This Is This Week

This week featured some meal prepping WINS.

I mean, I might be biased, but I felt like the food this week was on point. 

And I managed to get it all done in roughly 2 hours on a Sunday.

Here’s what I made:

1. Chocolate chickpea pancakes with peanut butter and raspberry fruit spread (topped with fresh raspberries) 
2. Southwestern inspired jar salads: brown rice, black beans, corn, zucchini, tomato, and bell pepper layered in a jar with a delicious oil-free cilantro dressing at the bottom (see below for the recipe)
3. Peruvian chicken thighs with roasted potatoes, broccoli and black beans
4. Simple tuna salad
5. Breakfast fried rice: leftover brown rice sauteed with diced bacon, onions, and corn and topped with fried eggs
6. Hungarian mushroom soup: simply thawed from my freezer and portioned into jars for the week!
7. Chopped vegetables for the midday snack attacks: celery, cucumber, bell peppers
8. Extra roasted potatoes and broccoli for later in the week
9. Sauteed cabbage and mushrooms tossed with a little soy sauce and chili crisp

The last two items will make for easy dinners that I can throw together in the evenings. I love having some items I can mix and match! 

I ended up with leftover drippings from the Peruvian chicken, so I turned those into gravy by adding a tiny bit of flour and simmering it until thickened. I strained this through a mesh sieve and reserved some in a jar to top potatoes and broccoli for one evening meal.

On another night, I might add some quickly sauteed tofu or just add some broccoli to the spicy soy cabbage mix for an Asian-inspired dinner.

The jar salad was definitely my favorite item of the week. The dressing was just so flavorful and the beans and rice made this a super hearty salad – satisfying even in the chilly spring weather we are experiencing where I live.

Oil-free Cilantro Salad Dressing

• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/4 cup unsweetened sunflower seed butter (or cashew or almond butter would be delicious too)
• 2 limes, juices
• A hefty pinch of salt
• 2 small garlic cloves
• Water to thin to the right consistency

I dumped all these ingredients in a wide mouth mason jar and used my immersion blender to puree until a smooth and creamy dressing formed. I ended up with about 2 cups of dressing but this will vary based on how much water you  need to reach your desired consistency.

My tip: use the cilantro stems too (cutting off only the very bottoms) to reduce food waste and maximize flavor!

We also had leftover banana muffins in the fridge from A’s mom, so altogether, our fridge was very well stocked to start the work week!

I’m loving having such a variety of foods available to mix and match. I’m getting excited thinking about next week’s meal prep!