Batch cooking at it's best!

Sunday funday is also a great day for batch cooking healthy meals for the week.  With a hungry husband and a even more hungry son batch cooking is a must or else I would spend endless hours in the kitchen during the week which is nearly impossible.  It is so important to have veggies and protein at each meal and I know if I did not prepare them in advance the family would grab easy snacks like cereal and crackers, etc. 

My batch cooking today focused on breakfast and lunch for the week.  Dinner seems to be simple these days we bake, grill or broil some meat, chicken or fish and roast or steam veggies on the side.  Lunch is where we have issues, if it is not brought from home it tends to be higher in salt and processed ingredients.  Breakfast has to be quick, high school starts too early and there is not time to actually "cook" breakfast in the morning.  I am fine with a meal replacement shake, but that is not an option for Ben or Ben Jr. in the morning because Lily is still asleep when they leave the house and running the blender would wake her.

Breakfast in bulk:

Egg Muffins...not the processed kind on the white flour buns!

Ingredients:
1-3 dozen free range eggs
1-2 c chopped veggies of your choice
1/2 c organic shredded cheese
1-2 lbs nitrate free bacon or sausage

Directions:
Brown the bacon or sausage in skillet or in oven
Chop veggies of choice (my guys like Jalapenos, but I personally love mushrooms and spinach)
Crack Free range eggs into a large pitcher with a spout (we do 1/2 whole eggs and 1/2 egg whites)
For a dozen muffins (6 whole eggs and 10 whites)
Whisk eggs until there is a froth
Pour into muffin non-stick tin
Drop cooked bacon, sausage and/or veggies into egg mixture
Top with a sprinkle of organic cheese
Bake on 350 for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Chili for lunch
In honor of Superbowl Sunday we made chili and per Ben's request I made extra for lunch the next day for both him and Lily, this little 18 month old loves some chili too!

Lily patiently sipping on her rice milk waiting for her chili to be done..."cheese"

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs grass fed beef
2 cans of organic chili beans (undrained)
2 cans of organic rotel
1 small can of organic tomato sauce
1 chopped onion
3-5 tbs. chili powder (to taste)
1-2 tbs of garlic powder
1-2 tbs cumin
1 tsp. Cayenne red pepper

Directions:
Brown grass fed beef
Add onion and cook until onion is clear
After beef is cooked through add beans, rotel and tomato sauce and stir
Add spices and stir through

Simmer for 2-4 hours, the longer the better

I love to serve with homemade guacamole, avocado slices and/or organic corn chips! 


Enjoy, happy Superbowl Sunday!

~Dana

Why don't we cook more? I think it boils down to the fact that we are over commited and lack of planning.

Lets face it fast food is a billion dollar industry for a reason... it is fast, easy, addicting and you can get it at almost all hours of the day.  You do not even have to get out of your car! The cons of fast food are obvious, it is unhealthy, it makes you fat, and most of the meals are juiced up with processed ingredients of poor quality that will send you to the doctor if you consume it too often. Unfortunately people like to ignore the reality and they feed their greasy salty habits. 

What if it were cheaper and quicker to cook a meal at home?  Not to mention you could lose weight, improve lipid, glucose, insulin, and blood pressure values.  It is simple, plan out your week of meals. Take some time, typically on Sunday or Saturday and think about what you want to cook for the week, make a menu and grocery list and stick to it.  Here is a easy week worth of meals. 

Monday - Crock pot turkey breast or roast.  Turkey breast or roast goes into the crock pot with carrots, onions, celery, herbs, spices and some organic broth and let the crock pot  do the rest of the work.  Serve beside quinoa, and a dark leafy green salad. 

Tuesday- Fish tacos (if you are not into fish you can use turkey or sirloin) - pan fry tilapia, add a little paprika, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper with chopped onion and bell peppers.  Cook until fish is done and serve over small corn tortillas with salsa, plain Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream), and shredded organic cheese.  If you are watching the starches serve the fish blend over cabbage cups or Boston lettuce cups. 

Wednesday- steak and potatoes... well not really, how about grilled steak and mashed cauliflower? Steam cauliflower till soft, blend in food processor, add a tab of organic butter, garlic, plain Greek yogurt, milk (I use coconut), sea salt, and chives.  If you like green as much as I do, roast some brussel sprouts in evoo with black pepper, minced garlic and a tiny dash of sea salt. The sprouts go in 350 for 20-30 minutes. 

Thursday- Shrimp stir fry.  Saute shrimp and stir fry veggie of your choice in lite soy sauce, organic broth, evoo, small tab of organic butter, spices, include, ginger, Cayenne pepper, minced garlic, etc.  Can serve over a grain like brown rice or quinoa, if you are watching your starches double veggies and skip the grains.

Friday - bun less burger and sweet potato fries.  this one is simple, grill the burgers serve over lettuce with all of the fixins, you can buy the organic sweet potato fries pre-cut in the bag or slice them yourself and toss with evoo and I bake them till crispy. For the green serve beside a leafy green salad, roasted brussel sprouts or grill asparagus or green beans while you are grilling the burgers. 



Saturday- we go out :-) 

Sunday - since it has been football season I have been making homemade chili so the boys can eat during football. Ground sirloin, onion, beans, rotel and cumin and chili powder.   I serve mine with homemade quac, plain Greek yogurt, dash of cheese and green onions!  Organic corn chips are okay in moderation, don't got crazy!

There you have it, a weeks worth of healthy meals!  I will be honest most of these meals take less then 30 minutes to prepare.  Train to multi-task... while something is roasting, grilling or baking chop something else or set the table, etc.  It's not complicated, it just takes a little planning!