The New Year is upon us, and we all seem to have things that we want to achieve. If you are transitioning to a nourishing lifestyle it can become overwhelming very quickly. It is easy to get frustrated with prep time, cooking and organizing.....No fear, Nourishing Mama is here(ok that was silly, but cute). To cut down on wasted food, unhealthy meals or boxed food, take one day a week to plan, shop and prep your meals for the week. It makes it SO MUCH EASIER!
You can get organized in a few hours and have all of your meals basically ready to put in the crock-pot or cook!
**I have switched to a mostly grain free diet, with the exception of white rice and some beans as long as they are prepared correctly.
I like to try and take one day a week(usually a Sunday) and prep all my veggies, fruit, meat and bake goodies for the week. I usually don’t get to do all of that in one day because of the millions of other things I have going on, but I try. I just do the best I can for the day.
I took about 1 1/2 hours to cut, peel, divide and basically get my meals prepped and organized for the week. My shopping is usually done on Saturday and I have my freezer stocked with frozen cuts of meat that I buy in bulk, so I just toss meals together. It is easier when I am prepared.
The following picture shows the prepped veggies divided out into batches. I also have some cottage cheese/cream cheese I was making and needed to stain some more whey out of it. [Note the coffee filter on top of glass Pyrex measuring cup] Prepped carrots and celery for lunches and I have a baggie full of carrot tops, celery ends and onion peels that will be used for the next batch of stock. This bag will stay in the freezer until I need it.
Here is the prep work. And yes, I still use plastic(GASP) I am working on that, but it’s really hard!
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| Prepped and organized goodies |
There are also cut strawberries and left over tops for the bunnies, my recipes for the week as well as my compost bucket aka-chicken scraps in this picture
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| you can see all the containers and prepped goodies. |
As you see, my counter space is VERY limited!
This weeks meal plan is something like this..
Monday-beef and kale soup(with leftover ground beef), with ‘french fries’(lard baked fries) and brussel sprouts with bacon-these were cooking while I was prepping.....
Tuesday-Turkey legs/thighs (in crock-pot), with white rice cooked in chicken stock and steamed broccoli
Wednesday- (NEW YEARS DAY 2014) Black eyes peas with ham, collards and squash casserole with banana upside down cake
Thursday- beef and broccoli in crock-pot with rice***
Friday-turkey soup (made with left over turkey) with all the good stuff, sweet potato fries
***Beef and Broccoli in Crockpot- use organic, local and seasonal veggies too!
1-2 pounds of any cut of beef(frozen)-steak, roast, chuck-local and pastured if possible.
1 head of broccoli washed and cut into bit size pieces
1 small onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
2 carrots diced
2 TBLS arrowroot powder(reserved)
2 TBLS sauce from crock pot after cooked
Sauce-combine until sugar is well dissolved
1/2 cup tamari(gluten free fermented soy sauce)
1/3 cups sugar(date, palm, coconut or you can use brown sugar for more intense flavor)
1 cup beef stock (or chicken) if you don’t have homemade-use water the store stuff is gross!
1 TBLS organic sesame oil
3 cloves garlic-minced
Directions:
Add frozen meat to bottom of crock(some people like to slice into pretty strips but I don’t have time for that so I just keep it whole. It will come out fork tender anyway so it is up to you) Add all veggies on top, then add combined sauce. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Pull apart beef and stir with veggies
Take out the 2 TBLS sauce after cooked and combine with arrowroot powder add back to crockpot and stir to combine all. Let thicken 15-20 minute while you cook rice to go with dinner. Easy as that!
I like to cook my rice in homemade stock for more flavor and nutrients.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Make 2014 the year for a healthier lifestyle!
REAL FOOD-REAL LIFE-REAL SIMPLE
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