This Week’s Meal Plan & Prep

Last Sunday, a rare thing happened. The stars aligned and I planned, shopped and prepped the entire week’s food. By “stars aligned,” I mean it rained. If the sun is out on a Sunday in the summer, you couldn’t pay me to spend the day at the grocery store and then in the kitchen, but with sunshine FOMO (it’s a real disease, I swear) out of the question, I decided to get my prep on. Man am I a responsible adult OR WHAT?! Since this only happens once in a blue moon/rain cloud, I thought I’d share my plan and prep for the week in case any preppers out there are looking for some ideas. I did a post similar to this once before, which you can check out HERE if interested.

My Meal Plan for the Week

I like to keep things simple. Dinner leftovers for lunch, repeating the same ingredients and sauces in multiple meals—food doesn’t have to be extravagant to be satisfying! I decided I’d make a big batch of pesto and a big tub of sweet potato hummus and use those to spice up meals and snacks. I’d also make a big crockpot batch of spicy shredded chicken so that I could make burrito bowls and other Mexican deliciousness. With those three things the basis of my variety, I put together this game plan:

Breakfasts

• Eggs, avocado & toast / pesto scramble / breakfast burritos
• Smoothie bowls
• Green juice

Lunches

• Tuna sandwiches (Joe’s request)
• Quinoa salad and/or burrito bowls
• Hummus/pesto veggie wraps

Snacks

• Protein balls
• Hummus carrots
• Pesto/hummus toast with avocado slices
• Fruit

Dinners

• Crockpot chicken burrito bowls
• Pesto spaghetti squash with salad and quinoa/freekeh
• Baked cod with quinoa salad
• Sides: roasted veggies (brussles sprouts, sweet potatoes, broccoli)

What Meal Prep I Did for the Week

After making a grocery list of everything I’d need for the above plan (excluding things I already had in my pantry), I went off to the store and then began prepping. Here’s what I made on Sunday to get a head start for the week:

Pesto Sauce

I just doubled THIS RECIPE. Pesto is an awesome thing to have on hand because you can use it during every meal of the day (scrambled eggs with pesto and avocado—DO IT).

Sweet Potato Hummus

Recipe is HERE. This is great for dipping, but even better as a sandwich/wrap spread. Take your bread of choice, this hummus, spinach, avocado, tomato and any other fixings you like, and say hello to the best lunch you’ve ever tasted.

Grains: Quinoa & Freekeh

What the freekah is freekah? Yeah I don’t really know either. Haha NOW gave me a package of theirs in the goodie bag I received from that trip I went on, so I figured I’d give this ancient grain a whirl. I’d compare it to brown rice but with a bit more of a nutty taste. I also cooked up a massive batch of quinoa, per usual.

Nut Butter Protein Balls

There are a gazillion ball recipes out there, but half the time I just wing it. This coming week I’m going to share a good “outline” recipe for protein powder and nut butter bites that’s super easy to customize with your favorite flavors. Stay tuned! This week, I did almond butter, vanilla plant protein, coconut, vanilla extract, hemp seeds & quick roll oats. Delish!

Spicy Shredded Crockpot Chicken

This is so easy to make and Joe LOVES it. You basically just dump a thing of salsa, chicken breasts and some taco seasoning into a crockpot and let it do its thang. I actually forgot to buy taco seasoning though so I ended up making my own, and that was also surprisingly easy. I’ll share the “recipe” (I just dumped random spices into a bowl and crossed my fingers) soon in case you ever find yourself in the same jam.

Lightened Up Tuna Fish

Joe requested tuna fish sandwiches to pack with him for lunch because he’s 32 going on 9, so I made up a big tub of tuna, Greek yogurt (it’s a great swap for mayo!), raisins and celery. And for the record, I’m totally kidding—tuna fish rocks at every age.

Juice

I only made a small batch (enough to have a glass the next two mornings) because juice starts to lose its nutritional value after a few days. Lately, I’ve been adding in chia seeds and letting them soak in the juice over night. It gives the juice an amazing texture that I absolutely love!

Ok, it honestly took me almost the entire day to plan, shop and prep all this. That’s why these things don’t happen very often. But man does it pay off. Joe and I had an amazing week of meals! The fridge and pantry were stocked with options whenever I was hungry; putting together lunches and dinners took much less time; and I saved money by not buying meals on the go all day.

Are you food prepping and meal planning this week? What’s on the menu?