It’s Meal Prep Monday again! No matter how hard I try, I can’t make the weekends go by any slower. Maybe we can gang up and all run the opposite direction of the earth spinning, kind of like that one commercial? The good thing is that I had a pretty productive weekend with a little bit of relaxing, so at least I have healthy food prepped and ready to go for the week! Unfortunately, I still have that stack of clothes that needs to be ironed and put away…
Here’s what’s on the menu this week:
The Meal Plan:
Day 1
- Breakfast: Mixed Berry Oatmeal Muffins with egg white slices
- Lunch: Fall Harvest Farro Salad with Apple Cider Dressing
- Dinner: Butternut Squash Zoodles with Spicy Turkey Sausage
Day 2
- Breakfast: Mixed Berry Oatmeal Muffins with egg white slices
- Lunch: Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Green Beans
- Dinner: Fall Harvest Farro Salad with Apple Cider Dressing
Day 3
- Breakfast: Mixed Berry Oatmeal Muffins with egg white slices
- Lunch: Butternut Squash Zoodles with Spicy Turkey Sausage
- Dinner: Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Green Beans
Day 4
- Breakfast: Mixed Berry Oatmeal Muffins with egg white slices
- Lunch: Fall Harvest Farro Salad with Apple Cider Dressing
- Dinner: Butternut Squash Zoodles with Spicy Turkey Sausage
Day 5
- Breakfast:Mixed Berry Oatmeal Muffins with egg white slices
- Lunch: Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Green Beans
- Dinner: Fall Harvest Farro Salad with Apple Cider Dressing
Day 6
- Breakfast: Mixed Berry Oatmeal Muffins with egg white slices
- Lunch: Butternut Squash Zoodles with Spicy Turkey Sausage
- Dinner: Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Green Beans
The Snack Ideas:
- Flavored tuna packets with plantain chips
- Trail mix
- Deli turkey (nitrate and nitrite free)
- Strawberries and blueberries
- Protein shakes
- Hard boiled egg whites
The Containers:
Note: I used the 24 oz 6 Pack Fitness containers for the Taco Ground Turkey, but they are currently out of stock on Amazon. I linked the 20 oz size here.
The Recipes:
Mixed Berry Oatmeal Muffins
Servings: jumbo muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats, (192 grams)
- 2 scoops ON Gold Standard Plant Based Protein Powder, (72 grams)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, (6 oz)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, (6 oz)
- 1/2 cup blueberries, (75 grams)
- 1/2 cup strawberries, chopped, (75 grams)
- 1/2 cup blackberries, (75 grams)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, (2 oz)
- 2 egg whites
- 1 1/2 tbsp Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, (24 grams)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange 7 jumbo silicone baking cups on a baking sheet.
- Mix all dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients and mix until combined. Divide evenly into 7 baking cups.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until tops of muffins begin to brown slightly. Allow to cool slightly before removing from silicone cups and serving.
Tips & Tricks
- Click here or scan the barcode below to log this food in My Fitness Pal.
- I recommend these jumbo silicone baking cups!
- You can replace the plant based protein with whey if you’d prefer – just sub it out with the same amount of powder but decrease the amount of almond milk to 1/2 cup.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 209kcal (10%), Carbohydrates: 32g (11%), Protein: 12g (24%), Fat: 4g (6%), Sodium: 116mg (5%), Potassium: 125mg (4%), Fiber: 5g (21%), Sugar: 12g (13%)
Egg White Slices
Servings: servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups egg whites
Instructions
- Pour egg whites into a cold, medium-sized, shallow pan and cover with a lid.
- Turn heat to just higher than medium and cook eggs until they no longer jiggle when you touch the pan and are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Vent the lid if the top of the egg whites begin to bubble.
- Remove from pan and slice into 6 pieces.
Tips & Tricks
Click here or scan the barcode below to log this food in My Fitness Pal.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 48kcal (2%), Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 11g (22%), Sodium: 181mg (8%)
Fall Harvest Farro Salad
Servings: servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw chicken breast, thin sliced
- 10 cups kale, chopped & stems removed, (160 grams)
- 2 cups butternut squash, cubed, (300 grams)
- 1 medium red apple, chopped, (200 grams)
- 1/3 cup pearled farro, cooked according to package directions, (67 grams)
- 1/3 cup 50% less sugar Craisin dried cranberries, (53 grams)
- 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds, (17 grams)
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp Oh My Spice! Lemon Pepper seasoning
Apple Cider Dressing
- 2 tbsp apple cider, (1 oz)
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, (1 oz)
- 2 tbsp olive oil, (1 oz)
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard, (1 oz)
- 1/2 tbsp honey, (0.25 oz)
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Arrange butternut squash cubes in a single layer on baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/2 tsp olive oil and toss. Season with 1/2 tsp Oh My Spice! seasoning. Bake for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Whisk all dressing ingredients until well combined. Set aside.
