Quick & Easy Weekly Meal Prep!

 Today I'm going to share with you my weekly meal prep routine! It usually takes me under two hours and I prep enough meals for five days of lunches and dinners.

Warning - if you get bored of the same food everyday, don't follow along. Watch for inspiration maybe or perhaps to get ideas of what you can make. I'm a creature of habit and is not easily bored, so I typically eat the same thing everyday throughout the week.

Watch the video here!

So for my weekly meal prep, I usually do a Trader Joe's run (whoohoo!) and purchase the following:

- 1lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs

- 1lb 85/15 ground beef

- Bagged salad kit

- Frozen veggies (this week was brocolli)

- 1 dozen eggs (breakfasts)

- Garlic basil pasta sauce

Plus the following that I don't have to purchase weekly and usually have on hand (bought every 3 weeks maybe):

- Basmati rice

- Pasta

- Oat milk (breakfasts)

- Frozen berries (breakfasts)

- Kodiak protein pancake mix (breakfasts and not from TJ's, sorry!)

- Zucchini (for some reason, zucchini lasts a long time in the fridge)

This week's menu was Instant Pot chicken thighs, rice, and broccoli for lunch and pasta with meatsauce and zucchini for dinner!

Here's my meal prep process:

If I have veggies I can roast in the oven (sometimes I'll roast the zucchini to give it some flavor but I didn't this week), I slice my veggies, throw them on an oven sheet lined with foil, and I'll season the veggies with olive oil, salt, and pepper and then toss it into the oven for 15-20 minutes at 375. This makes it super easy and quick to make the veggies, as all I have to do is prep them and forget about them.

I'll usually put the rice into the Instant Pot next. I always coat the bottom of the IP pot with non-stick spray (I have the coconut oil spray from TJ's) just in case. For five meals, I'll use 2-3 cups of basmati rice with 3-4 cups of water in the IP for 4 minutes on high pressure cook. It takes about 10 minutes total for the rice to be done.

While my rice is going, I'll start my dinner prep - pasta goes into boiling water and cooks for 8-10 minutes while I have my ground beef cooking in a pan. I usually season my ground beef with a generous sprinkle of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Once the meat has browned to my liking, I'll keep the burner on low while I wait for the pasta to finish cooking. Once the pasta is done, I strain out the water, and mix my pasta sauce, veggies that are now out the oven, and ground beef in the pot before adding the pasta back in. Super easy, quick and simple.

If I'm quick enough, my dinner could possibly be done before my rice is done cooking. I'll usually let my IP naturally release the pressure and use that time to do some dishes so my sink doesn't overflow with dirty dishes. When the IP is done releasing pressure, I'll portion out my rice amongst my lunch containers and then quickly wash the pot and set it aside to dry.

Now we season the chicken thighs. Same seasoning - garlic powder, salt, and pepper. And if I'm feeling it we'll add some oregano. Anyways, I coat the thighs liberally with the seasoning and set those aside while I set up the Instant Pot again.

We are going to start by saute-ing the chicken thighs to get them a little crispy. So I'll add a little over a tablespoon of olive oil to the IP as it's heating up on saute mode. I usually wait about 2 minutes and then arrange the chicken thighs on the bottom of the pot. If it's hot enough, you'll hear the hiss of oil when the thighs touch the bottom of the pot. If it's not, don't worry - it'll get hot in a few minutes.

I'll saute the thighs for 1-2 minutes each side and then remove them from the IP. Using a spatula, I'll scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck pieces, turning the pot off, and then add 1 cup of water to the pot. Inserting the IP trivet, I'll stack the thighs on top of the trivet and then close the IP and turn it onto high pressure cooking for 8 minutes.

You're left with tender, melt-in-your-mouth chicken thighs. Once my chicken thighs are done, my veggies that have been in the oven are typically done as well. All that's left to do is dish my meals, clean up, and put the meals in the fridge! Then I'm all set for the week!