No Time, No Problem!

Don’t think you have enough time to meal prep or don’t want to be in the kitchen for a long period of time on your off day? No problem. Meal prepping does NOT have to take long at all! There are different methods to meal prepping.

Some people like to meal prep using a crock pot where you can put everything into one pot and let it sit through the day and its done that night decreasing the amount of time in the kitchen.

Here is a recipe that takes 4 hours in a crock pot from http://www.themagicalslowcooker.com

SEASONED CHICKEN, POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS

Author: Sarah Olson

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  4 hours

Total time:  4 hours 15 mins

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5- 2lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• ½ lb. fresh green beans, trimmed (about 2.5 cups)
• 1.25 lb. diced red potatoes (about 4 cups)
• ⅓ cup FRESH lemon juice
• ¼ cup olive oil (sub light olive oil)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. salt (sub sea salt)
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• ¼ tsp. onion powder
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Start by placing the chicken in a 6-quart slow cooker, in the center. Next add the green beans on one side. Then for the potatoes, you will need to mound them high off to the other side.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic cloves.
3. Pour this mixture evenly over the chicken, green beans and potatoes.
4. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.
5. Note- Do NOT use lemon juice out of squeeze bottle and expect this to taste good! 🙂

 

Another method is with the oven. Using a tin foil pan you can quickly season your chicken, potatoes, and vegetables of your choice and throw it all in together to cook. I always cover the top with foil to lock in juice and flavor.

The traditional method that I enjoy to do when I have time is stove top. I cook everything in pots and pans on top of the stove all at once. Normally I start with heating my water followed by seasoning all of my meats and vegetables. I cook with just a little olive oil but not too much. This method is quick only when you are organized! If you head into the kitchen not knowing what you want to cook or what all you need to cook it is going to be time consuming. Before I even head into the grocery store I aready have planned what I will need to cook what I want. Organization is key to any of these methods or you will find yourself making multiple trips to the grocery store to pick up that one item you might have forgot to get.

 

My seasonings of choice whenever I meal prep are Flavor God & Soul Fit Grill which can both be ordered online. Flavor God was the first seasoning that I discovered online through my fitness community on instagram. Every person that was meal prepping were using Flavor God seasoning because it had such great taste and no sodium! Plus he offers his seasonings in a variety of flavors from dynamite, chipotle, limited edition cajun to chocolate donuts! Definitely order his combo set to get a variety of seasonings!

Soul Fit Grill is another favorite seasoning that is low in sodium and you can put it on anything! Its like the healthy version of tony chachere so you can season fish, chicken, lean beef, anything with it!! Its my favorite of the two brands.