Back to Basics – Meal Prep

This week for Cooking Day we did a “back to basics” class.

We commonly hear people say “eating healthy is too expensive” and it’s just not true! Yes, organic is more expensive then non-organic food. However, when you learn how to navigate the grocery store it becomes quite affordable.

For this month’s Cooking Day, I shopped at Kroger and bought all the groceries I would to meal prep for my typical week. Everything all together was only $63.00 and it would last me all week! While I normally shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joes, I wanted to give Kroger a shot. There were not as many organic options but still quite a bit! Whenever I grocery shop, I pick out a different green vegetable for some of my dinners for that week. This time I got asparagus, last week was broccollini, and the week before brussel sprouts. It’s fun to mix it up! When I buy too much variety at a time, some of my veggies go bad, so I stick to a theme and have less waste.

Here is a list of food that I got for class. I included all of the recipes! Use this as your meal prep for next week! These are all the ingredients you will need, plus a little extra for back up.

    • 1 bunch Spinach
    • 1 bunch Romaine Lettuce
    • 1 bunch Curly Kale
    • 1 bag Raw Slaw Mix (for salads)
    • 2 packages pre-cut Cremini Mushrooms
    • 1 bunch Asparagus
    • 1 head Cauliflower
    • 1 Yellow Onion
    • 4 Bell Peppers (assorted colors)
    • 2 Lemons
    • 2 heads Garlic
    • 1 package Organic Sprouted Tofu
    • 1 small bag Organic Sprouted Quinoa
    • 1 small bag Organic Raw Unsalted Cashews
    • 8 cans Organic Chickpeas (they were on sale you will only need 2 cans for the recipe)
    • 1 carton Organic Vegetable Broth
    • Hemp Hearts (I found a hemp heart seasoning that was great on the quinoa!)
    • Organic Dijon Mustard
    • Organic Balsamic Vinegar
    • Liquid Aminos
    • Nutritional Yeast
    • I used the following spices (Oregano, Paprika, Thyme, Rosemary) You can use those or substitute your favorites!

Here are the links to all the recipes! I live alone and all of these recipes serve me for at least 2 meals. If you are looking to meal prep, and cooking for more people, multiply the recipes by the number of people and you will be good to go!

The 20-Minute Quinoa Dinner is my dinner a few times each week! I typically add something to it each time I heat it up so I am not eating the same thing all the time.

Nicole’s Go-To Dinner is literally, my GO TO, mushrooms and tofu are probably my favorite foods!

The 3-Minute Salad is SO FAST and will last all week. I normally get four lunches out of it.

Nicole’s Cheese Sauce is a crowd pleaser and great for snacking with bell peppers or your favorite veggies. The Oil-Free Hummus is too!

The Hummus Salad Dressing I always make right after the hummus. It saves the time of cleaning the blender and is DELICIOUS.

You can cook all of these things at once or you can cook as you go along the week. My demonstration took a little over an hour. Not a bad time investment to set yourself up for the week! 🙂

Quinoa is SUPER easy to make, just simply add quinoa to some boiling water, let simmer for about 15-20 minutes and wa-la! Quinoa is also a staple food when you are doing our detox. We added mushrooms, and onions because of their anti-cancer benefits and… because they are SO tasty! Quinoa can be a little bland without other vegetables or spices to give it some flavor. BUT,  it absorbs whatever flavors are added to the dish… so get creative! In this dish I added some hemp heart seasoning and loved it. If you make a big batch of this at the beginning of the week you will be good to go for multiple tasty meals.

Click here for the recipe.

Tofu scrambles are SO easy to make. While tofu is not detox-friendly, it can still be a part of a healthy diet. Soy isn’t bad, technically, it is just SO PROCESSED. Make sure you buy organic tofu to avoid the potential contamination of soy products. There is a variety of types of tofu out there, my favorite type is extra firm and favorite brand is Organic Sprouted Trader Joes. With tofu, it’s all about the SPICES.

Along with the tofu I add some steamed greens, sautéed mushrooms, and typically some avocado.

Click here for the recipe.

3- Minute Salad

The name says it all! This salad is so simple! Use some large Tupperware containers to combine your greens, add some beans and whatever veggies you like! Then store it away. As you go through your week, add hummus for your dressing or the hummus salad dressing.

If you wanted to save even more time (1-minute salad?!?) buy lettuce that’s organic, pre-packaged, and pre-washed. I like to add pre-packed raw slaw to add some crunch.

I always have romaine in my fridge! You can cut it up for a salad or if you just break off a leaf you can easily make a romaine boat snack… add some hummus and some pre-cut up peppers and wa-la. When you are meal prepping your food, cut up some raw veggies for a quick snack throughout your week.

Click here for the recipe.

5-Minute Hummus, Hummus Salad Dressing, and Nicole’s Cheese Sauce

These 3 sauces are the only dressings you need all week! They are easily interchangeable! You can add them to a salad, zoodles, a stir-fry, or use them for dipping your veggies in. Most store-bought dressings are filled with dairy, sugar, and oil so you need to be creative and make your own.

Click here for the hummus recipe.

Click here for the hummus salad dressing recipe.

Click here for the cheese sauce recipe.

Making changes to your diet and lifestyle is hard in the beginning. Eventually, it becomes easy. You just need to develop some new HEALTHY habits. I hope these recipes help you on your journey!

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