Like I said in my 2018 goals, I really want to build a better relationship with all things food. That includes efficient cooking and eating habits.
Now, I wrote this post a while back about how to get started meal prepping for college. Once you compile all your Tupperware and pick out your desired meals, how exactly does that all come together? Today, I figured I’d walk you through how exactly I meal prep from week to week. I’ve gotten several questions about how I am consistently planning out meals and actually eating things. What do I prep vs. what I take time to actually cook? How do I store it all in our refrigerator without it taking over? Well, I figured each month I’d share what meals I’ve been making and some time-saving steps that you can take to improve your eating habits.
I absolutely love meal prepping, even with how repetitive it can get. Now, let’s see what was cooking this week!
Breakfast Options
Breakfast is so easy to prep and literally requires minimal effort. I typically switch off between banana cinnamon oatmeal and spinach & mozzarella omelets. You wouldn’t believe how much time I save by prepping my oatmeal bowls and pre-rinsing and separating my fruits. It also helps me minimize food waste which I truly struggled with in 2017. I’m actually not a huge fan of overnight oats (something about the consistency really grosses me out). For that reason, I stick with traditional oats & the microwave.
Oatmeal Bowls
Prep:
- 1/2 cup Instant Oats
- A dash of ground cinnamon
- 1 Truvia packet
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
Day Of:
1 medium banana
1 cup of water
Warm in the microwave for 90 seconds and then enjoy with a tasty cup of coffee (I love the Donut Shop K-cups!)
Blackberry Cups
I tend to pair my spinach mozzarella omelet with yogurt and fresh fruit. To minimize the time I spend on this; I’ll make sure to clean my fruit beforehand whenever I’m doing the rest of my meal prep.
Prep:
Clean and rinse and separate 8-10 blackberries into Tupperware bowls.
Day Of:
Make omelet. Top blackberries with 1/4 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt, chia seeds, and/or granola!
Lunch Options
UNC has microwaves in the main dining hall on north campus and so I typically bring a meal that can be warmed up instead of purchasing lunch. Let’s be real, I would 100% end up getting Chick-fil-a. I can’t resist those waffle fries ya know.
Roasted Veggies & Brown Rice
Prep:
- 2 heads of broccoli
- 1 medium russet potato
- 1 green bell pepper
- or 2 cups of mushrooms
- or 1/2 bag of baby carrots
Rinse and chop up veggies. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Season raw vegetables with avocado oil, garlic powder, black pepper, and Mrs. Dash. Bake for 30-40 minutes, salt to taste. Store in Tupperware. I typically also go ahead and make a 10-minute boil-in-a-bag brown rice while cooking up the vegetables.
Dinner Options
Broccoli & Chicken {Alfredo} Penne
Prep:
- 1 package of boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
- 1 package of frozen broccoli or 1 head of raw broccoli
- 1/2 box of penne pasta
- Alfredo sauce
Cook and season chicken tenderloins as you normally would. Steam broccoli and cook pasta. Assemble in Tupperware containers.
Day of:
Add 1/4 cup of alfredo sauce to the bowl and warm up chicken, broccoli, and penne pasta for 90 seconds. Enjoy.
Snack Options
Honey Crisp Apple Slices
Prep:
One honey crisp apple can typically last me 3-4 servings. On Sundays, I’ll chop up the apple and add to Ziploc bags or Tupperware containers to have for morning/afternoon snacks. Essential to helping me save money during the week.
Sweet Potato Chunks
Prep:
- 1 sweet potato
- olive oil
- ground cinnamon
- sea salt
Add PAM to skillet and bring to medium heat. Chop and season sweet potatoes with olive oil, ground cinnamon, and sea salt. Cook in skillet until outsides are crispy and insides are soft. Store in Tupperware containers for easy to grab snacks.
Other Snacks
- bananas
- cliff bars
- grapes
- granola + yogurt
First food post of 2018! I told y’all I was serious about these goals. Also, a round of applause for Hannah and I killing our new posting schedule for two weeks now. We would have usually given up by now! Here’s what we’ve posted in the past few weeks that I think you’d like: Week in San Diego, California, Weekly Brew | Vol. 2, What’s the Roast | Vol I, and My Lightroom Work Flow!.
What are you currently eating all day every day? Are you into eggs like I am right now? Maybe peanut butter!? I’m going to be posting these monthly so we’ll get to see how my cooking choices change. Right now, I’m trying to find a good alternative to using olive oil to cook because no one likes free radicals, ya know. Let me know in the comments what you’re cookin’ up from week to week!
keep on keepin’ on,
