Meal Prep ~ It Does a Body Good!

About a year ago, I began to have what I call Meal Prep Sundays.  I didn't do it so much for me as I did it in an effort to spend time with my daughter and hopefully get her trying new healthy foods.  What started out as a fun Sunday thing to do with my girl, quickly turned into a weekly ritual we both look forward to.

We start off by making a "menu" of sorts of all the things we want to make.  This usually includes some sort of protein (chicken, venison, pork tenderloin or fish), various veggies (both raw and cooked) and usually a "good" carb or two like sweet potatoes or quinoa.  We usually chop veggies for snacks (carrots, peppers, celery), along with makings for salads too.  Emily writes out our menu and puts our initials by which item we are responsible for.  It's a lot of fun.  We have our music turned up and dance while having fun preparing a healthy week of food.

Just a few of our easy recipes that we put together often.  Please note, we kind of fly by the seat of our pants and don't use recipes.  That being said, we might not have exact measurements.  We mix, taste and add whatever we think is needed.

Roasted Cauliflower

Preheat oven 350 degrees
Need:  Cauliflower, 2-3 lemons quartered, 3-4 whole pods of garlic

Get coconut oil hot in the pan and throw in broken pieces of cauliflower and sear it while adding a little salt.  Once its settled, add the whole pods of garlic.  When there is a little color on the cauliflower, squeeze the lemons and throw them in the pan.  Put in the oven for about 10-15 min.

Sauteed Green beans

Need:  Green beans, shallots, minced garlic (we use a ton of garlic so use whatever you like)

Coat hot pan with coconut oil.  Saute shallots and add garlic after it's caramelized.  Once you begin to smell the garlic, add green beans.  Cook for 7-10 min or so until they are the texture you wish.  (we like ours a little al dente)

Moo Moo Chicken (named by my daughter who's nickname is Moo)

Need:  Cut up pieces of chicken tenderloins, liquid aminos (1/4 c), honey (several spoonfuls) and brown sugar to taste, salt, garlic powder.

Mix the liquid aminos with honey using a whisk.  Once the honey is emulsified with the liquid aminos, add salt, garlic powder and a little brown sugar.  We usually taste it to see if it's sweet enough.  While Emily mixes this, I am usually sauteing the chicken pieces.  Once they are fairly cooked through, we add the "Moo Moo sauce".  I usually put a lid on it and let it cook for about 5-7 minutes.  It's fabulously tasty either hot or cold and even on salads.

We cook lots of things, but these three we cook more than anything else.  It's a lot of fun and keeps everyone eating healthy for the week.  It's much easier to stay on task when you have food already prepared.  That way there is no temptation for eating out or grabbing junk food.  I'm hoping this is creating not just a healthy habit for me, but also one for my daughter as she grows up.

Hope you enjoy the recipes!  We sure do!

~Donna