Healthier Eating With Weekly Food Preparation

Above: marinated steak, roasted squash, kumquat/fennel salad

Prepare Foods in Advance

I am trying to eat healthier these days. I participate in 15-20+ races per year; triathlon, 5k, half marathons and time trial bike races. I'm often so busy training and racing, that I sometimes forget all about meal planning and preparation until I am absolutely starving. Then it just seems easier to grab a bag of chips, or go to the local fast food restaurant for a quick bite to eat. As I am still trying to take off a few more pounds before the 2012 race season gets under way, I am trying to pay better attention to my diet.

I work as a freelance writer/blogger/craft artist out of my house. With the kitchen just around the corner from my office, I have a tendency to grab a quick snack whenever I'm hungry. I'm trying really hard to eat more regular meals, but that means I have to plan a menu for each week. I find that it's much easier if I prepare a bunch of meals and snacks ahead of time, so they are ready to eat when my stomach starts growling at me.

Please note; I almost always have a mixed green salad or green vegetable, such as steamed broccoli or oven roasted asparagus, with my lunches and dinners. Vegetables are terrific sources of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. And unless you smoother the vegetables with butter or cheese sauce, they are also very low calorie.

Above: oven roasted butternut squash

 

Intermediate Food Prep

There are a few items that must be made ahead of time, which are used to make the other recipes.

Honey mustard dressing - I use the honey mustard dressing in the potato salad. Left over honey mustard dressing can be used on hot dogs or chicken nuggets, although I no longer eat hot dogs or chicken nuggets myself.

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup prepared honey mustard
• 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey or light agave syrup

Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in a covered bowl in the refrigerator until ready to add to the potato salad. If you have any leftover, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Hard boiled eggs - approximately 1/2 dozen. A couple are chopped up and used in the potato salad recipe. I have the remaining hard boiled eggs on hand, to either chop up and use in green salads, turn into egg salad, or to simply eat a hard boiled egg on it's own for a quick snack. I place the eggs in a large pan of water, bring to a boil, then boil the eggs for 12 minutes.

Above: kumquat fennel salad

Weekly Food Preparation Recipes

These are the recipes that I just made on Monday late morning/early afternoon. If you work a regular Monday-Friday job outside of the house, you will probably want to do your food prep on the weekend. Prepare your shopping list and go shopping for all ingredients on Saturday. You can do the actually cooking later in the day on Saturday or anytime on Sunday.

Potato Salad

Ingredients for potato salad:

• Small container of fingerling potatoes
• 2 hard boiled eggs - chopped
• 1 recipe honey mustard dressing

Directions for potato salad:

1. Scrub the skins off the potatoes to remove any dirt and blemishes
2. Leave very small potatoes whole, larger ones should be cut in half or thirds
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil
4. Add the potatoes and cook for 12 minutes
5. Place the potatoes in a colander and rinse with cold water until cooled down
6. Stir in the chopped eggs and honey mustard dressing
7. Store in the refrigerator in a covered container until chilled. Leftovers will last for 4-6 days

Kumquat Fennel Salad

Kumquats look like micro sized oranges and have a tangy/tart orange taste. Fennel is crunchy like celery, with a slight anise/licorice taste. You may also add a bit of chopped, raw red onion to this salad if desired.

Ingredients for kumquat fennel salad:

• pint size container kumquats
• 2 fennel bulbs
• juice from 1 orange
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Directions for kumquat fennel salad:

1. Rinse off the kumquats, cut in halves or quarters, remove any seeds and add to a large bowl
2. Remove any dried out/discolored outer portions of the fennel bulb if necessary
3. Cut off the top and bottom of the fennel bulbs
4. Cut the cleaned fennel bulbs in quarters, then chop into 1-2 inch size pieces and add to the bowl of kumquats
5. If desired, the herb-like leafy portion of the top of the bulb may be cleaned, chopped and added to the salad
6. Stir in the orange juice and olive oil
7. Add salt and pepper as desired
8. Chill in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Above: marinated steak

 

Smothered Marinated Steak

I found a package of very thinly sliced eye round steak at my local grocery store. You could also use skirt steak or flank steak for this recipe. My favorite way to eat the steak after cooking, is to cut it into strips and serve on top of a large plateful of mixed salad greens. A local pizza restaurant near me makes a Thai-dye steak salad, which is the marinated steak served on top of a mixed green salad along with roasted chopped peanuts, roasted red bell peppers and a Thai-style peanut dressing. It is pretty dang yummy!

