Selfie Does Meal Prepping
A combo of super common resolutions is to get fit/be healthy/lose weight, save up some money and be more organized. The middle of that Venn diagram is definitely meal prepping. Here’s some things I know, fo’ sho’: When I meal prep, I eat way better, I’m more consistent and focused about what I’m putting into my body and therefore, I’m more likely to do the other half of the whole “being healthy thing” - work out. So basically when I’m on, I find it way easier to be ON.
Here’s another thing I know: Sometimes I effing hate meal prepping. It’s way easier to run to Cava and pick up a salad than it is to cut up five days’ worth of red pepper strips and… I definitely forgot an ingredient and I know I have to go to HEB AGAIN but they don’t have it so, now I have to go Randall’s and then Whole Foods and I’m sorry, someone remind me - Why aren’t we going to Cava, again? I also have some leftover trauma from spending four hours meal prepping following various nutrition plans. All of which, method to the madness, include meal prepping but for some reason they also include super random ingredients (why...do we need yak’s milk from a specific Himalayan mountain to make this oatmeal?), just a ton of ingredients and in an effort not to bore people, have different meals every day which means you bought a whole cabbage but you only used a cup of it... and now you just have 7/8ths of a cabbage left.
“Is…something burning? Should we just get Cava?”
So in this New Year burst of energy, I’m striving to not just actually meal prep and save that $10 a day at Cava*, I’m also striving to make.it. SIMPLE. I want to use up the ingredients I bought and will make nothing with 900 ingredients because I want to be done and on with my day as it does make life simpler not spend to your whole Sunday making 30-ingredient oatmeal.** I started out by finding stuff that I could easily mix and match and still hit my macros (which is my specific goal this resolution season) without being upset that we had salmon instead of chicken or whatever.
Make Prep Work Easier
To that end, make prep work easier on yourself. Do you need to cut up five days’ of bell pepper slices? If you work somewhere with even a half a kitchen, you can mix up some tuna or cut up a bell pepper or make a protein shake in a shaker bottle during a super short break at work. I also keep measuring cups at my desk (listen, I know it’s weird but hear me out) which makes portioning super simple without needing to spend my sweet, sweet Sunday-in-sweatpants time divvying stuff up into Ziplocs. I always prep meals I know I need. For example, if I prep my lunch, I know I won’t go out. I know that having prepped breakfast will make my life exponentially better/ easier which frees up some time for me to get ready for work instead of looking like a bo of ho which is what typically occurs.
Don’t Be Afraid of Normal-Sized Containers
I’m not clear on who all these people with giant fridges are but I simply don’t have room in my weird 90s fridge to make five days worth of five meals a day in separate containers. It looks beautiful but Mr. Selfie would die.I normally use one large tupperware to put in the fridge and just divvy out one or two servings into a small container to take for lunch. That way I’m not hogging the whole work fridge like a jerk but I’m also not taking up my whole home fridge…like a jerk.
Choose One Thing per Meal per Week
If you don’t hate eating similar things everyday for lunch, why the heck not? You can easily switch it up on Saturday and again, for the next work week. You can also easily make large batches at once instead of making, say, a sandwich everyday especially if you’re new to the whole meal prep thing or you’re just getting back into it. *clapping* Let’s not waste our times. This week I made a super simple Caldo de Pollo in our slow cooker and then I made “egg muffins” really quickly. By throwing stuff in the slow cooker, and making two things that require chopped veggies, I save time since I can start the slow cooker and then, get the eggs finished and in the oven. I also plan on having a shake for midday and some tuna salad with greek yogurt and crackers for the afternoon which I can prep at work.
One nice thing about both of these prepped meals is that I don’t need a recipe for those dishes which makes my life easier. For the egg muffins, I just eat these with a piece of toast and some avocado which help to get some carbs and fat and ensure that my 6 am breakfast lasts me awhile. However, I do know that not everyone cooks that much and so that’s not…helpful…information to them (Looking at you, Rachy). So, for the time being, I suggest these egg muffins because you can literally make them with anything you want.
“Recipe-less” Egg Muffins
Makes 10
2 Per Serving (See what I did there? Work week complete!)
Five Eggs
Five Egg Whites
Two Cups of Chopped Veggies (I used spinach, bell pepper, onions, jalapenos and mushrooms)
Tablespoon of Seasoning Mix (Just like…please don’t add a Tbs. of salt or you’ll be so sad but I used cayenne, smoked paprika, garlic, tumeric and black pepper)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Saute the veggies in a non-stick pan and/or with a small amount of oil. While that’s cooking, whisk your eggs and egg whites together. When your veggies are done, just add them to the egg mix. Spray a muffin tin with oil (and be a bit generous or use muffin liners because cleaning stuck-on eggs off your muffin tins defeats the whole make-this-super-easy-and-efficient thing I got goin’ on here.) I use a ladle to put the egg mixture into the tin because I want to ensure that the amounts are fairly even. And then just cook for 20 minutes (more if a toothpick doesn’t come out clean).
You can find tons and tons and tons of recipe ideas related to this type of breakfast if you’re keen for more mixture ideas!