Prepare a large pot of rice (or quinoa), a tray of chicken breasts (or a whole baked chicken) and/or an array of chopped veggies to get you through your week. You’ll find that having cooked “staples” ready to assemble or add to a meal will make your weekly meals much easier to prepare.
Ways to Enjoy Batch-Cooked Chicken:
If you’ve got a batch of cooked chicken (baked whole, baked legs, breasts & or thighs), here are some recipes you can make during the week:
- Easy Saag Chicken by Cara Harbstreet, StreetSmartNutrition
- Shred it up, and toss it is a Taco Salad (or check out my yummy Gingered Apple Confetti Slaw with Chicken) or in a Homemade Taco with plenty of veggies!
- Make Vered DeLeeuw’s Chinese Chicken Salad* using chicken chunks and you can vary up the textures using mandarin oranges (and/or shredded carrots), sliced almonds over your bed of crisp greens.
- Make a Chicken and Veggie Stir-fry.
Ways to Add in Your Crunchy Veggies:
You can’t go wrong with pre-chopped veggies, fresh or frozen veggie blends (like the combo pictured above) or a package of ready-to-eat leafy greens and greens blends such as Cruciferous Crunch (okay – I had to plug this one from Trader Joes). I always like to rinse although there are many packaged items that are “triple washed, ready-to-eat”. Try my Sweet & Tangy Coleslaw for my Sweet Curry Coleslaw (using your choice of chopped cabbage blend or cruciferous mix for the base)
Put them in a pan and make a stir-fry, add in some protein and whole grains and you are all set! Here’s a great recipe by Savvy Eats for seasoning your stir-fry.
“I love broccoli slaw for easy meals: rice bowls, tuna salad, stir fry and in my chicken lettuce wraps recipe.” Janine Faber, MEd, RDN, LD, Janine Faber Nutrition.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps by Janine Faber
Casseroles, Frittata’s, etc:
You can simply make an egg frittata to get in some protein and veggies. (A frittata is basically a crustless quiche). Try this Zucchini Ricotta Lemon Frittata by yours truly.
And check out these other great options:
5-minute Egg Bake by Josten Fish, MuscleAndManna.com
Baked Mushroom & Leek Frittata by Jessica Levinson, JessicaLevinson.com
Veggie Pasta Bake by Sarah Schlichter, BucketLIstTummy
Banana & Carrot Protein Muffins by Jeannette Kimszal
How You can Use your Pre-Cooked Grains:
From Grain Bowls to Simple Grains Salads, you can do a lot with a batch of cooked whole grains. See how these dietitians prepare their grains into beautiful, satisfying dishes, like my Rainbow Quinoa, Corn and Red Bean Salad.
Jessica Ivy says, “I cook large batches of whole grains (like quinoa, sorghum, or brown rice) and dried beans in my Instant Pot and freeze in 1-cup containers for quick meals like these:
Quinoa and Black Bean PowerBowl by Jessica Ivy
Mediterranean Quinoa and Tuna Balanced Bowl by Jessica Ivy
“My favorite way to combine a variety of foods is Bowls.” says Jean Caton
“I have been using a variety of beans lately in soups, chili, quesadillas, grain bowls. You can cook a big batch or use low sodium canned,” says Janet Brancato, MS, RDN www.mynutopia.com
“I cook a large batch of steel cut oats then season them with different things like vanilla, ginger, orange zest and cinnamon. I like to mix in chopped walnuts, almonds or ground flaxseed.” — Lisa Andrews, Sound Bites Nutrition http://soundbitesnutrition.com
Here are some more great ideas:
How to Build a Grain Bowl by Leanne Ray
Citrus Quinoa Salad with Prunes by Amy Gorin
Ground-breaking Grain Bowl by Judith Scharman Draughon
Making Good Use of those Hard Boiled Eggs:
Hard-boiled eggs are great to have on hand, because they are a simple “grab-n-go” snack and are an easy protein to add to a variety of dishes. My girls like to make deviled eggs (pictured above) by mixing in about 2 tsp of mayo per 4 egg yolks – they mash it up well, scoop back into the egg whites and sprinkle with Sumac.
“For hard boiled eggs, 22 minutes from the time you start cooking makes perfect and easy to peel eggs!” says Stephanie Ambrose.
How to Make Perfectly Boiled Eggs by Stephanie Ambrose
Avocado Deviled Eggs with Smoked Paprika by Amy Gorin
