Meal-Prep Monday

Hey hey heyyyyy!

Long time no blog! I’ve been off the radar unfortunately due to a massive schedule, but we’re back today for a recap on my Sunday meal prepping which took up most of the day. But, you know what? I LOVE IT.

I started meal-prepping later November as a tester to see how it could help out the crazy amount of stuff I have going on, and honestly it’s amazing. The last two weeks I haven’t been able to, and I’ve felt it HARD CORE. It’s amazing how not having some essentials can really have you scrambling for days.

I started my Sunday off traveling to some stores to grab what my family and I needed for the week. I had work early morning, so it had to be pushed off till after lunch, but usually I’ll make a list at breakfast with my mom and then head out so I can start early. I go to local groceries near me (including Trader Joe’s and ALDI) that offer packaged products with minimal additives in them. That is something hugely important in grocery shopping. Check before you purchase!

My week list included the following:

• Fresh vegetables
• Bagged spinach and kale
• Fresh and frozen fruit
• Avocadoes
• Almond milk
• Plain greek yogurt
• Organic meat (such as turkey and chicken breast)
• Canned, unsalted beans (chickpeas, black…)
• Quinoa
• Ezekiel bread
• Cage-free eggs
• Nuts
• Rolled oats
• Tofu or tempeh
• Olive Oil
• Sweet potatoes
• Hummus

There’s sometimes more or less on the list depending on who will be around or what’s going on during our weeks to fuel up. It usually lasts the remainder of the week, but if not my mom may stop over to grab a few more essentials.

As for what I created yesterday, it included….

All of this magical food! Sometimes my meal prep is smaller with less busy weeks, but this week I felt like I accomplished quite a bit!

Some things include: roasted sweet potatoes in a bit of olive oil salt and pepper, baked chicken breasts seasons, chopped and washed vegetables, almond coconut energy bites (super good!), homemade granola, roasted tofu and chickpeas, rinsed black beans and some quinoa.

Other things I did yesterday were chop up some fresh fruit that was left over from last week, which I freeze with the other frozen fruits for my smoothie bowls. I also hard boiled a few eggs for this week, and washed all the fruit I bought at the store. I also try to plan out some meals I can make with the food I prepare like…

• Kale salads with chicken, roasted veggies, avocado..
• Burrito bowls with quinoa and black beans
• Tofu with quinoa or roasted sweet potatoes

I also buy bean pastas from Trader Joe’s (black bean I’m lookin’ at you!) for easy, quick dinners that provide protein, carbs and fiber. I top that with almond milk cheese and tons of veggies! Perfect for a track meet day (aka TODAY!)

So that’s my meal preppin’ Monday this week…

What about yours? Did you do any prepping this weekend?

Chia Oat Pancakes

I love pancakes to an extremity that I’m sure most people don’t understand. When I was younger, I was obsessed with fluffy, buttery pancakes drowned in mass amounts of Aunt Jemima syrup. And then as I got a little older, strawberry crepes were a go to whenever we went out.

I think it all stemmed from my Saturday mornings with my dad in the kitchen. When I was little, we’d sit in the kitchen and whip up a box recipe and go crazy. I always looked forward to that, and that’s when I slightly fell in love.

Now that I realize the difference between a homemade and boxed pancake that was loaded with nastys, I’ve become even more involved with this lovely little breakfast. I’ve swapped out my weird maple syrups for all natural, pure. No cups of sugar or white flours to be seen. Just a good ol’ flapjack, made from the best of the best.

I love making oat flour so I decided to throw that in there with a little bit of coconut flour to make the batter. It’s super simple, and these are ingredients I almost always am relying on, so how could I turn away from them for one of my favorites?

From there on, I threw in chia seeds for some extra energy and to help bring a little difference to the traditional batter. I haven’t used whit chia yet, so I went for the dark seed, which is what I have at home…

These took a slight bit longer to cook, but they were chewy, pretty fluffy and DELISH!

 

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serves: 1, makes 6 pancakes

 

 

Ingredients:
1/2 C. rolled oats, ground

2 TBSP. coconut flour                               1/4-1/3C. water  & 1/4C. nutmilk

1 tsp. baking powder                                 1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. maple extract                                    1/2 TBSP. chia seed

1 egg white                                                     1 TBSP. coconut oil, melted

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1. Melt coconut oil onto a frying pan
2. Add in ingredients starting with the flours, adding them in order and stirring until mixed.
3. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes and have the pan heat up.
4. Start spooning the batter onto the pan and let the pancake cook until browned.
5. Once all the batter is used, top with what you like! I used almond butter, granola and fruit!
6. Enjoy!

Ooey Gooey Banana Bread

Ripe bananas. Like really ripe bananas.

That’s what I came home to when returning from Spring Break, and I knew exactly what I was gonna make.

BANANA BREAD.

Sure, sure I could have just frozen them like most bananas and downed them as dessert or a smoothie, but I felt a banana bread inkling growing in my taste buds, so I sat down, found a base and went crazy.

Best part? No sugar. No gluten. Vegan. No oil.

Basically a stripped recipe to make this one heck of a natural bread that will satisfy your cravings for something sweet, while being King of the healthy world. Just kidding, maybe not King. Close enough though.

I started first thinking I wanted to try a vegan bread. The last time I tried, nooooot super successful. So this time, I was determined to make it work. And then, as I began going, my head starting spinning with exchanges and I got the most moist, delicious banana bread I’ve ever made. Even Grandma Lois loved it…. that’s how you know we’ve made it!

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Ooooooeeey Gooeeyyy Banana Bread

Makes: one loaf              

Prep time: 15 min, cook time: 55-60 min   

 

V,GF, and Oil free

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Ingredients:

1 3/4 Rolled Oats (ground for flour)                               1/4 nut milk (I used Califia Farms)

2 overly ripe bananas                                                         Dash of cinnamon and sea salt

1 tsp. vanilla and maple extracts                                    1/3 unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. baking soda                                                                 1/2 C. pure maple syrup

1 1/2 Flax Seed (milled)

 

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Start by creating your flax egg. This should be the milled flax seed with 3 TBSP warm water. Let sit until a sticky consistency.
3. In a large bowl, combine the maple syrup and apple sauce until the mixture is one. Add in your ripe bananas by smashing and stirring them. Clumps of banana are okay!
4. Next, mix in the extracts, salt, cinnamon, nut milk and baking soda. Combining all ingredient together.
5. At this point, add in your flax egg and give it one more stir.
6. By spoonfuls, slowly mix in the oat flour you created until the entire mixture is “just mixed”.
7. Add the mixture, top with a sprinkle of raw oats to a greased bread pan and bake for 55-60 min.
8. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, and then enjoy!

This can be kept out for 2-3 days, or refrigerated for up to a week!