Woo Hoo it’s Wednesday!
I’m excited for the weekend to get here. Kyle and I have the perfect date planned for Friday night. We are going to go on a long walk, grab Chipotle, and watch Dateline 😉 Told you it was perfect. But, until Chipotle night gets here, I’ll be eating all the yummy food I prepped on Monday. After reading the comments in the last recap post, I decided to start dedicating a blog post for all of my meal preps. I love to meal prep after the gym on Monday mornings. I’m always super motivated on Monday to start the week off right.
I get asked why I bother to food prep if I work at home. I meal prep because it helps me make healthier choices throughout the day. It saves me money, saves me time, and it’s convenient. It keeps me from picking up quick and unhealthy food on the way home from the gym. If I’m hungry, I don’t want to have to spend time cooking up chicken or roasting vegetables; I want it available asap. It makes living a healthier lifestyle more attainable.
There were a couple of things on this list that I already had at home. I always have coffee, marinade, almond milk, bananas, protein powder, and peanut butter.
The Meal Prep Menu: Sauteed Green Beans, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, Vegetable Egg Cups, Chicken & Turkey Meatballs W/Veggies & Sweet Potato, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Strawberries, and Baked Chicken.
For the chicken, I sliced the giant breast in half, added to a greased baking pan, and topped it with garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, and Herb & Garlic marinade. I baked the chicken for 23 minutes at 380 degrees.
While the chicken was cooking, I prepared the egg cups. I sauteed kale and bell peppers in the cast iron until lightly brown. In a large bowl, I mixed eight whole large eggs, and eight eggwhites. I added garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and minced onion for flavor. I greased the egg cup baking pans with cooking spray and added about 1/3 cup of the egg mixture into the pan, and then topped them with sauteed kale and bell peppers. I made sure only to use half of the sauteed veggies because the rest gets thrown into the meatballs. I baked the egg cups for eighteen minutes, or until firm.
I sliced three of the sweet potatoes and baked them in the oven with the egg cups. You can season them if you want, but I usually dip them in mustard.
While the baked potatoes and egg cups were baking, I prepared the brussels sprouts and turkey meatballs. I chopped up the brussels and sauteed them on medium heat with olive oil.
Chicken & Turkey Meatballs With Sweet Potato & Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Chicken
- 1 lb Ground Turkey (99% Fat Free)
- 1 Small Sweet Potato (Cooked & Diced)
- 1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Large Egg Yolk
- 1 Tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Tsps Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 Cup Sautéed Kale
- 1/2 Cup Sautéed Bell Peppers
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and use a large spoon to combine.
- Grease a baking sheet.
- Form 1/3 Cup Sized Meatballs and place them onto the baking sheet. (if you want them rounder, add bread crumbs)
- Bake 22-25 Minutes
Notes
Once the egg cups, brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes are done, bake the meatballs!
Once the brussels are done, cook the green beans! The green beans were seasoned with black pepper and sea salt.
Once the meatballs are done, start separating the food into containers!I also sliced up strawberries for my sweet tooth!
I love fruit for post workout or breakfast. I also love Greek yogurt for a post workout or a late night snack to replace ice cream. I freeze it for an hour, and it comes out cold and creamy!
Perfect food to eat all week long!
Dinner: Brussels sprouts, green beans, chicken breast, meatballs, and sweet potatoes!
Breakfast: English Muffin W/Peanut Butter, Strawberries, & Egg Cups!
Lunch: Chicken Breast, Sweet Potatoes, & Green Beans!
Check out last Monday’s meal prep here!
Questions For you!
- Why do you food prep?
- Favorite Food Prep Recipe?
- What is Your Favorite Meal of the Day?
Oh my gosh, the spread of food looks amazing. My kind of buffet, haha! I used to meal prep everyday but I’ve gotten out of routine lately. Need to start doing it again!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Thanks, Charmaine!
Meal prep every day?! That’s a lot lol XO XO
Thank you for sharing! I really want to start meal prepping.
Saves so much time 🙂
1) Food Prepping is my absolute favorite. It totally keeps me accountable. I normally meal prep for at least 4 days, just because something always comes up in the busy schedule.
2) My favorite that I make is Zucchini Lasagna in a Mason Jar (I use zucchini, ground turkey, cottage cheese, 1 egg, mozzarella, and seasoning). I also love making taco bowls too with rice, ground turkey and veggies.
3) Breakfast, its the meal that gets ya going, plus there is so many yummy options.
Agreed! It’s been the biggest help in eating healthy for me!
I usually do 5 days! I know Kyle helps me with anything leftover, or I’ll turn the leftovers into a recipe!
That zucchini lasagna sounds amazing!
Breakfast for me too!! ALWAYS hungry when I wake up.
Gotta try that meatball recipe!
Hope you enjoy!
