Hey y’all, so this week I decided to do a “THREE” Tuesday instead of 10. I had a special request from a few of my readers for some recipes. I started this awesome habit of meal prepping every Sunday and throwing it in the freezer (luckily we have two) to munch on during the week. My husband leaves way before I wake up, so this makes it easy for us to not only save money by not eating out at our lunch but it keeps us healthy as well! Being a working babe, managing my blog, being a wife, a fur baby mama and a clean freak; I needed to take the opportunities I had to prepare for the week.
This weeks menu:
[ 1 ] Lemon Pepper Chicken with Broccoli
[ 2 ] Black Bean Burgers with Smokey Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli
[ 3 ] Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups with Lentil “Meat”balls.
I try to balance each meal with a veggie, and Broccoli is our mutual fave! So if you are not a broccoli fiend like us, feel free to swap it for Brussel sprouts, asparagus (our second fave) or green beans!
Lemon Pepper Chicken with Broccoli
Serving for 6 meals
3 large chicken breast
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon of Himalayan pink salt
1 tablespoon of ground black pepper
2 Lemons Juiced
1 large ziplock bag or large air tight tupperware container
Frozen Broccoli from Costco
Make sure you trim the fat from your chicken, I usually get ours at Sprouts because IMO they have the best deals for the best quality of meat. If they are thick and meaty, cut them in half so you have 6, 3ish oz chicken breast pieces. Add your chicken to your ziplock bag. Add all your other ingredients (olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice). Then, SHAKE IT LIKE A POLAROID PICTURE! Let it sit in your fridge for an hour then fire up your grill or bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.
We usually don’t do too many frills on our broccoli so I just add a little garlic salt on top for taste.
I store in meal prep containers from Amazon* (I will share the link at the bottom of this article if you want to order them yourself).
Black Bean Burgers with Smokey Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli
Serving for 12 meals
1 container of Black Bean Burgers from Costco
3 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon of Himalayan pink salt
1 tablespoon of ground black pepper
1 table spoon of African smoked seasoning from Trader Joe’s
Frozen Broccoli from Costco
Sweet Potatoes
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cube the sweet potatoes to your desired thickness. Toss your sweet potatoes in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the sweet potatoes onto a baking ban evenly and top with the African smoked seasoning prior to placing in the oven. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until desired level of crispiness!
The black bean burger from Costco is already precooked, however I prefer to either throw it in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 400 for a crunchy exterior or, if you’re in a bind you can just throw it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes (or until unfrozen).
We usually don’t do too many frills on our broccoli so I just add a little garlic salt on top for taste.
Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups with Lentil “Meat”balls *Vegetarian Option
Servings vary
Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups
1-2 boxes of lasagna noodles
1 large container of ricotta cheese
1 medium bag of mozzarella
1/2 bundle of spinach
1 teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 egg
1 jar of marinara sauce
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Boil the lasagna noodles to al dente so they don’t fall apart when you roll. While boiling the noodles, chop up your spinach into small 1/4 inch pieces then in a large mixing bowl combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella, spinach, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and egg. Mix it all together until he egg is fully mixed in and the mixture is consistent. Drain your lasagna noodles and run under cold water for 1 minute. Lay your noodles flat onto a surface and spread your ricotta mixture evenly onto the face of the lasagna with the exception of 1.5 inches on one end, when rolling, begin rolling from the filled side to the empty side to reduce risk of smearing. Once rolled, place your lasagna into a glass lasagna pan. Repeat until your ingredients run out. Spread your marinara sauce onto the surface of the lasagna prior to placing it into the oven. OPTIONAL: Add red pepper flakes/cayenne pepper for spice or additional cheese on top.
Lentil “Meat”balls
1 precooked lentils from Trader Joe’s
2 cups Japanese panko
1 tablespoon of minced garlic (or less if you prefer less garlic taste)
2 eggs
Your oven is already pre-heated to 350 degrees from the lasagna, keep it preheated. In a large mixing bowl mix all your ingredients until the panko and the eggs are evenly distributed through the lentils. You can take an ice-cream scooper, a spoon or your hands to ball the mixture into a circular shape; the thickness is personally up to you I like mine at least 1.5 inches in circumference. Spread on a baking sheet evenly and bake for 30 minutes total, at 15 minutes rotate the meatball so you get crispiness all around.
*To make this vegetarian, please feel free to sub cheese products for vegetarian alternatives
VOILA!
These are the recipes I prepared for my family this week, unfortunately my meal prep plating isn’t gorgeous so there are no pictures, however, as popularity of these posts increases I will take a few snap shots for you all.
These are the meal prep containers that we use, they are dishwasher and microwave safe!
[10 pack] 1 Compartment BPA Free Meal Prep Containers. Reusable Plastic Food Storage Containers with Lids. Stackable Microwavable Freezer & Dishwasher Safe Lunch Box Container Set + EBook [38 oz]