What I Prepped This Week
foods for a high protein, quality ingredient lifestyle
ingredient prepping, batch prepping, whatever you want to call it, it is quite honestly the only thing that gets me through the week.
my top goal everyday is to just fuel my body with the right foods. even if i don’t check any other goal for that that, if i ate well and i know my body is nourished and healthy, i’m a happy gal.
after coming back from a week long cruise, i can quite honestly say the difference in how i feel eating quality, local, single ingredient foods makes me feel like a different human being. while the food wasn’t terrible there, it’s not what i was used to. i felt as if i was hungover every single morning, and i literally don’t drink alcohol lol (not cause I’m better than everyone else, it just doesn’t appeal to me).
because of that trip, i came back feeling 10x richer. not really cause the trip sucked the money right out of my bank account, but richer in the sense that i have a lot of luxury in being able to afford the food i can (or at least budgeting well so quality food is at the top of my priority list for where i spend my money).
each week isn’t perfect, but i always always always try to prep at least a few items to get us through, weather that’s a high protein breakfast option, a few proteins for dinners and lunch leftovers, or even some gut healing snacks like gelatin gummies that literally take 5 mins to make.
finding the foods that works for you and your family can be a challenge. you’ll see meal plans all over the internet, some are great and super helpful, others might not work so well for your family. it’s up to you to trial and error your favorite recipes and see what you most commonly crave and reach for.
maybe it’s chicken nuggets for your kids? okay great, make those with ingredients you love. pasture raised chicken thighs, sourdough breadcrumbs, grass-fed beef tallow
maybe it’s a sweet treat each night? okay AWESOME, we all crave something sweet after dinner. prep some raw milk ice cream in advance. (yes, you can 100% prep dessert)
my point is, you can literally make anything you want as long as you use the right ingredients.
quality ingredients = healthy, no matter the meal.
okay enough of my rambling, here’s what i prepped this week, plus a few dinner recipes using those ingredients :)
Breakfast
- Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins
combine ¼ cup melted butter and ½ cup coconut sugar till well combined. add in 1 cup cottage cheese, ¼ cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 2 pasture raised eggs. whisk until smooth, then stir in 1 ½ cups all purpose einkorn flour and 1 tsp baking soda. do not over mix. coat 1 cup frozen blueberries in a little flour, then fold them into the batter. divide batter into 12 greased or lined cups, then bake at 375F for 18-20 mins.
- Bacon Mozzarella Egg Bites
combine 12 pasture raised eggs, 1 cup cottage cheese, ¼ cup milk, 6 slices cooked & crumbled uncured bacon, a few handfuls of mozzarella cheese, and pinch of salt & pepper. pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 350F for 18ish mins OR 325F for 20-25 mins WITH a casserole dish full of water underneath to create a water bath.
- Banana Peanut Butter Protein Overnight Oats
combine 3 mashed bananas, 3 cups sprouted oats, 1 cup protein powder, ¼ cup chia seeds, 1 cup greek yogurt, 4 cups raw milk, 2-3 tbsp maple syrup, splash of vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and however much peanut butter you want into a large bowl. divide into separate jars and allow to soak overnight before eating.
Snacks
- Pomegranate, Blueberry, Apple Gelatin Gummies (outrageously delicious)
combine 1 cup pomegranate juice, 1 cup apple juice, ½ cup lemon juice, 1 cup frozen blueberries, and 2-3 tbsp maple syrup in a pot over low-medium heat. in a separate bowl, bloom 3 tbsp gelatin with ½ cup warm water. once solid, dump into your warmed juice and allow to melt down (don’t let it come to a simmer, just keep it warm and keep stirring). once fully melted, pour juice into a container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Instapot Chicken Bone Broth
add 1 chicken carcass (i took apart a whole chicken and removed the breast, legs, & thighs. i was left with the skin and most of the bones), 1 yellow onion, some chopped carrots and/or celery if you have them, maybe toss in a few bay leaves and thyme, plus a few tbsp of apple cider vinegar. oh, and some chicken legs if you have some (these make it super gelatinous). Cover completely with filtered water and using the high pressure soup mode, allow to cook for 90 mins. once done, drain the broth and remove carcass. Save broth in mason jars and refrigerate/freeze once cooled.