- Once farro is cooked according to package directions, toss with a splash of the dressing (~1 tbsp).
- Massage kale gently with a splash of olive oil, if desired. Divide evenly among 4 serving dishes. Top with butternut squash, farro, chopped apple, and dried cranberries. Set aside.
- Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan. Season chicken on both sides with remaining Oh My Spice! seasoning, then add to hot pan. Cover with a lid and cook for about 4-5 minutes on one side before flipping and cover again. After 3-4 minutes, remove cover and continue cooking uncovered until cooked through, flipping as needed to evenly brown both sides. Time will vary depending on thickness of chicken.
- Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and adding on top of salad. Top with dressing and roasted pumpkin seeds before serving.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 417kcal (21%), Carbohydrates: 46g (15%), Protein: 31g (62%), Fat: 12g (18%), Cholesterol: 66mg (22%), Sodium: 310mg (13%), Potassium: 797mg (23%), Fiber: 9g (38%), Sugar: 15g (17%)
Butternut Squash Zoodles with Spicy Turkey Sausage
Servings: servings
Ingredients
- 5 links Jennie-O Hot Italian Turkey Sausage
- 1 lb cubed butternut squash
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 small to medium zucchini, spiralized into noodles
- 3 cups roughly chopped baby spinach
- 6-8 leaves sage
- 3 tbsp olive oil for frying
- 1/2 tbsp Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread with Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add butternut squash to large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 12-15 minutes or until squash is soft. Drain water and blend squash in a blender until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat until oil is shimmery. Add sage leaves and fry for about 1 minute, then remove to a paper towel while leaves are still green. Slice sage leaves into thin slices and set aside.
- Soak up most of the olive oil with a paper towel and discard. Add buttery spread and swirl around pan until it is melted. Add onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Remove sausage from casings and crumble into pan, breaking apart with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking and breaking apart sausage until it is mostly cooked through. Drain excess liquid.
- Add butternut squash, baby spinach, sliced sage leaves and Parmesan cheese and mix well.
- Microwave zucchini noodles for 1 1/2 minutes, then add to a large bowl. Add squash and sausage mixture on top of the zucchini noodles, then garnish with remaining sage leaves and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Tips & Tricks
You can cut down on some of the fat and sodium in this recipe by replacing 2 of the sausage links with 1/2 lb of extra lean ground turkey.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 313kcal (16%), Carbohydrates: 21g (7%), Protein: 26g (52%), Fat: 15g (23%), Cholesterol: 91mg (30%), Sodium: 1210mg (53%), Fiber: 4g (17%), Sugar: 7g (8%)
Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Green Beans
Servings: servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 lb chicken breast
- 2 cups fingerling potatoes, halved, (400 grams)
- 16 oz French green beans, (454 grams)
- 2 tbsp honey, (42 grams)
- 1 1/3 tbsp olive oil, (18 grams)
- 1 1/2 tbsp light brown sugar, (18 grams)
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, (16 grams)
- 1 tsp Flavor God Garlic Lover’s Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- Fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Whisk together honey, 1 tbsp olive oil, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, garlic, Flavor God seasoning and dried parsley. Set aside.
- In a large oven safe skillet, heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and brown each side (about 1 minute per side). Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
- Add fingerling potatoes to the skillet over medium-high heat and toss in the browned bits and remaining oil. Allow potatoes to cook in the skillet for 3-5 minutes before topping with chicken. Brush chicken and potatoes with honey garlic mixture, saving about 2 tbsp for later.
- Bake chicken and potatoes at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then remove from oven. Set chicken aside and add green beans to the skillet. Place chicken on top of green beans and brush with remaining honey garlic mixture.
- Place skillet back in oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 345kcal (17%), Carbohydrates: 46g (15%), Protein: 31g (62%), Fat: 5g (8%), Cholesterol: 80mg (27%), Sodium: 185mg (8%), Potassium: 174mg (5%), Fiber: 7g (29%), Sugar: 15g (17%)