Ingredients:

• 1-2 pound package thinly sliced steak
• 1 bottle ginger dressing/marinade
• 1 red onion - peeled and chopped
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Cut off any visible fat from the steaks
2. Place the steaks in a bowl and cover with some of the ginger dressing
3. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for up to 10 hours, stirring occasionally
4. When ready to eat, place a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat
5. Cook the red onions until they begin to turn translucent
6. Remove the onions to a bowl or plate
7. Add additional oil to the pan if necessary and turn the heat to medium high
8. Cook the steaks, a few at a time in the pan, for a minute or two on each side.
9. The key to keeping these thin steaks tender is to quickly cook them.
10. Serve with the grilled onions and additional ginger dressing if desired

Roasted Butternut Squash

Yes, I use chili powder and five spice powder in this recipe. I acutally grabed the chili powder by mistake and sprinkled it all over the squash before realizing it wasn't five spice powder, silly me! It came out fantastic with both the chili powder and five spice powder, happy accident!

Ingredients for roasted butternut squash:

• 1 butternut squash
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• five spice powder
• chili powder
• salt
• pepper

Directions for roasted butternut squash:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off the outer layers of the squash
3. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise
4. Use a metal spoon to scrape out all the seeds and stringy pulp from the interior
5. Cut the peeled and cleaned squash into 1-2 inch chunks
6. Toss the squash with the olive oil and spices
7. Place the squash on a large baking pan and place in the oven
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes until fork tender.
9. Note: You could smash the cooked squash with a potato masher if desired prior to serving. I leave mine as it comes out of the oven. Reheat the cooked squash as needed with your meals during the week.

Above: honey mustard potato salad

 

Additional Foods to Prepare in Advance

I get bored if I always eat the same types of food. Each week I try to vary my menu slightly. Here are some other ideas for recipes to make when doing your weekly food preparation.

Pasta - prepare in advance and toss with extra virgin olive oil. Reheat as necessary and serve with your favorite tomato sauce. I am trying to eat mostly gluten free these days, so I have boxes of quinoa, brown rice and corn based pastas in my pantry.

Tuna salad - mix up a can or two of your favorite brand of tuna with a bit of mayonnaise and celery. Since I am trying to eat gluten free, I rarely eat bread anymore. In lieu of serving your tuna salad on bread, I like to place it on top of tomato slices.

Egg salad - my husband loves egg salad and will eat it faster than I can make it. Mix up chopped, hard boiled eggs with a bit of mayonnaise. My husband likes his with chopped celery mixed in. I like mine with celery and a few roasted sunflower seeds mixed in.

Roasted potatoes - wash a small container of red skin potatoes. Leave the skin on and cut larger ones in half or thirds. Toss with a bit of olive oil or walnut oil. Add 1/2 package of Lipton's onion soup mix and stir until all potatoes are coated with a bit of the dry soup mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven until fork tender. Left overs can be reheated as needed.

Green beans almondine - I'll probably add the exact recipe for this side dish in a few days, as I plan to make it later in the week. Saute mushrooms and onions in a large pan with a bit of olive oil. Add chopped, roasted garlic and fresh green beans which have been cut into thirds. Add fresh chopped rosemary and salt/pepper to taste. When green beans are done remove the pan from the stove and toss in slivered almonds prior to serving.

Pasta salad - cook a box of your favorite pasta according to package directions. Place in a strainer and rinse in cool water until it has cooled down. Strain well then add to a large bowl. I like to use a vinaigrette dressing, such as balsamic vinegar mixed with olive or walnut oil, to dress my pasta salad. I add a variety of ingredients such as sliced black olives, chopped green onion, fresh dill and chopped red onion to my pasta salad. As this pasta salad has contains no mayonnaise, it can be packed in a tupperware container, placed in your lunch box and brought to work.

Raw vegetables - pretend you are having a party and are going to serve a vegetable platter. I use a large, divided tupperware container to place a variety of chopped, raw vegetables. It's nice to have an assortment of vegetables, all cleaned, prepared and ready to pack in your lunch box or grab as a quick snack at home. Some of my favorites include: carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, summer squash.

My daughter is a vegetarian and often packs raw vegetables in her lunches which she takes to school. She fills a very small tupperware container with hummus to bring with her, which she eats along with the vegetables. You could even use some of these ingredients during the week to make a vegetable infused stir fry dinner. Use your imagination!

Take care,
Lynn Smythe, AKA the Cuisine Diva