Sunday Food Prep

Today is the day Gary and I shop and prepare our food for the week (and you will too!).  I posted a shopping list on Friday for you if you wanted to give it a try.  I will post your meal plan for the next day every evening, and I will also post what I ate that day - so you have two ideas for a day of meal planning :)  Oh - and I forgot a few things on the shopping list - a large bag of spinach, a large can of crushed tomatoes, 1 lemon, and some fresh cilantro - sorry!  Ok, well roll up your sleeves and get ready to cook!  Feel free to tweak the recipes to your liking :)

Food Prep:

Things you will need:
1 large pot for the stove
1 or 2 small cookie sheet(s) for the oven
1 large fry pan for the stove
BBQ

Begin by cooking your spolumbos sausage on the BBQ or indoor grill if you have one.  You may also do your chicken breast at this point on the BBQ too. I prefer BBQ'd Spolumbos, but you can also bake them in the oven or cook them in a pan if you want too.  For the remaining directions I will assume you did not BBQ them.

Pre-heat your oven to 365.  Put chicken breasts and sausage on separate small cookie sheets and put in the oven.  Set the timer for 30 mins (you will check the spolumbos then - I have never done them in the oven so I'm unsure of cooking time.)  If you have done the sausages on the BBQ - set the timer for 45 mins when the chicken will be done.

Put ground beef into a large pot on the stove and begin to brown.

In a bowl, add the ground chicken, Mrs. Dash Chicken spice, onion salt, celery salt, dried basil, garlic powder and fresh ground pepper.  Mix.  Pre-heat a large fry pan on the stove to medium/high, form thin round patties and add to pan.  I cover them with a lid to keep the heat in so they cook through faster.  The chicken will puff up, so make the patties thin.  Flip when needed.

While you are continuing to doing this - stir the beef until it's brown.  Drain it and set it aside.  Put the pot back on the stove and lower the heat to low/medium.  Add the full can of crushed tomatoes, 1/2 a chopped zucchini, 1/2 bag of broccoli slaw, 2-3 carrots, large handfuls of spinach, basil, oregano, 1 dried crushed hot chili, fresh ground pepper, onion salt, celery salt, fresh peeled and chopped garlic (or garlic powder) and any other spices you like. Add the cooked ground beef back in, mix, and simmer on low until nicely combined.

Continue to make and cook chicken patties until all ground chicken is used.  Remove baked chicken breast (and spolumbos if you baked them) from the oven and let cool.

Last thing to make is your guacamole: mix 2 ripe avocados, juice of 1/2 a lemon, some garlic (either fresh peeled and finely chopped or powder), onion salt or fresh chopped red onion, chopped cilantro.  I also add some extra spicy pre-made spice mix (Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy).
Leave the pit in the middle - it will help it to not turn brown as quickly.

Put all food into large GLASS containers with tight fitting lids and put into the fridge for your meals tomorrow!  This should have taken you under 1.5 hrs to complete this total prep :)

Now here is Mondays meal plan:

When packing in the morning, take out a salmon fillet to defrost.

1. 1 chicken Spolumbos sausage, 10-15 almonds, (black coffee or tea if you like)

2. 5-6 oz chicken burger patties (between 1 and 3 depending on how big you made them:) with lots of salsa.  Carrots with homemade guacamole for dipping.

3. Spinach salad with 1/2 cold chicken breast chopped, cucumbers, 1/2 red pepper and homemade vinegar and olive oil dressing.

4. Veggies: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers....

5. Salmon (baked or fried in a pan).  Stir fry some Brussels sprouts and cauliflower in coconut oil or organic salt free butter with garlic, salt and pepper. Make extra stir fry (2 portions) for tomorrows lunch.

Check in tomorrow evening for Tuesdays plan and to see what I ate on Monday.  Enjoy!