I don’t currently meal prep, but I really want to get started! I used to be SO healthy during college, going to the gym everyday, eating healthy, walking everywhere…but since I graduated I’ve fell off the band wagon. I’m now working full-time and am working on my masters degree so there are several things that fall to the back burners. Meal prepping would help me keep on track and would be SO conveinient so I’m really looking to get started! I like your meal preps because they seem pretty simple, and the food is “normal”, I say this because I’m a picky eater and most healthy meal recipes that I see online are way out of the box for my taste.
Thanks!
We ALL fall off the bandwagon. It happens! I’ve been there so many times. We can pick up at any time 🙂 My friend Meighan, who works a full-time job, also just completed her Masters, goes to the gym at 5:45 am! That’s how she fits in her workouts 🙂 Maybe try that! The meal prepping actually saves time for when you have a busy job/lots of studying. xo xo xo
Thank you for doing this! I printed out the menu 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂
What do you do with the leftover food?
Usually give it to my dad (who eats anything) or turn it into another recipe at the end of the week! I’ll use the veggies in wraps/omelets/salads/pizza toppers!
That looks so healthy and so tasty!
Thank you 😀
I love meal prepping. When life gets crazy it is really a life saver to be able to open up your fridge and grab a meal for the workday or to just heat up a meal at home for dinner after a long day of work or a long drive home.
Couldn’t agree more!!
Everything looks so colorful and fresh. By far the best meal prep I have ever seen!
Lol thank you!!!
Love these ideas! I food prep on Sundays because the last thing I want to do after work and after making dinner is prep my breakfast and lunch for the next day. I love making egg casseroles or healthy muffins for breakfast, and sweet potato, brussel sprout, chick pea, hard boiled egg bowls for lunches. Breakfast is usually my favorite meal of the day, but it’s hard to make eggs and avocado toast the way I like it in the office each day!
Thanks, Emily!
Those all sound like yummy meal prep choices!! & agree I LOVE love love breakfast.
Anything with eggs makes it easier to cut into perfect portions because of the way they gel when they cook 🙂
So much yum! Is it weird that I love looking at finished food prep pics?! It makes me so motivated to do mine. And i LOVE that satisfied feeling of having it all done and in their containers.
I definitely food prep to save time and make it easy to make good choices. I love being able to grab breakfast before work, and have that extra time to snooze or get ready!
I think my vegan puff pockets are one of my favorite food prep items. They’re so yummy and they make me look forward to lunch! Different overnight oats are another good one.
And my favorite meal hands down is breakfast (or brunch when possible!). I’m still baffled that there aren’t more places that serve brunch for dinner. I’d be a devoted follower if there was!
Can’t wait to add the egg cups and sweet potatoes into my own rotation!
Thanks, Susie!
I get inspired while looking at meals on instagram/pinterest! So I totally get it.
OHHHH vegan puff pockets sound interesting!!
Breakfast is the best! agreed.
I LOVE meal prepping. My schedule is getting crazier as the school year approaches (I’m a high school cheer and dance director) and it’s so nice to have meals already prepped. I prefer to freeze my prepped meals…it’s my dream to get one of those stand up freezers that are the size of a fridge! (I would also then have room to freeze all of the delicious seasonal fruits I pick during summer!) Thanks for your post ? I hope you had a great date night!
It’s definitely beneficial for your busy schedule! lol laughed when you said the freezer was your dream! lol Hope you have a great week!
Love the idea of adding sweet potato to the meatballs!
I got that tip off of Chopped on Food Network!!
Taralynn, thank you so much for this post. I’ve been trying to food prep on Sunday after grocery shopping but sometimes i just run out of recipes to make. I’m definitely going to be trying to make your meatballs next week. And in honor of you, this past Sunday I made some egg cups because reading about them so much on the blog made me realize they were an easy breakfast and full of healthy veggies!
You’re welcome!!
SO GLAD you made the egg cups! I’m ALL about them lately. I eat them pretty much all day. They are so great for quick protein!
Yay for Meal Prep Posts!! I do meal prep. I work from home too, and totally agree–if I don’t prep, it doesn’t turn out well for me…I’ll usually end up skipping lunch, then I’m starving by 3:00 and end up eating anything in sight! My all time favorite meal prep recipe is for these ham and cheese quinoa cups. I substitute mozzarella cheese. I eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner. They’re perfect along side a salad. I make 24 regular muffin sized ones each week and always eat them all within the week. ? http://pin.it/Xo_bjxk
Glad someone else can relate!!
Quinoa cups sound amazing!!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
One of my favorite foods to meal prep are bean burgers, make a huge batch and put on salads for lunch. I’ll also do crock pot meats for the week and bake chicken, but all I’ll do for veggies is wash salad greens. I have been making egg cups in my silicone poaching cups because I love the overpriced sous-vide egg cups from Starbucks, they come out a little more custardy than baking this way. (I really can’t get over the price of those; nearly $5 for 2 little bites is crazy!!! But they are so good! I use my “free items” on them.)
