Weekly Meal Prep - Part 2 - Prepare Your Ingredients
This is Part 2 of our weekly meal prep. For detailed a grocery list, please see Part 1.
www.thewell-nourishedbrain.com/blog/weekly-meal-prep-part-1-get-ready
Now that we are set to begin, we will be preparing all of the components above - three starches (quinoa, black rice, and potatoes), four proteins (tofu, garbanzos, black beans, and edamame), a ton of different veggies, two sauces (peanut sauce and cilantro crema), and a variety of toppings and nutrition boosters.
Step 3: Put Your Grains On:
Add 2-4 cups of rice or farro to your rice cooker (depending on your family size), add water to appropriate level, push start.
Add 2-3 cups quinoa to a pan. Add twice as much water as quinoa. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook until water is evaporated (approximately 10 minutes).
Take off heat and leave covered for another 10 minutes, fluff with a fork.
Step 4: Put items in the oven.
Make sure oven is preheated to 400
Line cookie sheets with parchment
Tofu:
You can press your tofu. I just pat mine off with a paper towel. I generally cook 2-4 blocks at a time.
Cut the tofu into cubes.
Put the tofu on the cookie sheet, top with soy sauce and sriracha. I don't have exact amounts for this. I literally just pour some of each over the top.
Use your hands or roll the tofu gently in the parchment paper to coat.
Sprinkle with salt.
Put in pre-heated oven.
Bake until at your preferred level of crispiness, flipping once half-way.
By the time you prep your tofu, your quinoa should be close to done. Check on it.
Potatoes:
If you have opted to include potatoes, cook these at the same time as the tofu.
Wash and cut the potatoes into bite sized cubes.
Top with salt, and pop them in the oven with the tofu.
Stir these occasionally until they are cooked through and crispy.
When they are done, squeeze a lime over them, sprinkle them with chili powder, smoked paprika, or chipotle chili powder. Add more salt to taste.
Step 5: Prep your frozen veg and canned beans.
Edamame -
Put on a pot of water to boil.
Boil edamame for approximately 6 minutes, or until they are done but not mushy.
Strain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.
Cool fully, then put in a storage container.
Frozen Corn -
Open the bag, and put corn in a storage container. No need to thaw it first.
Canned Beans -
Open a can of garbanzos and a can of black beans (or two of each depending on your family size).
Rinse these separately.
Put these in separate storage containers.
Step 6: Prep your veggies.
This week, we are going to just use a knife, as not everyone will have a food processor. Please feel free to use the slicing blade on your food processor, if that is easier for you.
Thinly slice a half a purple cabbage
Peel and then cube or thinly slice 4-6 carrots
Chop 2-3 bell peppers into bite-sized pieces
Cup snap peas or snow peas into bite-sized pieces
Wash, dry, and chop a head of romaine
Clip the ends off of one of the bunches of cilantro and put this in a glass of water for easy trimming. You can put this in the fridge or leave it on the counter like cut flowers.
I generally wait to cut the cherry tomatoes, avocados, and fruit until right before a meal. They don't hold up as well when chopped ahead of time.
Step 7: Toast your seeds.
Sesame Seeds:
You will need toasted WHITE sesame seeds for the peanut sauce.
Put 3 heaping Tablespoons of white sesame seeds a small non-stick skillet.
Toast on medium until they are golden and start popping.
Stay with them, shaking the pan frequently. They burn easily.
When done, put these in a bowl to be combined with the peanut butter for the peanut sauce.
Pepitas:
Put a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pepitas in the same pan.
Sprinkle them with salt
Toast these on medium until they are golden.
These burn easily, so watch them constantly, shaking the pan as needed.
Put these in a little container for use on your burrito bowls.
Don't cover them until they are fully cool, or they will get soft in the fridge.
Step 8: Make your sauces.
PEANUT SAUCE
www.thewell-nourishedbrain.com/blog/oil-free-peanut-sauce
Needed equipment:
A high speed-blender, such as a Vitamix. You can make the sauce without a high-speed blender, and it will still taste terrific. It just won't have that classically smooth peanut sauce texture.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
¼ cup smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
~ 1 tablespoon (one small knob) of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
Juice from 3 small limes
Sriracha (start with a teaspoon and add more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Method:
Top the sesame seeds you toasted in the last step with the 1/4 cup of peanut butter.
Stir these two ingredients together until the sesame seeds are fully incorporated into the peanut butter. This step ensures that your sauce with be smooth and creamy. Without it, your sesame seeds will fly all over the container of the high-speed blender and your sauce will be lumpy.
Put the peanut-sesame mixture into the bowl of your high-speed blender.
Add the remaining ingredients.
Blend until smooth.
Depending on how thick your peanut butter was, you may need to add more lime juice or a TBS of water at a time until creamy, scraping down the sides of the container, as needed.
Adjust your seasonings to your taste.
Rinse blender bowl and lid.
CILANTRO CREMA
www.thewell-nourishedbrain.com/blog/oil-free-cilantro-crema
Put the following ingredients into the pitcher of the blender:
14-ounce package silken tofu
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic
1 bunch of cilantro, including the tender stems
1-2 jalapenos (Start with half of one and add to taste. I used 2 large jalapenos including seeds because we like it spicy.)
Juice from 1-3 limes (Start with the juice of 1 lime and add more as desired. I used all three.)
Splash of tamari (optional)
Dash of cumin (optional)
Adjust your seasonings to your taste
Pour sauces into jars with sealing lids.
Step 9: Put everything into containers.
Let cool fully before putting on lids, and then refrigerate.
Now that you are fully prepped for the week, please see Weekly Meal Prep - Part 3 for ways to combine these components into delicious easy meals.
www.thewell-nourishedbrain.com/blog/weekly-meal-prep-part-3-meal-ideas
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