Sunday, March 11, 2012

Food Prep

So didja set all of your clocks forward by an hour? How are you adjusting to the time change? We sailed right on through it at this house. Me, personally...I'm looking forward to having more light at night. Makes it truly feel like Spring and Summer are near. This, of course, gets me thinking about the fact that we sort of scooted right on by Winter. At least that's what it feels like up here in Michigan. I never really broke out the hats and gloves, save for one day here and there. The super cold, bundle-me-up weather never really stuck. At this point, I'm not entirely disappointed.

Will it really be in the 70's on Wednesday? It remains to be seen.

Speaking of Wednesday, have you devoted any of your Sunday to food prep? I've currently got about four servings of my favorite black bean soup in the 'fridge:

I very rarely make this stuff ahead of time because it takes, like...two minutes to make. But these days, two becomes twenty when you're juggling a little one, too. So I took full advantage of having the hubby at home.

That way, when I get  hungry for lunch this week, I know I've got a healthy one waiting for me and I won't have to catch myself reaching for this or that between feedings and diaper changes.

Food prep is really a good thing when you're living the fit life. It's so easy to get derailed from your diet when time is not on your side, so having a few things to reach for makes reaching for something healthy a lot easier. Some of my favorite make-aheads include:

Now, here's where it gets crazy...

So I'm all about healthy eating, obviously. But I've got a major sweet tooth. True, it's inactive right now as I gave up sweets for Lent, but that doesn't mean I've totally forgotten what a darn good chocolate chip cookie tastes like. In fact, I made some last week—but I didn't eat any, just so you know! I actually volunteered to bring a sweet (because I'm crazy) to a party I attended on Wednesday. My chocolate chip cookie recipe is super easy, and makes a ton. Too much for the party, actually. So thanks to Pinterest, I did this:

I froze the leftover dough in an ice cube tray. Isn't Pinterest great?! You never know what you'll learn!

I learned a long time ago that a batch of cookies doesn't last in my house. Both my husband and myself cannot resist these glorious treats, so I absolutely loved this ice cube tray idea. When I want a cookie (when I can have them again), all I have to do is pop one out of the tray and bake it. It satisfies my sweet tooth without tempting me with more than I should eat.

Perhaps the ultimate in make-ahead prep work?! You be the judge.

Tune in tomorrow for an awesome giveaway. No really, it's good stuff.

Question: What do you like to prep on Sundays for healthy eating in the week ahead?

5 comments:

Kim said...

And later on down the line, the ice cube tray works great for homemade baby food too! You can simply heat up a square or two for baby's meal. :)

Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers said...

Great post!! I big batch on Sunday's too. I like to as you do cut up veggies, fruits and cook chicken. I also like to roast butternut squash for quick recipes, make batches of oatmeal (it grows throughout the week, so I get more bang for my buck). I really like big batch cooking. Great post!!! Oh and the cookie idea, awesome! Love that!!

TARA said...

@Kim: I like your thinking!
@Jennifer: I always forget about squash...I love it!

Michelle said...

Lately I've been making a barley-lentil salad on Sunday and throwing in lots of veggies, feta, and olives. It's healthy and I can eat it for most of the week. Working in NYC means that if I bought lunch every day I could shell out $50/week without even trying! Not to mention that making my own food is so much healthier.

TARA said...

Barley lentil?! Sounds fantastic. You might have to share that recipe with me!!! I've got lentils in my cabinet that I've been meaning to use...

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