Meal Prep February 2019

As I was planning out my meals this week, always rush, rush, rushing to get it all done, photograph it, do a blog post about it, and get right back to studying, I started asking myself why do I still do this given it eats into study time? And it’s because it is so. incredibly. hard. to know what to eat, how to prep, and what / when to eat throughout the day. And it’s not taught in a normal academic setting, and takes a lot of practice. I received a comment once that asked about calorie counting and macro counting to a post like this. My response was that I don’t prescribe to that method of eating, and instead try to listen to cues. 

And I don’t think this is always intuitive. It takes work and conscious effort every single day. So I encourage you to actively show up to every meal. Maybe chew a few more items this week, consciously eating at the dinner table rather than stooped over the counter. When you are an active participant to the foods you eat, rather than a mindless muncher, it starts to get a little bit easier. Savoring, rather than rushing. 

And also because I love it! The hardest thing about grad school is getting into a routine and maintain some semblance of sanity amongst the chaos. Planning new flavors and meals challenges me to be creative when I’m otherwise feeling overwhelmingly right brained and studying all the time. 

I love doing this and providing ideas in a way that’s accessible and affordable. Things that are simple and doable and motivate creativity in the kitchen. 

So yes! A new meal plan guide is up! This one oddly enough ended up being vegetarian. Meal ideas, grocery list, recipes, and three day meal plan below!

Breakfast: 

• spinach banana smoothie 
• toast with avocado + egg / nut butter + hemp seeds
• overnight oats with almond butter and blackberries

Snacks: 

• sweet potatoes with hummus or avocado
• carrots with hummus 
• celery with nut butter
• banana + almond butter
• kale salad 
• chocolate tahini muffin
• blackberries / dried mango and almonds

Meals:

• kale salad with sweet potatoes 
• zucchini noodle broth ramen 
• veggie chili 
• scrambled eggs with sautéed leftover veggies (carrots, celery, onions, kale)

Ingredients:

• bananas
• blackberries
• dried mango
• kale 
• carrots
• celery
• lemons (2) 
• limes (2)
• onions (2)
• scallions (1)
• large sweet potatoes (2)
• zucchini noodles 
• green cabbage 
• garlic
• ginger
• vegetable broth
• almond milk
• avocado (2)
• 1 can kidney beans 
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can corn 
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• 1 can coconut milk
• almonds
• oats 
• toast
• hemp seeds
• hummus
• hot sauce 
• eggs (6)
• cacao powder 
• maple syrup
• coconut aminos or soy sauce
• tahini 
• frozen spinach
• frozen peas
• lemongrass
• spices: cinnamon, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, nutritional yeast, baking soda / baking powder, vanilla extract 

Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt 
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• let soak overnight. top with almond butter and blackberries in the morning

Chocolate almond butter banana smoothie: 

• 1/2 cup frozen spinach 
• 1 frozen banana 
• 1 tbsp almond butter 
• 1 tbsp cacao powder 
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds 
• 1-2 cups almond milk 
• sprinkle of cinnamon 

Veggie Chili

• 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
• 1 cup peeled and chopped celery
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic, chopped
• 1 can kidney beans 
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can corn 
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• 1 cup vegetable broth 
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• sprinkles of salt and pepper 
• 1-2 tbsp hot sauce (I use the siete brand)

1. Toss all in the crock pot on high for 4 hours.

Sweet potatoes

• sweet potatoes (2)
• olive oil (for pan spray)
• spices: nutritional yeast, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Chop sweet potatoes, cover with olive oil, and add spices 
3. Cook for 40-55 min

Kale Tahini Salad 

• bundle of kale 
• 2 tbsp tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp nutrition yeast 
• salt and pepper 
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds 

1. Combine dressing ingredients and massage into kale
2. Top with hemp seeds 

Zucchini noodle broth soup

• 2 cups zucchini noodles 
• 1 cup chopped green cabbage
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic 
• juice from 2 limes
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 sprig lemongrass
• 2 cups peas 
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute cabbage with olive oil in a big saute wok pan 
2. Add can of coconut milk, then add water to the can and add it to the pan
3. Add lime juice, coconut aminos, lemongrass, ginger, garlic 
4. Add peas and zucchini noodles
5. Cook until peas are al dente 

 

A day of eating:

Day 1

breakfast: 2 tahini chocolate muffins drizzled with a little tahini and sprinkled with cinnamon. 1 cup of coffee. LOTS of water.

lunch: 2 cups kale salad with hemp seeds sprinkled + sweet potatoes fries + 1 cup blackberries 

snack: 1 handful of almonds + 1 handful dried mangoes 

dinner: 1.5 cups veggie chili with 1/2 avocado + dark chocolate + tea

Day 2

breakfast: chocolate almond butter banana smoothie + coffee + water

lunch: 1.5 cups veggie chili with 1/2 avocado + 1 handful dried mango

snack: 

dinner: zucchini noodle broth soup + dark chocolate + tea

Day 3:

breakfast: overnight oats with almond butter + blackberries

lunch: zucchini noodle broth soup + banana

snack: 2 tahini chocolate muffins

dinner: kale salad + hummus + hemp seeds + sweet potato fries + dark chocolate + tea

Any suggestions? Things you’d like to see more of? Please leave them below!