Health-Bent

Shop, Prep & Eat for the Week

—

by

Megan Keatley
in


I warned Brandon not to expect this to happen every week…it’s a lot of planning and a lot of upfront, no instant gratification type of work. But then, as the week went by and all I had to do was reach in the fridge, re-heat various piles of food and clean up NOTHING but a couple of bowls–I actually thought that this may just be the new way I do things. The drudgery of Sunday was most definitely reaped well into the week. Added bonus, all the new found free time allowed me to finally start unsubscribing from all the annoying email newsletters I get.

Shopping List (by recipe)

[one_third]

Greek Meatballs

  • 1 lb lamb
  • 1 lb beef
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 egg
  • fresh mint
  • dried oregano
  • dried onion flakes
  • feta (optional)

[/one_third][one_third]

Greek Chopped Salad

  • 1 English (also called Hot House) cucumber
  • green onions
  • 1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes
  • kalamata olives
  • pepperoncini peppers
  • arugula greens
  • 1 lemon
  • red wine vinegar
  • fresh mint
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • feta (optional)

[/one_third]
[one_third_last]

Unrolled Cabbage Casserole

  • 1 small head green cabbage
  • 3/4 lb ground beef
  • 3/4 lb ground pork
  • dried onion flakes
  • granulated garlic
  • paprika
  • smoked paprika
  • cinnamon
  • 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
  • coconut or table sugar

[/one_third_last][one_third]

General Tso’s Chicken

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • chicken stock
  • reduced-sodium, wheat-free soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
  • rice vinegar (or apple cider)
  • sunflower seed butter
  • molasses
  • 1 lime
  • red chili flakes (+ sriracha or chili garlic sauce for extra spiciness)
  • dried onion flakes
  • granulated garlic
  • powdered ginger
  • green onions
  • nuts (cashews or macadamias), for garnish

[/one_third] [one_third]

Creole Breakfast Casserole

  • 12 ounces andouille sausage
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 jalapeño
  • 1 yellow onion
  • eggs
  • hot sauce
  • worcestershire sauce

[/one_third] [one_third_last]

Supplemental Snacks

  • hard boiled eggs
  • jerky
  • sardines
  • fruit

    • [/one_third_last]

    Shopping List (by type & quantity)

    [one_half]

    Meats

    • 1.75 pounds ground beef
    • 1 pound ground lamb
    • 3/4 pound ground pork
    • 12 ounces andouille sausage
    • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
    • 2 dozen eggs
    • sardines or other canned fish (for supplemental snack)
    • Dairy Option: feta cheese

    [/one_half][one_half_last]
    Produce

    • 2 lemons
    • 1 lime
    • 1 pack green onions
    • 1 green bell pepper
    • 1 yellow onion
    • 1 jalapeño
    • 1 small green cabbage
    • small package of arugula
    • 1 pint grape/cherry tomatoes
    • 1 Hot House cucumber
    • fresh mint
    • fruit (for supplemental snack/dessert)

    [/one_half_last][one_half]
    Cans, Jars, Bottles

    • kalamata olives
    • pepperoncini peppers
    • 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
    • 1 quart (or smaller) chicken stock

    [/one_half][one_half_last]
    Spices, Herbs, Oils, Etc.

    • red wine vinegar
    • rice vinegar (or apple cider)
    • sunflower seed butter
    • dried oregano
    • granulated garlic
    • dehydrated onion flakes
    • powdered ginger
    • hot sauce
    • worcestershire sauce
    • molasses
    • coconut or regular sugar

    [/one_half_last]

    Prep & Cook Sequence

    1. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Print out recipes.
    2. Prepare Greek Meatball mixture and form into balls. – 10 minutes
    3. Bake meatballs. – 30 minutes
    4. Meanwhile, start cabbage water. Core & cut cabbage. Simmer and drain. – 15 minutes
    5. Prepare & saute meat and tomato sauce. – 15 minutes
    6. Assemble and bake Unrolled Cabbage Casserole – 1 to 1.5 hours
    7. Meanwhile, prepare Greek Chopped Salad and refrigerate. – 15 minutes
    8. Also, while cabbage bakes, prepare General Tso’s Chicken on stovetop. – 25 minutes
    9. Clean dishes and start to get kitchen back in order. – 15 minutes
    10. Saute sausage & veggies for Creole Breakfast Casserole. – 10 minutes
    11. Assemble and bake casserole; bake alongside the cabbage if necessary. – 30 minutes
    12. And finally, if you’re feeling up to it, boil a dozen eggs. – 15 minutes

     

Comments

24 responses to “Shop, Prep & Eat for the Week”

  1. Holly

    This is awesome. I hope you continue to do this (since it sounds like so much fun) :)! But seriously this is really helpful and something I need to start doing.

    Reply
  2. Maggie

    I really like your recipes, but it’s also a lot of fun to see this aspect of your cooking! Glad I’m not the onto see some more food nerds organizes and cooks a week’s worth of food at once. 🙂 I’m never quite so organized on the prep & cook sequence, though — good idea to plan that out as well.

