bowls, then dice avocado and cucumber and add to the bowls. When your tuna has cooked through, remove it from the oven and let it cool a bit, then add a piece to each bowl. Crumble dried seaweed over each bowl and sprinkle a few dashes of soy sauce (or add that later when you warm your bowl up to eat).

Grab a bowl each day and you’ll have a healthy, inexpensive lunch!

How do you meal prep?