YUM!!! Love burgers!!!
Crock pot meals are amazing for food prep and so good in the fall/winter months!! Thats a really good idea for eggs 🙂
doing things yourself is always the cheaper way to go!
Out of interest do you heat your food up when eating it? I meal prep all the time for lunches at work 🙂 always good to have new inspo!
Definitely heat it up!!:) But sometimes I throw the cold chicken on a salad.
I really need to start meal prepping on Sundays to get my week off to a good start. I’m so horrible at it! Thanks for the tips and I love the veggie meatballs!! I’m definitely going to have to try those 🙂
I thought I was horrible at it too, but KYLE actually taught me lol and it’s so easy!!!
looks delicious! I used to make those egg cups (fritatta muffins) and totally forgot about them. I should get back to doing that again!
-Rachel
Thank you, Rachel!!!
meal prep has seriously saved my life!! when all of my coworkers go out to get lunch (which is mostly fast food), i have my prepped salads and grain bowls, and other healthy snacks. i neeeeeed to try dipping my sweet potatoes in mustard, that sounds absolutely delicious! can’t wait to try your meatball recipe, too 🙂
It forces you to make healthier choices! You don’t want your food to go to waste and you get to choose what you eat anyways, so it’s win win!!
These all look so bright and colorful! I am making a personal goal to eat more “pretty” foods – so more veggies! Your turkey meatballs look so good, I think I might make them this week!
That’s a good goal!! xo
If you like pretty foods, opt for exotic things like broccoflower(a cross of cauliflower and broccoli) and purple carrots! It’ll make you excited to eat 🙂
Thank you for doing this post! Will this be a weekly regular?
I am going to try! Everytime I prep, I will certainly do one.
I love this post!!! I only have a couple of questions.
1. How many days can you keep the food you prepared?
2. How do you heat it when you are ready to eat it? We don’t use the microwave so, can you just put it in the oven for a few minutes?
Thank you so much!!!
Thanks, Lucia!!
I keep them 6 days 🙂
You can definitely heat things back up in the oven. xo
Love the turkey meatball idea!
Thanks!
Love this post! It’s so helpful to see the steps you take. Do you have any favorites for meal prep containers?? I find I have difficultly getting appropriately sized Tupperware!!
I linked these ones at the bottom of the post!:)
Probably just echoing what you said, but until we started prepping at home, I didn’t realize what all the craze was and how it saved THAT much more time in my week. Since my husband and I are so busy, we prep because as much as I love love love to cook, I don’t want to spend an hour or two of our evening in the kitchen when I could be spending that time with him, going for walks, blogging, or just relaxing. Also doesn’t it just feel great to look in your fridge at all the neatly packed containers!?
One of our favorite prep recipes is cheeseburger wraps made with ground turkey (or real beef if we’re feeling some red meat), laughing cow wedges, and flatouts! We cook the meat, add one or two laughing cow cheese wedges and it gets all melty. We add a little mustard and ketchup to the mixture and roll the mixture and a few veggies in to a flatout wrap and grill them. They are good the whole week and delicious to eat with a little fruit salad or green salad.
Favorite meal is BREAKFAST. All the way.
Enjoy your week!
YES YES YES to all of that.
& I am going to have to try the cheeseburger wraps!!! yum!!!
agreed again. breakfast for the win!
This is so cool. I wish I meal prepped, but I just got an instant pot for my birthday, so I may cook some things ahead of time in that. I take a lot of smoothies on the go in old mason jars though– perfect for just throwing in my bag and heading to work. Overnight oats are good too– we made snickerdoodle overnight oats this weekend for breakfast on a long car ride, and I’m basically never eating oatmeal any other way again! 😉
That still considered your own version of food prep 🙂 Cooking in general is 😉 Overnight oats are sooooo good for quick mornings.
Everything looks delicious!
I was wondering, have you seen ‘What the Health’ on Netflix? If so, what are your opinions on it?
I have not. lol I kind of refuse to watch those extreme documentaries on food now.
Thank you for posting this! I used to meal prep using the Fit Girls Guide & while it wasn’t terrible the menu wasn’t nearly as easy as this in my opinion. This is so easy! I am so motivated now to meal prep & I really need to as I work 10 hour days with 2 hours of total drive time. I’ve not been cooking at all lately & that makes me kind of miserable. Looking forward to this! 🙂
You’re welcome, Amelia!!
It has to be easy, or I’d just go back to making normal meals! Glad to hear this one motivates you! 🙂 XO XO
I like your strategy Tara! Seems like you use the Crock-Pot a lot, and you bake a lot in portion control the sizes so that you can make large batches throughout the week.
Thanks, Linda! I’ll do more crock pot recipes this fall/winter!