    Reply
  3. Cheryl

    This is great! I know the secret to keeping me paleo is to have food pre-prepared for during the week but planning it out is so difficult. Please consider doing a couple more weeks of this. it would help so many people.

    Reply
  4. PatrickP

    I just did this except for General Tso’s Chicken. I’m beat.

    Reply
  5. Margot

    Um what this is amazing. You should post different versions always 🙂 Thank you for making my day.

    Reply
  6. Denise

    Just found your blog this morning! I went out shopping and made the list except salad. Didnt take that long and now im set for the week. Thank you!!!!! Please post more of these weekly menus as they deffinately save me alot of time during the week.

    Reply
  7. Stacey

    Just shopped and made all these delicious meals and it only took 3.75 hours and that included shopping and clean up. Thanks so much.

    Reply
  8. Robyn

    Was this all your food for the week? Or just dinners? With 4 kids, I can’t remember what it looks like to feed 2 people. I can’t physically make all our food ahead … but I often do get everything chopped and prepped, so all I have to do is grab, mix, and cook. If I’m digging out (and cleaning) the food processor, I like to make it worthwhile!

    Reply
  9. Kelsey

    This is fabulous. I may have to try this. We’re just starting out on Paleo and planning meals just gets a bit overwhelming. You rock.

    Reply
  10. Rachel

    When we are on our A game this is how we cook as well.

    We try to make it fun by cooking and prepping together. Our 3 yr old often comes in and ‘helps’ or sits on a stool and watches. We usually make two main meals/dinner, a breakfast casserole, mayo and then prep all of our veggies for the rest of the week. Later in the week I might have a chicken to roast but all of the sides are ready for it or all of the veggies are cut up and just need a quick stir fry.
    It really does pay off as the week progresses and the meals are just waiting for you.

    PS. Other thing that makes it easier: online grocery ordering with delivery. I meal plan most weeks so they have a history of my orders that I can choose from and just repeat whatever was on the meal plan that week. So simple.

    Reply
  11. Erika

    Thank you for this. It makes your recipes much easier to use.

    Reply
  12. Jen

    Today is well, Sunday and we where just talking about what to do for our menu for the week so I jumped over to you site and found this. We’re going to try this this week! The recipes all look amazing! Thank you for this. I hope you post another week of meals again!

    Reply
  13. Grace

    This was fantastic. A little over 3 hours and I have 5 meals made! Incredible. Your timeline was impeccable. The meatballs are delicious and u went back for seconds of the cabbage casserole! Thank you so much for sharing and I hope to see more like this!

    Reply
  14. Amber

    This is definitely my style of cooking. I especially like that clean-up happens ONCE! I don’t mind cooking, but I hate cleaning. So batch-cooking like this is a real life-saver for me.

    Reply
  15. Lauren

    Wow. I kinda think I love you. I’m just about to start on Paleo to help balance some of my gross PCOS symptoms. I’ve always been hesitant in the past because it seemed “hard”, but posts like this make me reconsider.

    P.S. Must you be so cute?

    Reply
  16. Ashley

    Will you please do more of these? It was amazing and so helpful!

    Reply
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  18. Michelle

    I try to do the same thing over the weekend! I love that you have this! I’m always looking for new ideas and I especially love the time breakdown!

    Thanks!

    Reply
  19. Delphine

    Wow! You just saved me so much work. I think I’ll make this exact plan next week. Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  20. Courtney

    LOVED this. They were all delicious and super delicious. This was a life saver as I was sitting on a Sunday night stressing about my menu for the week. Thanks for making my life easier and healthier. You rock, love this blog!

    Reply
  21. Susan Hazel

    Hey there. Question about food quantity.

    Let’s say that you know my ‘spouse-person’ (and you do). And you know that he CrossFits. Let’s also just state, for the record, that being a ‘hard-gainer’, he eats about 2x the volume of food/calories that I do.

    Example: Breakfast each morning is Gordon Ramsay’s scrambled eggs* (he puts cheese in them, no cream, I cannot get him to make them dairy-free, but I choose my battles. minus the toast, mushroom, and tomatoes). Six eggs divided between us, then 4 thick slices EF bacon. Another example: A double-batch Ropa Vieja (2 lbs stew meat, 6 peppers, etc) will last us lunch/dinners for approximately three days (lunch and dinner). So that should give an idea of scale vs. amount of time a recipe lasts.

    So, given that you both share a house, a kitchen, a gym, and meals–and that Brandon is a tall buff dude who probably enjoys eating HB food: Does this particular set of recipes/weekly plan cover all lunches/dinners/breakfasts for BOTH of you for Mon-Fri? In other words, do I need to DOUBLE the quantities listed in order to account for one spouse eating roughly 2x the amount of food as me?

    Totally understand if this is too loaded of a question. Serious food is serious.
    THX
    –susan
    *http://youtu.be/PUP7U5vTMM0 <gordon's eggs

    Reply
  22. Ashley

    Is it too late to respond to this post?…

    I do once a month cooking for my family now and was wondering if you froze any of your meals listed? Specifically the General Tso chicken. I’ll totally borrowing that:)

    Reply
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