Tips That Help Me Meal Plan & Prep

Well hey there!

It's Monday and as I sit here I am hoping that despite the cold rainy weather this week feels smoother and better than last week.

It was A WEEK. You know the one I am talking about, one of those weeks that you never get a moment, yet you don't finish a damn thing. Ugh. The to-do list kept carrying on from one day to the next until I reached the weekend and just got the minimal done. Ayy.. It did not feel good at all, but I am sharing because I know I am not the only one that has those kind of weeks and well I want you to know you aren't alone.

But new week, new me? or maybe new week new attitude? Or maybe simply, new week, lots of hope.

I decided that I would tackle this post that I started last week that you have all been asking for. Meal planning and prepping is the number two thing that I think can change your week when implemented (number one is waking before your crew). It's especially helpful for me during this pandemic when most of our meals are cooked by me.

Here are some quick tips, tricks and words of wisdom. lol. I am laughing at myself as I typed that... And I didn't have a change to do my meal prep and plan this weekend so I am doing this all throughout the day, so you can honestly do it any day of the week that works for you.

1. Write out your menu before creating your grocery list/food shopping. THIS IS HUGE. I hate not having that final, usually important ingredient. So I create a menu for the week, I even add in days we are going to have take out for dinner. Usually Friday or Saturday but honestly some weeks there is a week day in there too. So create your menu, scan your recipes and double check fridge, pantry and all expiration dates for ingredients. Then write out lunch and snack ideas on the side of your menu. For example, for snacks we love red peppers, carrots, celery, cucumbers, crackers, cheese, pretzels, freeze dried berries and potato chips for snacks.

2. Include the whole family in creating the menu. I will say this until I am blue in the face, including kids in the kitchen in everything from the menu, shopping for foods, preparing and cooking will open doors for pickier eaters. So have everyone throw in a request for meals and snacks!

3. Don't reinvent the wheel. I love to try new recipes but it's not something I do every night. I stick to the basics, and a lot of the time don't make anything different! GASP! Hahahah. We always have a pasta night, a soup during colder weather, a taco night and a leftover night.

4. To not get bored with the same dishes I like to swap up the protein in our tacos, create a different side for a veggie and protein night, try a new grain, swap out the beans in my go-to white bean soup or change up the protein in it, or make any of my meals vegetarian by swapping the meat protein with a mung bean and sweet potatoes mixture (recipe coming soon). But there is no need to create all new things write out some of your dinners and rotate them until you have the meal prep/plan under your belt.

5. Consider your schedule. I have said this one million times in IG stories but make sure you are considering your schedule while you plan out your menu, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays we have something planned after virtual school, nothing too late but enough that I have less time to cook so I make sure that the prep is done for these days and that the meal doesn't take too long to cook. So consider shorter recipes or something you can just toss in a slow cooker on days that your busier.

6. Make ahead what you can. Make double the amount of a grain (White rice, brown rice, quinoa, barely are our favorites) that you can serve with more than one meal. I like to make a couple batches of my favorite sweet potatoes potatoes and roast a bunch of veggies to serve as sides, in salads or on their own as lunches! Making protein for a dish, well make a bigger batch for a couple meals! Prepare your veggies and greens for easy salads and snacks. And even making a dressing for the week can be an easy way to prep and switch up a daily salad.

7. Plan for dishes that taste better the next day. Loved this article I included in my newsletter but meals like soups, baked pasta dishes, and chilis will taste better the second or third day and well the are so easy to just reheat!

8. Invest in great glassware, in different sizes, this set and these larger ones, for storage. Even a lid for my instant pot makes it easier to prepare ahead or keep leftovers fresh.

9. Make the time. This is a huge part of making this successful... Maybe it's an early morning on the weekend or an evening, or splitting into two days. But whatever it is you have to put aside some time to do all the things to make it easier, stay healthier, waste less and stay on budget.

I hope this helps make your week a little easier. I plan on sharing what my actual meal planning and prepping for a week is this month so be prepared and please respond with any questions that I can answer in the post!

And just remember that we are in this together.

xoxo

Natalie

Chicken Drumsticks, Lentil and Sweet Potatoes

Are you looking for a little twist to a weeknight meal? Well this is it. How was that for a catchy header?! hahaha. One of the beans that I always have in our pantry are lentils, they don't have to soak very long, you can infuse with pretty much any flavor combo and get a filling meal with just them. Lentil tacos? Yes! Lentil and mushroom soup. Yes please. Curried, lentils served on white rice or naan. Ummm yeah! I will say damn lentils are hard to make look cute in a photo. Sheesh, I had to heat up leftovers and rephotograph!

We love a weeknight instant pot lentil soup with sausage, squash and spinach but this week I bought chicken drumsticks, so I thought I'd try a spin on a roasted chicken thigh recipe I always make but added our fav/easy dry beans to make it a heartier meal. And just incase you are looking to stay on food budget, organic drumsticks are pretty much always inexpensive and the girls love them, or any "chicken on da bone". So instead of having to heat the oven I decided I'd do it on the stove top andddddd well it did not disappoint.