Love the egg cups! What temp do you bake them at?
350!
Where did you get those containers?
My boyfriend gets them on Amazon! I linked at the bottom 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this! I’ll definitely be looking forward to these posts! I love to meal prep, but I usually follow something I find on the internet, so this is super helpful.
You’re welcome! 🙂
Hi tara! Do the foods keep well for the full week? I’m worried it may go bad in the later half of the week. Thanks for great ideas!!
They don’t go bad. I keep them in the fridge in tight containers. I just make sure to use it up before the week is over and if I don’t, I turn them into recipes!
My favorite meal of the day has always been breakfast. I love that time of day and breakfast food is delicious!
Excellent meal prep menu!
http://www.justbeingbrooklyn.com
Mine too!!!!
Those meatballs would be good wrapped in lettuce!
Yes!!
Thank you for posting! This is going to be a big help!
Great!!
This gave me so many awesome meal prep ideas!
I prep my food for a lot of the same reasons you do; it just makes maintaining a healthy diet so easy. And saves time! I’m the most impatient person ever when I’m cooking. It’s my food and I need it now! ?
My favorite recipe to prep is something I call a fiesta frittata! I take chorizo, bell peppers, onions, potatoes, and a bunch of eggs and bake it in a casserole dish. Easy to heat up and so delicious! It’d also be really good with cheese added.
Breakfast food makes me the happiest!
Awesome! So glad it helped.
hahahaha agree to it all.
OHHHH THAT SOUNDS AMAZING! I’ll have to attempt something like that.
Great meal prep! I need to start making those meatballs….or meal prepping better in general lol.
It’s been helping me!
You have such an awesome food prep routine! I work in a hospital and need to start doing this. What do you do for work? Can you always work from home?
I’m a full time blogger 🙂
These look great!! I’m a huge fan of the egg cups I make mine with Aidells Chicken Apple sausage from time to time and its super high in protein and Whole 30 approved! Though I’m a little over summer at the moment I just want it to be pumpkin season! However fall doesn’t hit in California till like November ;(
OMG! I need to use apple chicken sausage net tie!!! my fave!! great idea 🙂
I feel ya ;( I feel ya!
Are the mango pineapple rx bars good? I actually have the rx bar page up and am contemplating ordering them at this moment! I’ve had mint chocolate, peanut butter, and blueberry before and enjoyed them all. Mango and pineapple are my two favorite fruits so I’m thinking I would like them, but would definitely like some input since you have them! Have you ever tried larabars?
Meal prep saves me! I make multiple meals for the week and freeze them. Since I’m on my own, I will sometimes make 6 or so different recipes and have enough food for two weeks. This works wonderfully if I know I have a really busy weekend and can’t have my Sunday afternoon cooking session. I put everything in reusable containers and freeze everything but what I’ll eat the next few days. It also gives me a great variety of meals for lunches and dinners so I don’t get bored and want other food where I’d be spending extra money. I work ten hour days so my weekend meal prep saves me so much time, effort, and money. Recently I’ve been making ribs quite often using tessamaes barbecue sauce. The sauce is sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, and still tastes delicious. Ribs have quickly become my summer favorite and friends and family have complimented mine on being better than well known restaurant! Never thought I’d get that compliment a year ago when I hated cooking. I also make egg cups for breakfast and like one of your other commenters, use Aidells chicken apple sausage for extra protein. It tastes delicious!
Hope you’re having a wonderful day!
I like fruity things, so to me they are good! I REALLLLLLY like their chocolate and peanut butter ones though!!
Love all your tips!!
Hi Taralynn,
This post is really inspiring, I would love to start a meal prep day for the week. How long does it typically take to do meal prep for the day to last the week?
About an hour and a half!
Love your meal prep ideas! I make a similar mix of food for the week. Only difference is I use different english muffins. I use the cinnamon double protein ones – have you tried those? They are AMAZING!
yes so good!!!
Hi Taralynn, so when warming up your leftovers for the next day and such, does the chicken or whatever meat you’re eating taste funny to you? This has kept me from meal prepping for a long time because I hate the taste of microwaved chicken or any other meat! ?
I think it all depends on how you cook the chicken and how long you microwave it for! I microwave mine for only 45 seconds and I bake mine. It’s never weird tasting to me at all.
But I WILL NOT microwave steak. ICK
How hot is the oven for the meatballs.
I cooked them at 350
Thanks for the meal prep ideas and instructions…and the shopping list, amazing. I enjoy reading your blog, keep it up!
Thank you, Jessica!!
GIRL! You live in the south…… how do you not grill out everyday?!?!? ! I am from up north and we grill out with snow on the ground! haha
I don’t own a grill yet. That’s why. lol
I always come back to your page when I need fresh meal prep ideas – thanks so much, girl!!
Thank you!