If I would have meal prepped I could have served it on any grain but I didn't so I cut a corner and used 2 bags of frozen Trader Joes brown rice with a pile of greens for me and a side of frozen peas for the girls.

There are really three big steps to this recipe but broke it down so it's easier to follow.

Ingredients

Lentils

• 2 cups of lentils, soaked in water for a few hours.

• 4 cups broth (I always use low sodium)

• 2 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp dried thyme (I like to crumble the leaves to release the flavor/auroma)

• 2 tbsp garlic powder

• 2 tbsp paprika

• 2 tbsp dried oregano

• 3 bay leaves

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or dried (like I used)

• splash of vinegar

Sweet potato mixture

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 red onion , chopped thinly

• 2-3 sweet potatoes chopped in 1/2 inch cubes

• 1 tbsp black pepper

• 1 tbsp salt

• agave

• 1/4 cup water

Drumsticks

• 6-8 chicken drumsticks

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp fresh-ground black pepper

• 1 tsp salt

• 1tbsp cumin powder

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1tsp onion powder

• 1tbsp worcestershire sauce

• 1tbsp soy sauce or liquid aminos for gluten free

• 1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock

Recipe

In a large saucepan, bring the lentils, broth, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, the thyme, garlic powder, paprika, dried oregano, vinegar and bay leaves to a boil over moderately high heat.

Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender but not falling apart, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderate heat.

Add the onion, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic, stirring occasionally but careful not to burn. And add chopped sweet potatoes, black pepper, salt and agave. Brown the sweet potatoes, on both sides and then add the mixture to the simmering lentils.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan over moderate heat.

Season the chicken with the remaining salt, the black pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, then add it to the pan.

Cook the chicken, turning, until brown, about 6 minutes on each side.

Pour out all the fat from the pan.

Add the broth, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is just done, about 15- 20 minutes minutes.

After that add the pan juices from the chicken/broth to the lentils along with the lemon juice and the parsley. Mix in chicken and let sit, covered, simmering for another 10 minutes.

Serve alone or over any grain (like I mention I love it with jasmine rice but was in a time pinch and the Trader Joes frozen brown rice made it super easy!!). If you want to make this a vegetarian dish, sub the chicken with mushrooms or skip all together. I love making it in big batches to have during the week.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

xoxo

Natalie

Mama,What's For Dinner?

I have a whole Pinterest board with simple weekday meals that I pin for days that I just don't what to make because for a bit I fell out of the habit of making dinner. But in all honesty the best thing I ever do for myself and for my sanity was when I took the question, "what's for dinner?" out of the equation. So this series is to hold myself accountable with planning out weekly meal, yes even a take out night (usually Friday or Saturday for us). And pray that I remember to defrost the meat, hahaha because once I screw up one day I mess up the flow for the rest of the week! Anyone else feel that way?

Now for some tips, I always make a grain for the week. any kind of rice, quinoa, barley or even a couscous could be helpful as a filling side that you can either change up or just serve as is.

This week my grain will be Sundays, white rice, which I am serving with red beans and a rotisserie chicken we added to our grocery pickup. I am going to make tostones, and some green beans + a salad. I'm going to make citrus-glazed salmon from The Full Plate for me and the girls to have for lunches.

For the salad I like to make a big one with lots of raw veggies, peppers, cukes, shredded carrots, tomatoes and this week it will have some kale. And when I say big I mean big enough to serve as a couple lunches and sides for the first half of the week.

I also LOVE making a homemade salad dressing for the week, something simple but it really makes a difference for knowing whats in it but also for making the girls excited about salads. They love making them! Our favorite easy one is 1/4 rice vinegar, 1/4 lemon juice, 1/2 olive oil and sweetened to taste with agave. Easy, and yummy.

Another must do for a better week is making my green juice for a few days, this isn't the best for the actual juice (it's best to be made fresh but I find that making it for a few days really ensures I drink it). I am also going to get back to mid day smoothies that are always a hit for the girls!

Monday night I'm going to make Skinnytaste One & Done Navy Bean Bacon and Spinach Soup, but I am going to add the leftover rotisserie chicken and make it in the slow cooker instead of the Instant Pot, this way I can prep it before our afternoon walk and it will be perfectly timed with our 5:30dinner!

Tuesday I'll make ground turkey tacos, guac and chips, with the rice and beans from Sunday! O will also have the ground meat for another lunch through the week! Easy dinner for a night with later afternoon voice lessons.

Wednesday, steak, with roasted potatoes. leftover green beans and crunchy red peppers (girls fav). I'll serve some salad with this one too.

Thursday- left overnight. Legit pull it all out and the girls get to pick what they have and I'll cut up raw veggies, some cheese and crackers to put out with it too. It has become a favorite night and a lot less waste of food.

Friday night we either make some frozen pizza or pasta (they get to pick pesto, mimi's pasta sauce or butter, freshly popped popcorn, fruit/veggie platter and we eat while watching a movie. So fancy pants but lets be honest by this time I am ready to crawl into a ball.

Saturdays we order out! If your locals I need to her your favorites please.

I hope this help you all with getting one thing off the list of todo's for the week.

xoxo

Natalie